Mark 11:13

Mar_11:13-14

And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves.

Nothing but leaves

I. There were many trees with leaves only upon them and yet none of these were cursed by the Saviour, save only this fig tree. Here are some of the characters who have leaves but no fruit.

1. Those who follow the sign and know nothing of the substance.

2. Those who have opinion but not faith, creed but not credence.

3. Those who have talk without feeling.

4. Those who have regrets without repentance.

5. Those who have resolves without action.

II. There were other trees with neither leaves nor fruit and none of these were cursed. There are many characters who are destitute of both religion and profession.

III. We have before us a special case begin with the explanation of this special case.

1. In a fig tree fruit comes before leaves.

2. Where we see the leaves we have a right to expect the fruit.

3. Our Lord hungers for fruit.

4. There are some who make unusual profession and yet disappoint the Saviour in His just expectations.

IV. Such a tree might well be withered. Deception is abhorred of God. It is deceptive to man. It committed sacrilege upon Christ. It condemned itself. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Jesus a Judge

As if to show that Jesus the Saviour is also Jesus the Judge, one gleam of justice must dart forth. Where shall mercy direct its fall? The curse, if we may call it a curse at all, did not fall on man or beast, or even the smallest insect; its bolt falls harmlessly upon a fig tree by the wayside. It bore upon itself the signs of barrenness, and perhaps was no ones property; little, therefore, was the loss which any man sustained by the withering of that verdant mockery, while instruction more precious than a thousand acres of fig trees has been left for the benefit of all ages. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Doctrine without practice

I am sick of those cries of the truth, the truth, the truth, from men of rotten lives and unholy tempers. There is an orthodox as well as a heterodox road to hell, and the devil knows how to handle Calvinists quite as well as Armenians. No pale of any Church can insure salvation, no form of doctrine can guarantee to us eternal life. Ye must be born again. Ye must bring forth fruits meet for repentance. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Leaves without fruit

When Christ came it was not the time of figs. The time for great holiness was after the coming of Christ, and the pouring out of the Spirit. All the other nations were without leaves. Greece, Rome, all these showed no signs of progress; but there was the Jewish nation covered with leaves. You know the curse that fell on Israel. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Profession without possession

Like Jezebel with her paint, which made her all the uglier, they would seem to be what they are not. As old Adam says, They are candles with big wicks but no tallow, and when they go out they make a foul and nauseous smell, and they have summer sweating on their brow, and winter freezing in their hearts. You would think them the land of Goshen, but prove them the wilderness of sin. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Nothing but leaves

Most readers of the Pilgrims Progress will remember that the Interpreter took Christiana and her family into his significant rooms, and showed them the wonders he had formerly exhibited to Christian; and then the story runs on thus: When he had done, he takes them out into his garden again and had them to a tree whose inside was all rotten and gone, and yet it grew and had leaves. Then said Mercy, What means this? This tree, said he, whose outside is fair, and whose inside is all rotten, is that to which many may be compared that are in the garden of God; who with their mouths speak high in behalf of God, but indeed will do nothing for Him; whose leaves are fair, but their heart good for nothing but to be tinder for the devils tinder box. This was John Bunyans way of putting into an allegory what he had preached in his famous sermon on the Barren Fig tree. It shows the force with which the narrative now coming under our study fastens itself in the popular imagination.

I. Let us begin with the observation that God cherishes a reasonable expectation of fruitfulness from all His creatures. Christ once told His disciples that He had chosen them and ordained them that they should go and bring forth fruit, and that their fruit should remain (Joh_15:16).

1. This story teaches that what the Almighty expects is only what is befitting and appropriate to the nature of the being He has made and endowed with a soul.

2. Then, next to this, the story suggests that what God expects is that every individual shall bring forth his own fruit. It is not vineyards that bear clusters, but vines. It is not orchards that produce figs, but trees. The all-wise One does not anticipate that one man or one woman, or that a few women and a few men, shall do the whole work in each community or in each parish. For there is nothing clearer in the Scripture than the declaration that every Christian is held accountable personally, and cannot be lost in a crowd.

3. The story also teaches that God expects a proportionate quantity of fruit from each person. And this would have to be reckoned according to circumstances. Suppose one fig tree is standing a little better in the sunshine than another; suppose one receives somewhat more of refreshing moisture than another; suppose one has deeper soil for its roots than another; the rule will be,-the higher the favour, the richer must be the fruit. The principle of the gospel is all in a single formula: Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required. Superior advantages extend the measure of our responsibility for usefulness.

