Fig Tuesday: Jesus Curses a Fig Tree

Matthew 21:18-22

Matthew 21:18-22 is a story often overlooked but imperative to the Easter narrative. This story is a great example of what it means to have an authentic faith. The lesson of the Fig Tree shows the importance of fostering a relationship with Christ and living out a life of authentic faith.

Fig Tuesday took place before the crucifixion of Christ. The day before Fig Tuesday, Jesus had been in Jerusalem while a massive crowd of His followers, disciples, and others worshiped and praised Him (Matt. 21: 1-11). He returned to Bethany, and then the next morning, He returned to Jerusalem. On the way there, He saw a fig tree in the distance and decided He would stop at the tree because He was hungry. This situation reminds us that Jesus was fully God and also fully man, a man who was hungry and needed to eat. Expecting there to be figs on the tree, he stopped at it only to see that there were, in fact, no figs on it. He cursed the tree, saying, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” and immediately the tree withered and died (Matthew 21:19). 

The disciples, seeing this, were amazed and asked: “How did the fig tree wither at once?” And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith” (Matthew 21: 20-22). Many significant questions arise from this story, a main one being: What does it look like to have an authentic faith in Christ? 

This question will remain: What will it look like when we fully commit and grow a relationship with Christ? What will it look like to daily foster a relationship with Him? A relationship that is not lukewarm but intentional? How can we as Christians not take for granted the wisdom Christ has shown us through His word? Christians must be the example of what it looks like to be a people who actually have and live out an authentic faith in Christ. We must not succumb to the worldly patterns of having an appearance that does not have spiritual fruit, like the fig tree that looked good in appearance but bore no fruit for Christ. 

Prayer:

The Blasted Fig-Tree by John Newton

One awful word which Jesus spoke,
Against the tree which bore no fruit;
More piercing than the lightning’s stroke,
Blasted and dried it to the root.
 
But could a tree the Lord offended
To make him show his anger thus?
He surely had a farther end,
To be a warning word to us.
 
The fig-tree by its leaves was known,
But having not a fig to show;
It brought a heavy sentence down,
Let none hereafter on thee grow.
 
Too many, who the gospel hear,
Whom Satan blinds and sin deceives;
We to this fig-tree may compare,
They yield no fruit, but only leaves.
 
Knowledge, and zeal, and gifts, and talk,
Unless combined with faith and love,
And witnessed by a gospel walk,
Will not a true profession prove.
 
Without the fruit the Lord expects
Knowledge will make our state the worse;
The barren trees he still rejects,
And soon will blast them with his curse.
 
O Lord, unite our hearts in prayer!
On each of us thy Spirit send;
That we the fruits of grace may bear,
And find acceptance in the end.

Interpretation:
This beautiful poem was written by John Newton, who was born in 1725 in London. He was raised in a godly home by his mother while his father was a captain at sea. After two years of school and following his mother’s death, he went on his first voyage with his father. Newton’s health was weakened by a stroke, and he suffered through many challenges overseas. These events caused Newton to stray from Christ and the ideas that he was raised on. However, on one of his sea voyages, Newton began to realize the purpose of his many hardships. Amidst a life-threatening storm, he realized his need for a Savior. When Newton ended his journey overseas, he found himself in the Liverpool port where he heard the words of the evangelist George Whitefield, and grew his faith further.

In 1764, he settled in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England, and became the curate of a Church. This is where he began to write many poems and hymns with his fellow poet William Cowper. Together, they wrote a collection of 348 hymns called “The Olney Hymns.” Included in these was “The Blasted Fig-Tree” that Newton wrote. This poem describes the story found in Matthew 21:18-22, which takes place on Tuesday of Holy Week. Newton portrays the message Jesus was sending by telling the story of the accursed fig tree in detail. He writes, “O Lord, unite our hearts in prayer!/ On each of us thy Spirit send;/ That we the fruits of grace may bear,/ And find acceptance in the end.” Through his words, Newton shows the importance of growing a fruitful relationship with God. He encourages readers to walk with the Lord and live a life that glorifies him. 

ARTWORK

“The Accursed Tree” by James Tissot

Interpretation: 
James Tissot was born in 1836 on the French Coast in Nantes and was the son of a successful shopkeeper. When he was young he was sent to boarding school, then later trained as a painter in Paris in 1856. In order to draw attention to his artwork and himself, Tissot changed his first name from Jacques Joseph to James. In 1886, after his re-conversion to the Catholic faith, James travelled to the Holy Land three times. His goal was to capture all the aspects of the land where Jesus walked. When he returned to France after his third trip, he painted hundreds of illustrations of the Biblical events of Jesus’ life. One of these paintings was “The Accursed Tree.” He used opaque watercolor with hundreds of detailed brushstrokes to create this beautiful piece. This particular painting illustrated the event found in Matthew 21: 18-22 that took place on Fig Tuesday of Holy Week. This scene depicts a barren tree, only bearing leaves and clearly lacking fruit. The landscape appears rocky and desolate, with a few people in the background looking mournfully at the scene before them. Jesus appears at the center of the painting with white garments and a distressed look on his face as his head is turned. This painting depicts the example Jesus used to show his people the importance of living a fruitful life that is rooted in a deep relationship with Christ.   

Biographies:
Ramey Newman and Kiera Tracy are currently seniors at Pusch Ridge Christian Academy. They have both attended PRCA for 13 years and will be graduating in May. In the fall, they will be attending Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, Colorado, and are excited to room together. One of the things they love doing is volunteering at their church and leading worship, as well as singing in the PRCA Advanced Ensemble and Women’s Choir. They are excited to see all that God has in store for them in this next chapter!