A TREE WITHOUT FRUIT

Why wither the fig tree? It did nothing, but perhaps nothing was the problem!

Jesus was human. He became hungry (Mat 21:18). As the ‘Last Adam’ he was a ‘quickening Spirit’ (1 Cor 15:45). Jesus came to a fig tree; although it had leaves, it bore no fruit. Jesus wanted fruit to lessen His hunger. He had made the fig tree to bear fig fruit, yet it did not. That one fig tree was different than what it was meant to be.

Jesus could have ‘quickened’ it — made it fruitful. Right then, that tree could have produced, even without waiting its time. Quickening is overcoming the world and its constraints.

On the other hand, what did Jesus do?

“Presently the fig tree withered away. and when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, ‘How soon is the fig tree withered away!’” (Mat 21:19-20).

“Presently,” it is written; parachrema — immediately! Some varieties of fig trees can produce the first year but others much longer (3-4 years), depending in the variety.  

For some reason, Jesus had expected that tree to have fruit before He got there. He surely thought it had had enough time, so rather than quickening the fruit to produce right then, which He could have done, he withered it away.

 The problem could have been many; it could have been grown on poor soil, it could have failed to pollinate if it was of that variety, the growing season could have been cut short, the tree could have been too young, the tree could have been diseased, have insects, and so forth.

The most likely case is one of the latter because Jesus had expected it to have fruit. However, there is another possibility; without modern plant husbandry that tree had mutated; rather than produce fruit, it was fruitless because of its genome. The tree may have gradually changed its genetics over time due to the world. Without intervention, just like iron can rust given exposure to corrosive things, organisms can be changed by exposure to the elements of the world.

Take for instance fish; they adapt to their habitat. A fish that lives on the bottom have certain characteristics that reveal they are bottom dwellers. They are flat in shape, dark on top, and white on the bottom. Generally, they lack bright colors because they have not been exposed to the Sun’s rays.

Fig trees gradually go dormant. Not only a tree too young may not produce fruit, but one that is too old. They have adapted to the world. Say they went too many seasons without producing; after so many years, their nature is not to produce.

Jesus may have seen that this fig tree was too used to the world. It had become acclimated to its environment and existed there, perhaps for several years, without producing fruit.

Compare that to humans. Many have become so acclimated to the world, that they just can no longer produce any fruit of the Spirit: 

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (Gal 5:22:25)

 Figs represent both good and evil; the tree of that same name, as revealed by the fiber of the aprons of Adam and Eve, was not an apple tree, but a fig tree. The Book of Adam and Eve confirms that.

Good fruit are love, joy, peace, etc. Not just one of them, but all twelve. (The Latin Vulgate lists all twelve kinds of fruit.)

Jesus, perhaps, not only expected fruit on that barren tree, but good fruit. If it had been wormy fruit or bitter fruit, it would have been more disgusting but it least it would have done what it should do. However, that tree bear no fruit.

Jesus expected the fig tree to grow fruit. He expected it to do something other than just stand there like a rotten tree, but either some fruit, good or bad! If it had bad fruit, He would let it wither on its own. Jesus perished the fig tree because it just failed to produce anything!

Christians are the same way. Most ‘Christians’ are Christians in name only (CINO). For some reason that cognomen appeared in my mind early this morning, but I never expected it to appear in my scheduled Bible study. That is no coincidence for God does such things!

Christians are known by their fruit, so says Jesus, “Every tree is known by his own fruit” (Luke 6:44).

Throughout the Bible people are symbolized by trees. For instance, Jesus is represented by the Tree of Life and Satan by the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Each produced their own fruit; the Tree of Life produces twelve manner of fruit (Rev 22:2), but this particular fig tree produced no manner of fruit. It was as worthless as the Forbidden Tree in the Garden whose fruit was many (Gal 5:19-21).

The point that Jesus was surely making was that trees that are expected to grow fruit should bear some type of fruit; be it good or bad. This one fig tree just stood there, so it was not doing what it was created to do. Rather than force it to produce, and rather than wait for it to die on its own, Jesus essentially destroyed it immediately because it was useless. It was a fig tree in name only!

Even if it had produced one fruit, then it would have remained. Jesus would have seen its potential to produce more fruit. He would have quickened it, rather than perish it.

Babes in Christ are Christians who bear some fruit, but not all twelve. Jesus sees the potential in young Christians. If Jesus sees potential in new Christians, He quickens them. He overcomes time and makes them fruitful.

Think what a good husbandman might do today. I usually use Miracle Grow® to quicken young plants that I want to make it in my garden.

Jesus uses Virtue to quicken young Christians. Virtue comes from the Greek word, ‘dynamis.’ In English that is literally ‘dynamics” and is the Power of God that overcomes the world to heal, provide longevity, and produce Christlike fruit.

The quickening of death is the humane way of putting something to death. Of course, the fig tree had no soul, but Jesus was metaphorically making a point; that a Christian that bears no fruit cannot produce other Christians, in the same manner as God produced Adam and Adam the woman.

Adam came from the Spirit of God losing Virtue to the man, then the man shared his Virtue to make a woman. Adam was the fruit of God and so was the woman because Adam was to dress and keep the Garden (Gen 2:15), and both Adam and his mate were the first human ‘plants.’

Both Adam and the woman failed to produce in the Garden because of interference from outside (The Serpent). Adam failed to produce any good fruit in the world and Eve as the mother of all living, produced evil fruit in the manner of the Wicked One.

That Adam was made a ‘living soul’ means that it was not intended for him to die, and as the ‘Last Adam’ it was the role of Jesus to dress and keep the Garden of living souls — Adam and his kind.

Jesus dressed the Garden of the Lord (Israel) by pruning that one tree in His time. Jesus did not mess around with His role as ‘Husbandman’ whereas the First Adam did. Jesus may have withered that tree to make room for a fruitful tree just as any husbandman might do, and as I have done with my own trees that would not grow.

This sounds cruel, but I gave up on one of my children. Because he was bearing no fruit, I cut him off. I did not reward him for producing nothing. However, since I am not God, I did not cut him off; I prayed for him, and I believe he is now beginning to bear some of the better fruit. I have hope because he has potential. Many parents endure the same experience, and perhaps my dad did it with all his sons, and for certain God does that with all of us unless it is evident that we are reprobate. 

Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled, and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. (Tit 1:15-16)

 That fig tree did no work; it did not do what fig trees were meant to do. Even as Jesus stood before it, that tree was lifeless. Jesus knew it had no potential. It was still a fig tree but did not identify itself as such by its fruit.

The same goes for Christians; they can follow Christ yet bear no fruit. In spiritual terminology, that fig tree was reprobate from any good work such as bearing fruit of some sort.