4. Once more: the story teaches that the Master looks for fruit in the proper time for fruit. In the case of this tree, the time was not yet. Figs come before leaves on that kind of tree. So the appearance of leaves assumed the presence of fruit underneath them; but none was there. For some phenomenal reason this fig tree was a hypocrite. Hence, Jesus caught it for a parable with which to teach His disciples, and warn them off from mere profession without performance. God does not in any case come precipitously demanding fruit, as soon as trees are planted; He seems to respect the laws of growth and ripening. He never hurries any creature of His hand. But He gives help to the end He proposes. He certainly puts realities before shows; figs previous to leaves. And He has no patience or complacency for those who are always making ready, and preparing, and getting started, and setting about things, without any accomplishments or successes.

II. This leads to a second observation suggested by an analysis of the narrative: God is sometimes mocked by the proffer of mere professions instead of fruitfulness. He comes for figs, but He finds leaves only (Mat_21:19).

1. It is possible to put all ones religious experience into mere show. That is to say, it is possible to feign, or to imitate, or to counterfeit, all the common tokens of a genuine Christian life, and yet possess no realities underneath the pretence. Men may be traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. All this is predicted of these latter times (2Ti_3:1-7). Professors of religion may appear to love the Church of the Redeemer, and be nothing but sectarians. They may pray lengthily for a pretence, and devour widows houses meanwhile. They may repent like King Saul, and believe like Simon Magus. They may speak with the tongues of men and angels, and be no better in charity than a cymbal that tinkles. They may cry Lord, Lord, and yet not do a single thing which the Lord has commanded. And with all this amount of loathsome hypocrisy in the world, the patient God forbears.

2. The sin of fruitlessness is always aggravated by the bold imposture of hypocritical cant. The Scriptures startle a timid student sometimes with their daring demand for clear issues, no matter where they will lead. Christ Himself is represented as saying, I would thou wert cold or hot (Rev_3:15-16). Elijah cries out, If Baal be God, follow him (1Ki_18:21). It is the temporizing, compromising spirit of Naaman which destroys the historic picture of him (2Ki_5:17-18). And the higher up into conspicuous assumption of sainthood one rises, when his heart is bad, the more offensive are his character and public professions in the sight of a truth-loving God.

For sweetest things turn sourest by their deed;

Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.

III. Thus we reach our third observation: God will in the end assert Himself and visit on all false professors a fitting retribution (Mar_11:21). At last the retribution is sure to come. The settled, calm, solemn decision is pronounced, from which there is no appeal. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)

The fruitless life

The verdict against the tree is, nothing but leaves.

1. It is a remarkable description. It is the least offensive way of describing barrenness. Nothing but words, forms, profession.

2. It is an expression of disappointment. Leaves are promises. Christian profession is a promise to God and man.

3. It is a declaration of uselessness. There is

(1) nothing to do credit to anyone-to the garden, owner, soil, root;

(2) nothing to be of use to anyone.

4. It is a sentence of doom. Nothing but leaves.

1. Then our creed is vain.

2. Our religion is vain.

3. Our Bible reading is vain.

4. Our churchmanship is vain.

5. Our faith and hope are vain.

6. Our life is vain. (H. Bonar, D. D.)

The barren fig tree

The incident, is full of instruction.

I. As to our Lords being. It reminds us of the inseparable union between His humanity and His Divinity.

1. He was hungry, and came looking for something which did not exist; it bespeaks His liability to that which was common to man.

2. He cursed the tree by the fist of an irresistible will, and nature was arrested, and the fountain of life dried up. It marks the possession of a power which is shared by no mortal creature, but is the sole prerogative of Almighty God.

II. As to the Jewish nation. Jesus had often taught by word. Here He arrests attention by a parable in action. It was the sequel of the parable of the barren fig tree (St. Luk_13:6); a rehearsal, as it were, of the execution of the judgment then denounced upon the Jewish nation if they continued to bear no fruit. This tree had been refreshed by the dews of heaven; the sunshine had warmer it with genial rays; the sheltering hill, perhaps, had warded off the chilling blasts, and all the seasonable influences of Providence had ministered to its growth, but only to bring forth an ostentatious show of unproductive leaves. And, as with that hapless tree, so with the nation. All the care and culture of the Great Vine dresser had been bestowed in vain; there was nothing but a deceptive and pretentious display; they were forever giving promise of fruit, but yielding none; there was no return for unremitting attention; they cumbered the soil, their end was to be burned, they were nigh to cursing. (H. M. Luckock, D. D.)

