Now the next day, as they went out from Bethany, he was hungry. 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. He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it. (Mark 11:14 NET)
It was the last week of Jesus being with his disciples and living on the earth – later that week he would be crucified. During this last week Jesus and his disciples were staying in Bethany but traveled each day into Jerusalem. This particular morning as they left they saw a fig tree in the distance with leaves – and they were hungry (normal Jewish breakfast time was in the late morning, so they had not yet had time to eat anything). They approached the tree but there was no figs to be found – after all, it wasn’t even the right season. But Jesus “cursed” this tree: “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”
Have you ever wondered why Jesus reacted this way to this particular tree? After all, it wasn’t even the right season to find figs there. Was it just because he was hungry and found nothing to eat? Or was there more to it? Continue reading “Living behind a façade”