TO DAY’S MESSAGE: SIGNIFICANCE OF FIG TREE

MEANING

Fig tree or the fig tree most often refers to the common fig, a tree cultivated for its edible fruit. Fig tree may also refer to ficus, a genus. The wood of fig tree is often soft and the latex precludes its use for many purposes.

SHORT HISTORY

Fig are originally form small Asia and are one of the first fruits cultivated ever. The Greek mention them and around 60 A.C and Plato promoted the fig as being nutrition for athletes. A story is known of the Greek government that had forbidden all export of figs once to assure themselves a good outcome at the Olympic Games. The Greek knew about twenty nine fig sorts. Today there are more than 600 different fig types.

BENEFITS

1.     Fig are very good preventing constipation

2.     Hypertension is caused because of low levels of sodium and high levels of potassium in the body. Since figs are high in potassium and low in sodium it can avoid hypertension

3.     Fig are also known to boost the health of  the liver

4.     It can be used for the production of jam

JESUS AND THE FIG TREE

Matt21:18-22, Mark 11:12-14, 20-21

The problem with this story is that it wasn’t the season for figs according to mark 11:13. If Jesus is God why didn’t He know that it wasn’t the season for figs? And why did he curse the tree when it wasn’t its fault that it wasn’t fig season?

ANSWER

There is a very reasonable explanation why Jesus cursed the fig tree even though it wasn’t the season for figs. Even before the season, fig trees produce little knobs which are eaten by a passerby. As the late renowned NT scholar F.F Bruce Noted: “the other miracle is the cursing of the barren fig tree (Mk xi 12ff) a stumbling block to many. They feel that it is unlike Jesus, and so someone must have misunderstood what actually happened, or turned a spoken parable into an acted miracle or something like that some, on the other hand welcome the story because it shows that Jesus was human enough to get unreasonably annoyed on occasion. It appear, however that a closer acquaintance with fig trees would have prevented such misunderstandings. The time of the fig is not yet, says Mark, for it was just before Passover, about six weeks before the fully formed figs appears. The fact that Mark adds these words shows that he knew what he was talking about. When the fig leaves appear about the end of March, they are accompanied by a crop of small knobs; called taqsh by the Arabs, a sort of fore-runner of the real figs. These taqsh are eaten by peasants and other when hungry. They drop off before the real fig taqsh, there will be no fig that year.

So it was evident to our Lord, when He turned aside to see if there were any of these taqsh on the fig tree to assuage his hunger for the time being, that the absence of the taqsh meant that there would be no figs when the time of figs came. For all its fair foliage, it was a fruitless and a hopeless tree” (Bruce, Are the New Testament Documents Reliable? (Intervarsity Press, Downers Goove, 111 fifth revised Edition 1992) pp 73-74).

WHY DID JESUS CURSE THE FIG TREE

SIGNIFICANCE

As to the significance of this passage and what it means the answer to what is again found in the chronological setting and in understanding how a fig tree is often used symbolically to represent Israel in the scriptures. First of all, chronologically Jesus had just arrived Jerusalem amid great fanfare and great expectations but then proceeds to cleanse the temple and curse the barren fig tree. Both had significance as to the temple and His criticism of the worship that was going on there (Matt 21:13, Mark 11:17) , Jesus was effectively denouncing Israel’s worship of God. With his cursing of the fig tree, He was symbolically denouncing Israel as a nation and in a sense even denouncing unfruitful “Christians” (that is people who profess to be Christian but have no evidence of a relationship with Christ)

The presence of a fruitful fig tree was considered to be a symbol of blessing and prosperity for the nation of Israel. Likewise the absence or death of a fig tree would symbolize judgment and rejection. Symbolically, the fig tree represented the spiritual deadness of Israel, who while very religious outwardly with all the sacrifices and ceremonies, was spiritually barren because of their sins. By cleansing the temple and cursing the fig tree, causing it to wither and die, Jesus was pronouncing His coming judgment of Israel and demonstrating His power to carry it out. It also teaches the principles that religious profession and observance are not enough to guarantee salvation, unless there is the fruit of genuine salvation evidenced in the life of the person –James would later echo this dead”. (James 2:26). The lesson of the fig tree is that we should bear spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23) not just give an appearance of religiosity. God judges fruitfulness, and expects that those who have a relationship with Him will “bear much fruit” (John 15:5-8)