Holy Week Monday: Fig trees and Whips
Scripture reading of the day’s events: Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-48
If you were to ask someone to describe a scene from Jesus’ life that sticks out to them,
people would be quick to pick the time when Jesus drove the money changers from the temple
with a whip. This scene can be surprising to people, as they typically think of Jesus as easy going
and slow to anger. If we were to also add in the fact that Jesus killed a fig tree for not having any
figs, it would catch our attention even more. What’s going on here? Is Jesus so stressed out this
last week of his life that he is flying off the handle when things don’t go his way? Or is there
more to the picture than this?
Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Sunday certainly captured the attention of many
people. He receives the recognition of a King, leaving the crowds wondering what He was going
to do next. Mark records a small detail that will be unpacked in far greater measure on this
Monday. As Jesus was preparing to leave Jerusalem on Sunday, Mark records that He “looked
around on everything." (11:11). Why would that small detail have great significance? The reason
is because Jesus looks on everything, that is everything in the temple area, not as a sight seer or
tourist, but as the Sovereign Lord of Heaven. Jesus is planning an evaluation of the temple to see
if it is fulfilling its rightful purpose in leading people to truly worship God.
The day starts off with an unexpected twist, however. Jesus is hungry, like any human
would be. He sees a fig tree in the distance, and comes up to it, looking for something to eat. But
sadly, the tree is empty. Mark does mention it is not the season for figs, so perhaps Jesus should
not have been surprised. Fruit on a fig tree begins to grow when the leaves do, so there should
have been some fruit that had started to grow. Alas, there is none. Jesus pronounces a curse on
this tree, that no one will eat from it again. Why does He do this against the tree? Was Jesus
hangry?
We don’t get an answer right away why Jesus does this. But right after this, Jesus arrives
at the temple. When He gets there, He drives out the money changers, merchants, and customers
who had turned what was supposed to be the house of prayer into a den of robbers (see Isaiah
56:7; Jeremiah 7:11). These people were hindering the true worship of God. Christ’s actions, while
pleasing the common people, brought fierce anger from the religious leaders. They viewed His
actions as a direct challenge to their authority. While the religious leaders did want something to
happen to Jesus, they were unable to carry anything out because of the people.
We learn from the cleansing of the temple that Jesus cares about worship. He is willing
and not afraid to remove anything that hinders the worship of God. But the story doesn’t end
with Jesus driving the merchants and money changers out. On the way back home, they go by
the same fig tree they saw that morning. The disciples are amazed that it has died so quickly.
Are there any more clues now as to why Jesus cursed this fruitless fig tree?
The answer is that the fig tree serves as an object lesson to the disciples. In the Old Testament, the
fig tree was often used as a metaphor for Israel (see Jeremiah 8:13; Hosea 9:10). Israel had the
appearance of being fruitful, but like the fig tree, did not actually have fruit upon closer
inspection. The temple in Israel was like the “showiest” branch of the tree. If there was any
fruit, then surely it would be found when Jesus visited the temple. But as we’ve seen, there
actually was no fruit in the temple. Now, Jesus is displaying that judgment is coming to Israel and
to the temple because of this lack of fruit.
So where do we fit into this story? Here are some questions we can answer and reflect on
as we think of Monday’s events.
- Where do we see a lack of reverence and holiness for God? Do any of our attitudes or actions contribute to this mindset?
- Jesus does not like hypocrisy-the appearance of fruit but the failure to actually have any. Are there any areas of our lives where we see hypocrisy, that we need to repent of?
- We see there is a place for righteous anger. How does our anger often differ from Jesus’ anger? What might righteous anger look like in our lives?