Matthew 21:19

And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he came to it, and found nothing: thereon, but leaves only; and he saith unto it, Let there be no fruit from thee henceforward for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away.

Of all Jesus' miracles, only this one was a curse. It was absolutely necessary that Christ's miracles should attest the ultimate judgment of God upon evil works. Otherwise, it could have left an impression that divine power would be used only to heal, help, and bless man. The lesson of the fig tree, however, proves that God will eventually judge mankind and punish wickedness. Since the time had not yet come for the pouring out of the wrath of God upon the ungodly, since the time of human probation had not yet expired, Jesus made the curse to rest upon a tree, a thing, and not a person. This contrasts strongly with the judgments of God through such prophets as Elijah who slaughtered the prophets of Baal. In such a context, Jesus' curse of that fig tree was an act of mercy, not of wrath, for the warning absolutely necessary to be given fell upon an inanimate object rather than upon a person. Who could be critical if Christ had struck the entire Sanhedrin blind or dead? That he did not do so cannot mean they did not deserve such a fate, because they did. And yet, as a warning to them of the wrath that would surely come, he chose instead to wither the fig tree. Therefore, critics who would make something vengeful or evil out of Christ's curse of the fig tree are engaging in cavil and exhibiting a gross lack of understanding.

Yet men have done just that, caviling at this instance of judgment upon a tree, imputing caprice, peevishness, spite, and unreasonableness to Christ. We agree with Trench who said, "Of such men, they are the true Pharisees of history.[2] Nevertheless, we note some of their objections: (1) It is affirmed that Christ had no right to expect fruit of that tree because "it was not the time of figs" (Mark 11:13). This objection disappears in the light of the fact that, of the variety of tree indicated here, the fruit always appeared before the leaves; and that, in view of the leaves, Christ had every reason to expect fruit also.[3] (2) A second objection is that Christ pretended to look for fruit when he knew there was none. That too is false, because Christ, seeing the tree decked out in full foliage, recognized it instantly as a perfect example of the Jewish religious economy, which, though it was not the time of fruit (the Saviour having not yet made the sacrifice), nevertheless professed true righteousness the profound lessons applicable to the Jewish nation. (3) The objection that Christ vented anger on a tree overlooks the fact that the incident was a warning of the true anger that would eventually fall upon the disobedient. Men who make this objection are actually of the opinion that God should never be really angry with the wicked. But the overwhelming truth of the Bible is that the full measure of the wrath of Almighty God shall eventually fall upon every wicked man and that every wicked action shall be brought into judgment. Christ's cursing of the barren fig tree was a powerful warning of that eventual overflow of the wrath of God; and, far from being a reprehensible action on the part of Christ, it is an example of how even his warning was accomplished without any inconvenience or suffering on the part of sinful man. The action thus stands as an example of his forbearance and not of vindictiveness.

In connection with this, let it be noted that the fig tree was not cursed for barrenness. The fig orchards were full of barren trees he did not curse. This one was cursed for its barrenness while professing by its leaves to be fruitful! That was exactly the case with Israel. They were barren spiritually; yet by their elaborate pretensions to righteousness, they advertised a true religion they simply did not possess. Moreover, they were at that very moment in the process of rejecting the very Head of all true religion.

The curse of the fig tree was a true prophecy of God's rejection of Israel (until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in). Not long after the apostles began to preach the kingdom of heaven following the resurrection, the mainstream of Christianity bypassed Israel altogether. Furthermore, it appears that a warning is in this incident for all of every age who may be more pleased with an empty profession of true religion than with a proper exhibition of the genuine fruits thereof. God could not be any more pleased with empty professions now than he was then.

The chronology of this event is as follows: The tree was cursed on Monday morning as Christ was on the way to the cleansing of the temple. Matthew indicates that it withered immediately; but the following morning Peter observed that it was withered completely from its roots upward and totally dried up. It was probably not noticed by them on Monday evening as they returned to Bethany, due to its being twilight or dark. See Mark 11:12-14,20,21.

[2] Richard Trench, Notes on the Parables (Westwood, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1953), p. 474.

[3] Ibid., pp. 479-480.