And what did the fig tree do that was so wrong?

"In the morning, when he returned to the city, he was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the side of the road, he went to it and found nothing at all on it but leaves. Then he said to it, 'May no fruit ever come from you again!' And the fig tree withered at once. When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, 'How did the fig tree wither at once?' Jesus answered them, 'Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ' Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.' "

- Matthew 21: 18 - 22 -

"On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see whether perhaps he would find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, 'May no one ever eat fruit from you again.' And his disciples heard it."

- Mark 11: 12 - 14 -

"In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. Then Peter remembered and said to him, 'Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.' Jesus answered them, 'Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.' "

- Mark 11: 20 - 24 -

I call this experience of Jesus and his disciples the 'Great Stumper'. In all my years of Christian scriptural study, commentary, and discernment, I have come across some of the most bizarre explanations for these cites found in Matthew and Mark. Fact is, I've not heard one that satisfactorily explains why the fig tree was punished so harshly. Also shown, was Jesus' temper. The two cites from Mark are interspersed with the recounting of Jesus going into the Temple and upsetting the merchants changing money and selling sacrificial doves. One might say that the fig tree's failure to produce fruit worked up Jesus so that he was in perfect form to enter the Temple
and let his wrath fly.

One small problem we have here is the positioning of the Moneychangers episode in the two Gospels: Mark works it in between the fig tree's 'before' and 'after' situation. Matthew has the fig tree withering right in front of the disciples' eyes as they stood there. Either way, Jesus was ripe for a confrontation in the Temple.

I am sure that my words will raise the ire of some who view Jesus as the epitome of kindness, compassion and sweetness. Well, it is true he demonstrated those attributes, but he also manifested anger - perhaps on a level that would shock most Christians today. After all, how many religious leaders have you witnessed standing face-to-face with an adversary, calling them hypocrites; snakes, brood of vipers; calling the Pharisees an '...evil and adulterous generation...?' Matthew 12:39.

Even with his own chosen, Jesus' tongue could be sharp. In Mark 9: 19, when his disciples could not cure the epileptic boy and the boy's father said to Jesus, " '... and I asked your disciples to cast it out (an evil spirit), but they could not do so.' He answered them, 'You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me.' " Later, the boy's father went on to say, " '...if you are able to do anything...' " To which Jesus said to the father, " 'If you are able! - All things can be done
for the one who believes.' "

I draw the reader's attention to the words, 'If you are able!' because I have long ago picked up on the fiery nature of Jesus. As clear as day I can see him, first, sternly looking directly at them, his disciples who failed at their task, and then reacting to the insult of 'if you are able' by repeating it in rebuttal: 'If you are able!' The New Testament Greek language has no exclamation punctuation mark, thus, the modern day interpreters of the Gospel of Mark have deduced that Jesus was piqued at the father's lack of faith in him. But, there's more taking place here than meets the eye. What Jesus is saying to both the boy's father, AND his disciples, is that if one truly believes in God, that person has been given the power by God himself to command in Jesus' name that a task be done. The disciples, because they really hadn't yet recognized that power within themselves as coming from Jesus, and had insufficient faith in the power, fell short of the mark in healing the epileptic boy. Angrily, Jesus scolds both the doubting father - who asked for healing help from the disciples - and the disciples themselves for not having enough faith in the healing power given them by their Master.

Jesus is saying to all those within earshot, if you truly believe in what I have given you, it will be you who does the casting out of demons, and not God the Father. You have the power! Recognize it and use it!

And... one more cite to establish the premise of Jesus' volatility, and why he reacted to the non-fruit producing fig tree in the way he did, is to be found in Mark 3: 20 - 21:
"Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, 'He is out of his mind.' "
The Greek rendition of 'He is out of his mind.' is: exesth (exestae) which means: He is beside himself.

All right, now let's get back to the fig tree.

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