The Fig Tree and the Temple

Mark likes to sandwich one story inside another. Here, on the way into Jerusalem, Jesus sees a fig tree in leaf, finds no fruit on it, and says that no one will ever eat fruit from it again. The disciples hear him. Then, in the temple, he overturns the tables of the money changers and drives out those buying and selling, quoting Isaiah about a house of prayer for all nations and Jeremiah about a den of robbers. The next morning, they pass the fig tree, and it has withered from the roots.

The tree explains the temple. Both had leaves. The temple had ritual, sacrifice, crowds and commerce, all the signs of a living religion. What it lacked was the fruit those signs were supposed to produce, a house of prayer where the nations could come near to God. The Gentile court, the one place foreigners could pray, had been turned into a market. Jesus' judgment on the tree is a sign of his judgment on the system.

The one idea is that God is not impressed by foliage. Leaves are easy. Fruit is what he is looking for. A church or a life can be full of the appearance of health, activity, attendance, busyness, and be empty at the point that matters.

Then comes the surprise. When Peter points out the withered tree, Jesus does not say more about judgment. He says, have faith in God. He talks about prayer that can move a mountain, and about forgiving anyone you hold something against. It is as if he is telling the disciples what the fruit is. The fruit the temple failed to bear was prayer. So pray, with faith, and with a heart clear of grudges.

The turn toward life is to ask honestly what you have, leaves or fruit. Then, whatever the answer, to do what Jesus tells the disciples to do next. Not to despair over the tree, but to have faith in God and pray. Fruitfulness begins there, and it is available on a Wednesday to anyone who asks.