The penalty of barren professions

Yesterday Christ wept over the fate of Israel, today He will warn them of it. And at once accordingly He utters His warning on barrenness. It takes the form of a parabolic action. Deeds speak louder than words, and, therefore, for the sake of a greater impression, Christ places before everyones eyes the penalty of barrenness, especially of barrenness concealed by hypocritical profession. He pronounces a curse on the tree, which at once, in all its greenness and glory, begins to wither away.

1. Barrenness is a very common and grievous sin. It is very common, because we think there is no particular harm in it. If we avoid committing actual wrong, we think it no great matter if we neglect the discharge of duty. Accordingly, many who would be shocked at being sinful are quite unconcerned at being useless. There may, however, be the greatest guilt in uselessness. Ye gave Me no meat, ye gave Me no drink, ye took Me not in, are words which accuse of nothing but neglect, yet are followed by the doom, Depart from Me, ye cursed. Sins of commission slay their thousands, but sins of omission their tens of thousands.

2. The sin of barrenness is often accompanied and greatly aggravated by great professions. Performance and profession are apt to be in the inverse ratio of each other, for performance comes from a high standard, and a high standard never permits complacency or boasting; while a low standard permits poor performance, and sanctions complacency along with it. In human trees the combination is very frequent of pretentious foliage and poor fruitage.

3. All barrenness leads to destruction. Nothing is permitted to exist except on condition that it employs its powers. Unused faculties decay; and unemployed opportunities are withdrawn.

4. The penalty of wilful barrenness is judicial barrenness. The punishment of uselessness which is voluntary, is such withdrawal of grace as makes it fixed and absolute. Wrong is wrongs penalty. Going further astray is the penal result of going astray. (R. Glover.)

The fruitless fig tree

I. Its symbolic significance.

1. Reasons for regarding it in a symbolic sense.

(1) Neither its fruitlessness nor its leafiness was a thing of its own volition, therefore the tree was not blameworthy.

(2) But as a symbol it was full of instruction.

(a) As a correct representation of the heirarchical party in Jerusalem, adorned with the leaves of a pretentious piety, but utterly barren of the real fruit of a holy life, or reverence for Gods Son.

(b) As a correct representation of all pretension to piety.

II. Reasons for regarding its doom symbolic.

1. There was neither conscience nor heart in the tree to be hurt by its withering.

2. Fall of significance, however, as the type of the doom that awaits all those whom its fruitlessness represented.

III. Reasons for regarding its symbolic doom just.

1. As a fig tree in good situation and covered with leaves, fruit was reasonably expected.

(1) So with the Jewish people, as taught in the parable of the wicked husbandmen.

(2) The fruitlessness of those whom the tree represented was blameworthy, and their guilt enhanced by their pretension. (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)

He found nothing but leaves: a fruitless life

Christs miracles were unspoken sermons. Here He sees a fig tree growing by the wayside, and full of leaves; He draws near looking for fruit, but finds none-only leaves. It was not indeed the time for figs, but neither was it the time for leaves. The tree was making a false pretence. Jesus cursed the fruitless tree, and it withered away. It was a symbolic act.

I. A lesson for the Jews. They were full of the leaves of profession: proud of their religious ordinances, frequent fasts, long prayers, sacrifices; but they bore no fruit of holiness, meekness, gentleness, love. Nothing but leaves.

II. A lesson for all, warning us of the doom of a fruitless life. Our blessings-what have we done to deserve them? We all remember what we have done for ourselves, how we have made our way in the world; but what have we done for God? Our religious professions-are they sincere, or are they kept for Sunday use only? Our talents-how are we employing them? Our time, intellect, bodily strength, wealth, influence? (H. J. Wilmot Buxton, M. A.)

The time of figs was not yet

Trees have their seasons at certain times of the year, when they bring forth fruit; but a Christian is for all seasons-like the tree of life, which bringeth forth fruit every mouth Christ looked for fruit on the fig tree when the time of fruit was not yet. Why? Did He not know the season for fruit? or, did He it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, He did it, to teach us that Christians must always be fruitful; the whole time of our life is the season for fruitfulness. (Bp. Brownrig.)

Warnings of Scripture

Cowper, speaking of his distressing convictions, says, One moment I thought myself shut out from mercy by one chapter, and the next by another.. The sword of the Spirit seemed to guard the tree of life from my touch, and to flame against me in every avenue by which I attempted to approach it. I particularly remember that the parable of the barren fig tree was to me an inconceivable source of anguish; and I applied it to myself, with a strong persuasion in my mind, that when our Saviour pronounced a curse upon it, He had me in His eye, and pointed that curse directly at me.

