Matthew 21 - Withered at the Root!

And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Matthew 21: 19-22.

As Jesus prepared to enter the city of Jerusalem again, He did something very strange - He cursed a fig tree beside the road. The Bible says that He was hungry and desired to eat some of the fruit resting under the green leaves, and yet when He lifted the leaves, there was nothing there. And so He cursed the tree, declaring "No man eat from you ever again!" The tree dried up from its roots and died, astonishing the disciples.

Why would Jesus do this? It was another metaphorical, spiritual teaching that revealed a profound truth. The fig tree represented Israel, God's holy people who were to shine forth His truth to the whole world; they were the ones charged with spiritually feeding the nations around them. But sadly, like this tree, they had the green leaves, but underneath all the artifice and religious rituals, there was no fruit. None of their law keeping and religion could save people and set them free from the bondage of sin.

Jesus, acting as God, cursed that system at its root, because it bore no fruit and it never would. Sure, the system would linger for a time, just as a tree or plant will do when its root dies, but eventually destruction came. The temple system lingered from 30 AD to 70 AD, a full 40 years, before it was destroyed by the Roman armies. God judged it for its unfruitfulness and ushered in the New Covenant.

Jesus told His disciples that the things that are impossible with man are possible with God. He told them that they, likewise, could be able to speak to the mountain of persecution, oppression, and hindrance IN FAITH, and tell it to be removed, and it would come to pass as they believed. This entire teaching of the fig tree was a prophecy that the cursed temple system would be destroyed, but that before its final removal, the world/religious system would be vehemently opposed to the Gospel message. We know this is true historically, as many in Jesus' generation were martyred for their faith and suffered terrible persecutions from their fellow Jewish kinsmen and the Roman government (the Antichrist, Nero) before 70 AD.

Today, there are many Christians who suffer terribly for their faith in Jesus. But praise God, we can speak to those mountains that stand in the way of the kingdom, tell them to be removed, and they will be removed. It may take some time, but that mountain must go. All of us must stand firm and believe! Our heavenly father will show us exactly how to pray and reveal to us exactly what we are to do. He has not left us as orphans - we have His wonderful spirit living inside of us!