A False Reality

2/20/25 Bible Thought (Mk. 11)

I’m sure each and every believer has passages of Scripture that are perpetually confounding to us. There are things we don’t get. Questions we still have. Explanations that evade us. As a pastor, I’m certainly not exempt. The number of passages, by the grace of God and the help of my vast access to biblical resources, is shrinking. But I still have mine too.

One of them, is actually found in today’s reading, and I thank the Lord today for the work of scholar James Edwards for bringing me some clarity. I finally took some time to study this out, and I’m glad I did. For years I’ve wondered why Jesus would destructively curse a fig tree when it wasn’t the season for figs. It honestly seems out of character for Him. Now, I’m not judging the Messiah or accusing Him of sin or wrongdoing by any means, but I honestly and simply just never really understood it.

What’s important to notice in Mark’s recounting of this story is that it is found between Jesus’ visit to the temple (Mk. 11:11) and His cleansing of the temple (11:15-19). Jesus sees a fig tree in leaf, but finds it has no fruit. Mark even comments that, “It was not the season for figs” (Mk. 11:13b). So, why would Jesus curse the tree?

James Edwards explains that after a fig tree was in leaf, but before the fruit was fully matured, it should have been bearing what the Hebrews would call paggim. This was essentially an unmatured fig that would be suitable for eating, even if it wasn’t technically the real deal fruit.^[1] So, although fully matured and developed figs would’ve been unexpected (as Mark recounts) there should have been something. Yet, there wasn’t anything.

With this, the barren fig tree becomes a picture of the barren temple. Again, Edwards writes concerning Mark that, “he intends readers to see in the fate of the unfruitful fig tree the judgment of God on the unfruitful temple.”^[2] The temple, despite its incredible grandeur, was dead. It might have contained incomparable beauty. It might have contained countless priests and sacrifices. It might have contained some expression of worship. But what did it lack? God Himself. The temple looked good without actually being good. It was supposed to be a house of prayer for all nations, but instead the Lord Jesus denounced, “You have made it a den of robbers” (Mk. 11:17b). The city and temple worship that would consistently cast out the prophet had no issue with profit. They were more interested in material gain than spiritual wealth. They were more interested in material blessings than true spiritual blessings. They were more interested in what people thought, than what God thought.

Jesus’ cursing of the fig tree is a real-life and real-time picture of God’s rejection of this temple that was supposed to be for Him. Jesus would later predict concerning this same temple, “There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down” (Mk. 13:2). Ultimately, we know from history that the Romans destroyed this great temple just a few decades later in 70 A.D.

Just as the fig tree was cursed, the temple was to be thrown down. Despite being filled with people, it was empty. Despite being beautiful outwardly, it was corrupt inwardly. All these truths make me wonder about our places of worship today.

Now, we know that where we worship isn’t of supreme importance (see John 4:21-24). Truly, who we worship and how we worship (spirit and truth) are much more important than where we do. Nevertheless, we know that Christians for centuries upon centuries have built beautiful houses of worship where we can gather in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to worship our Great God and Savior and to hear His Word preached.

But how often do we honestly consider if the living God has entered the building with us? Truly, there is no magnificence to our places of worship unless they house the magnificence of the glory of the God whom we claim to worship. Apart from Him, the building is empty no matter how many people may fill it.

To date, countless beautiful church buildings have been constructed, but is there any genuine spiritual fruit on the fig tree? Has worship become more about profit than hearing from God’s Word? Have the lights, the decorations, the music, the people, the songs, the natural things that we behold caused us to lose sight of what the gathering of the body is all about?

I have been in services with worship bands that are incredibly skilled their notes are tight, and the lighting seems just right and all the rest. I have also been in services where there is simply an average guitar player with his acoustic guitar and a voice that is quickly drowned out by the crowd of worshippers glorifying God. I can say without any doubt that the latter, in my opinion, is much to be preferred. Corporate worship ought to be a corporate, shared experience, of genuine, heart-felt worship to God. If Jesus were to visit our churches incarnate today, would He flip over chairs, flashing lights, pulpits, drum sets, coffee bars, keyboards, book tables, and smoke machines? Have we lost sight of the real purpose of our gatherings as assemblies of the Lord’s redeemed? In terms of the fig tree: Do we have any fruit, or just leaves?

---

^[1] James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 339–340.

^[2] James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 339.