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mark

NOTHING BUT LEAVES

Mar 11:13 - Mar 11:14.

The date of this miracle has an important bearing on its meaning and purpose. It occurred on the Monday morning of the last week of Christ’s ministry. That week saw His last coming to Israel, ‘if haply He might find any thing thereon.’ And if you remember the foot-to-foot duel with the rulers and representatives of the nation, and the words, weighty with coming doom, which He spoke in the Temple on the subsequent days, you will not doubt that the explanation of this strange and anomalous miracle is that it is an acted parable, a symbol of Israel in its fruitlessness and in its consequent barrenness to all coming time.

This is the only point of view, as it seems to me, from which the peculiarities of the miracle can either be warranted or explained. It is our Lord’s only destructive act. The fig-tree grew by the wayside; probably, therefore, it belonged to nobody, and there was no right of property affected by its loss. He saw it from afar, ‘having leaves,’ and that was why, three months before the time, He went to look if there were figs on it. For experts tell us that in the fig-tree the leaves accompany, and do not precede, the fruit. And so this one tree, brave in its show of foliage amidst leafless companions, was a hypocrite unless there were figs below the leaves. Therefore Jesus came, if haply He might find anything thereon, and finding nothing, perpetuated the condition which He found, and made the sin its own punishment.

Now all that is plain symbol, and so I ask you to look with me, for a few moments, at these three things-{1} What Christ sought and seeks; {2} What He found and often finds; {3} What He did when He found it.

I. What Christ sought and seeks.

He came ‘seeking fruit.’ Now I may just notice, in passing, how pathetically and beautifully this incident suggests to us the true, dependent, weak manhood of that great Lord. In all probability He had just come from the home of Mary and Martha, and it is strange that having left their hospitable abode He should be ‘an hungered.’ But so it was. And even with all the weight of the coming crisis pressing upon His soul, He was conscious of physical necessities, as one of us might have been, and perhaps felt the more need for sustenance because so terrible a conflict was waiting Him. Nor, I think, need we shrink from recognising another of the characteristics of humanity here, in the limitations of His knowledge and in the real expectation, which was disappointed, that He might find fruit where there were leaves. I do not want to plunge into depths far too deep for any man to find sure footing in, nor seek to define the undefinable, nor to explain how the divine inosculates with the human, but sure I am that Jesus Christ was not getting up a scene in order to make a parable out of His miracle; and that the hunger and the expectancy and the disappointment were all real, however they afterwards may have been turned by Him to a symbolical purpose. And so here we may see the weak Christ, the limited Christ, the true human Christ. But side by side, as is ever the case, with this manifestation of weakness, there comes an apocalypse of power. Wherever you have, in the history of our Lord, some signal exemplification of human infirmity, you have flashed out through ‘the veil, that is, His flesh,’ some beam of His glory. Thus this hungry Man could say, ‘No fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever’; and His bare word, the mere forth-putting and manifestation of His will, had power on material things. That is the sign and impress of divinity.

But I pass from that, which is not my special point now. What did Christ seek? ‘Fruit.’ And what is fruit in contradistinction to leaves? Character and conduct like His. That is our fruit. All else is leafage. As the Apostle says, ‘Love, joy, hope, peace, righteousness in the Holy Ghost’; or, to put it into one word, Christ-likeness in our inmost heart and nature, and Christ-likeness, so far as it may be possible for us, in our daily life, that is the one thing that our Lord seeks from us.

O brethren! we do not realise enough for ourselves, day by day, that it was for this end that Jesus Christ came. The cradle in Bethlehem, the weary life, the gracious words, the mighty deeds, the Cross on Calvary, the open grave, Olivet with His last footprints; His place on the throne, Pentecost, they were all meant for this, to make you and me good men, righteous people, bearing the fruits of holy living and conduct corresponding to His own pattern. Emotions of the selectest kind, religious experience of the profoundest and truest nature, these are blessed and good. They are the blossom which sets into fruit. And they come for this end, that by the help of them we may be made like Jesus Christ. He has yet to learn what is the purpose and the meaning of the Gospel who fixes upon anything else as its ultimate design than the production in us, as the results of the life of Christ dwelling in our hearts, of character and conduct like to His.

