I was attacked. I was minding my own business, helping with pruning back some fig trees, and I felt a sting on my heel. Then another on the inside of my ankle. It was in that moment that I realized that it wasn’t the fig tree that was fighting back and it wasn’t my imagination. It was the fire ants in the soil at the base of the fig tree that were determined in defending their home.
I did what any sane person with allergies would do. I said, I’m out, and I calmly – and quickly – abandoned my husband and children, walked back to the house and proceeded to strip down in the bathroom. I turned my pants inside out and realized I had barely avoided their most gruesome plan of attack. There were at least a dozen ants making their way up the inside of my pant legs. But they only got me a few times on my ankles.
All for the health of the fig trees that line the garden. My husband enjoys dabbling in most agricultural things including horticulture. He has these visions of different fruit trees on our future property. But it doesn’t stop there. No, he also gets excited about cultivating different berry bushes – raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry. So, while the fig pruning was necessary, he was loving it. For me, it was fine… until it was not.
When I think of figs, aside from some yummy jam, I immediately think of the leaves that Adam and Eve tried to cover themselves with to hide their nakedness (Genesis 3:7), and it’s quickly followed by the fig tree that died in the book of Mark.
Bothered. That’s the word I would use to describe reading Mark 11:12-24. Jesus is traveling, gets hungry, and He sees a fig tree in leaf off in the distance. A perfect snack! As He gets closer, He sees that there are no figs for Him to eat. Okay, that happens, right? Especially if it’s not pruned by my husband’s skilled hand… and it wasn’t quite the right season. But then Jesus says to the tree, May no one ever eat fruit from you again. That seems kind of harsh.
The next morning as Jesus and His disciples passed by that same fig tree, they saw that it was dried up from the root. Um, was Jesus so hangry that He killed a fig tree? I mean, I get it… I feel like I would be completely justified to take a torch to the home of those fire ants even if that meant we would lose the fig tree. But it doesn’t seem to line up with the character of Jesus.
As I’ve been thinking about it – nursing the spots on my ankles that received the venomous injections – I started to notice the correlation between Adam and Eve covering themselves with fig leaves and why Jesus made the fig tree whither up and die from the roots.
As someone who isn’t very well-versed in horticultural practices, I might see a fruit tree with leaves all over it and would expect to see some fruit. I’m well aware of the everything in its season truth, but I really don’t care enough to keep track of which tree or bush produces fruit at what time. As the One who was there in the beginning – the One who spoke everything into existence – I read the passage in Mark 11 and wonder why Jesus would not realize that it was the wrong season.
But it wasn’t about the season.
The Bible is full of details that we might find inconsequential, but they’re there for a reason. We could have read that it was simply a fruit tree that Jesus saw in the distance… but it was specifically a fig tree. We could have been told that it was big leaves sewn together to cover the shame of Adam and Eve… but it was specifically fig leaves. There are also details that are intentionally left out – we don’t know what kind of fruit it was that came from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, do we?
But there’s a reason it was specified as a fig tree and fig leaves.
A fig tree, in scripture, usually represents Israel, but in this context – the Mark 11 passage – the fig tree represents all of humanity. Each and every one of us. Remember – Jesus came to redeem the Jews and the Gentiles. And in this moment of hunger, Jesus decides to address the attempts all of humanity makes to produce righteousness through self-effort.
The fig tree that Jesus saw from far off looked wonderful. It looked the part of having fruit to offer. But as Jesus drew closer, He was able to see that it was just for show. It was all about appearance. There was no fruit.
How many times have we – have I – did what I could to look the part – whether intentional or not? To appear that I have it all together? There have certainly been times that I’ve plastered a smile on my face and have gone through the motions, but I’m talking about something deeper than hiding hurts and emotional upheavals. I’m talking about our relationship with God and the fruit He produces through us.
Have we volunteered because it would look good? Do we raise our hands in worship because it will make us look spiritually superior to others? Have we attended because it adds credibility? Have we simply been parroting what other people have discovered?
Or does the fruit flow from a relationship with God no matter what the season we might be in?
Jesus was confirming that the age of self-effort was over. Just like the fig leaves used to cover Adam and Eve were insufficient, our efforts of trying to earn approval – and even salvation – have never been adequate. The Law was given and we stood condemned. Jesus took our place and we were made righteous apart from the Law (Romans 3:21-31).
If you’re feeling like the fig tree, lush and beautiful but lacking fruit, I would challenge you to get into the Word on a daily basis. As you deepen your relationship with God, fruit will naturally be produced through you by the Holy Spirit.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. Galatians 5:22-26 NLT
It’s not through our effort, but it’s through His sacrifice. It’s not through our good intentions, but it’s through His perfect leading. He replaced Adam’s and Eve’s fig leaves with animal skins (the first sacrifice for sins), and He has killed the fig tree – our very best self-effort – at the root and replaced it with His robes of righteousness (the final sacrifice). The sins of the whole world were once simply covered but have now been completely cancelled.
It’s time for us to let the tree die. Only then can we bountifully grow in the leading of the Holy Spirit. He’ll know just when and what to prune, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we experience a bumper crop. And I bet He’ll take care of those fire ants, too.