The Cursing of the Fig Tree
Posted by Christos on Thursday, May 25 @ 23:30:02 CDT
Contributed by Christos
| Christos 11/14/2005 1:13 PM | 1 out of 11 | ||
Dear friends, could someone give me an explanation why Jesus cursed the Fig Tree for not having any fruit on it, considering the fact that it was not the season for figs? Thank you in advance. Christos Cursing of the Fig Tree Mark 11:12 Now the next day, as they went out from Bethany, he was hungry. 11:13 After noticing in the distance a fig tree with leaves, he went to see if he could find any fruit on it. When he came to it he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 11:14 He said to it, May no one ever eat fruit from you again. And his disciples heard it. |
| JoyfulJudy 11/14/2005 4:04 PM | 2 out of 11 | |
I asked my godfather the priest that same question. And he said, “You need to really understand Jesus’ Divinity — He’s perfect God and perfect man. Everything felt that, perceived that, after a fashion despite the darkness of delusion here in the world.” (And he made me meditate on that for a week or so.) Someone else over the years told me that when the fig blossoms, it bears little runty chewy figs that are a little like dried figs about the size of grapes. And these are hidden under the leaves. So this fig tree was a hypocrite. It had produced the leaves but not the button “before” fruit that would fall off to make room for the real figs to grow. (Now if I’ve gotten this twisted, I’m sorry and somebody who knows, correct me.) When I went back to my priest godfather the following weeks I said. “OK. I’m better focused on His Divinity.” (I’d been meditating on the fact that this was God, the God Who’d made us, Who could look into our souls and see everything that was there, Who knew us intimately, God of Power, Might, Glory, Omniscience.) “So about the fig tree?” I said. My godfather replied that Jesus has rights over all His Creation. (We pray that He will teach us about His rights, His commandments, His precepts, remember?) And part of these rights is to gather fruit from every living thing He made. (And He was hungry.) “If that fig tree had been doing what it should,” he said, “It would have borne its fruit early, in anticipation of Christ’s coming.” he said. He finished with: “When God comes to us, it will be out of season too.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now let me tell you a funny story. In front of our front window in Southern California there was a plot of ground I was busily filling with plants. And there, one day, I found a fig tree, a gift of some passing bird, I guess. And this fig tree grew and prospered. But it bore no fruit. And about three years along with no figs I’d gotten very tired of this, of going out, expectantly, looking for figs and finding none — nothing. So I took my trusty little New Testament out (it was Lent, I remember) and said, “Listen up fig tree!” And I read it that passage. Then I said to it, “Because I am part of the body of Christ and bear His Name, I’m going to do the same to you if you continue in not bearing fruit.” Well, guess what? That summer it produced the sweetest figs. And a gardener at the Arboritum I told the story to, laughed and said, “You scared to death and made it bear out of season.” Anyway, it’s a funny story. just judy |
| Kevinesque 11/14/2005 6:58 PM | 3 out of 11 | ||
I was just thinking about this verse last night. In a partial connection with what Judy’s priest said (“When God comes to us, it will be out of season too”), I was thinking that it meant we should be bearing fruit for Him all the time, even though that’s against our nature, like the unfortunate fig tree and its fruits. If we’re fruitless when he returns, we’ll be thrown into the fire like the fig tree and all the other fruitless trees and their branches. |
| Christos 11/14/2005 11:33 PM | 4 out of 11 | ||
Dear Judy, thank you very much for your reply! Please give my greedings to your Godfather. His answer is fine for me. Kevinesque thank you too! Christos ******************************************************* My godfather replied that “Jesus has rights over all His Creation. (We pray that He will teach us about His rights, His commandments, His precepts, remember?) And part of these rights is to gather fruit from every living thing He made. (And He was hungry.) “If that fig tree had been doing what it should,” he said, “It would have borne its fruit early, in anticipation of Christ’s coming.” he said. He finished with: “When God comes to us, it will be out of season too.” |