I suppose I ought to apologise for talking such commonplace platitudes as these, but, brethren, the most commonplace truths are usually the most important and the most impotent. And no ‘platitude’ is a platitude until you have brought it so completely into your lives that there is no room for a fuller working of it out. So I come to you, Christian men and women, real and nominal, now with this for my message, that Jesus Christ seeks from you this first and foremost, that you shall be good men and women ‘according to the pattern that has been showed us in the Mount,’ according to the likeness of His own stainless perfection.

And do not forget that Jesus Christ hungers for that goodness. That is a strange, and infinitely touching, and absolutely true thing. He is only ‘satisfied,’ and the hunger of His heart appeased, when ‘He sees of the travail of His soul’ in the righteousness of His servants. I passed a day or two ago, in a country place, a great field on which there was stuck up a board that said, ‘--’s trial ground for seeds.’ This world is Christ’s trial ground for seeds, where He is testing you and me to see whether it is worth while cultivating us any more, and whether we can bring forth any ‘fruit to perfection’ fit for the lips and the refreshment of the Owner and Lord of the vineyard Christ longs for fruit from us. And-strange and wonderful, and yet true-the ‘bread’ that He eats is the service of His servants. That, amongst other things, is what is meant by the ancient institution of sacrifice, ‘the food of the gods.’ Christ’s food is the holiness and obedience of His children. He comes to us, as He came to that fig-tree, seeking from us this fruit which He delights in receiving. Brethren, we cannot think too much of Christ’s unspeakable gift in itself and in its consequences; but we may easily think too little, and I am sure that a great many of us do think too little, of Christ’s demands. He is not an austere man, ‘reaping where He did not sow’; but having sowed so much, He does look for the harvest. He comes to us with the heart-moving appeal, ‘I have given all to thee; what givest thou to Me?’ ‘My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill; and he fenced it and planted it, and built a tower and a wine-press in it’-and what then?-’and he looked that it should bring forth grapes.’ Christ comes to each of you professing Christians, and asks, ‘What fruit hast thou borne after all My sedulous husbandry?’

II. Now note, in the next place, what Christ found.

‘Nothing but leaves.’ I have already said that we are told that the habit of growth of these trees is that the fruit accompanies, and sometimes precedes, the leaves. Whether it is so or no, let me remind you that leaves are an outcome of the life as well as fruit, and that they benefit the tree, and assist in the production of the fruit which it ought to bear. And so the symbol suggests things that are good in themselves, ancillary and subsidiary to the production of fruit, but which sometimes tend to such disproportionate exuberance of growth as that all the life of the tree runs to leaf, and there is riot a berry to be found on it.

And if you want to know what such things are, remember the condition of the rulers of Israel at that time. They prided themselves upon their nominal, external, hereditary connection with a system of revelation, they trusted in mere ritualisms, they had ossified religion into theology, and degraded morality into casuistry. They thought that because they had been born Jews, and circumcised, and because there was a daily sacrifice going on in the Temple, and because they had Rabbis who could split hairs ad infinitum, therefore they were the ‘temple of the Lord,’ and God’s chosen.

And that is exactly what hosts of pagans, masquerading as Christians, are doing in all our so-called Christian lands, and in all our so-called Christian congregations. In any community of so-called Christian people there is a little nucleus of real, earnest, God-fearing folk, and a great fringe of people whose Christianity is mostly from the teeth outward, who have a nominal and external connection with religion, who have been ‘baptized’ and are ‘communicants,’ who think that religion lies mainly in coming on a Sunday, and with more or less toleration and interest listening to a preacher’s words and joining in external worship, and all the while the ‘weightier matters of the law’-righteousness, justice, and the love of God-they leave untouched. What describes such a type of religion with more piercing accuracy than ‘nothing but leaves’? External connection with God’s Church is a good thing. It is meant to make us better men and women. If it does not, it is a bad thing. Acts of worship, more or less elaborate-for it is not the elaboration of ceremonial, but the mistaken view of it, that does the harm-acts of worship may be helpful, or may be absolute barriers to real religious life. They are becoming so largely to-day. The drift and trend of opinion in some parts of so-called Christendom is in the direction of outward ceremonial. And I, for one, believe that there are few things doing more harm to the Christian character of England to-day than the preposterous recurrence to a reliance on the mere externals of worship. Of course we Dissenters pride ourselves on having no complicity with the sacramentarian errors which underlie these. But there may be quite as much of a barrier between the soul and Christ, reared by the bare worship of Nonconformists, or by the no-worship of the Society of Friends. If the absence of form be converted into a form, as it often is, there may be as lofty and wide a barrier raised by these as by the most elaborate ritual of the highest ceremonial that exists in Christendom. And so I say to you, dear brethren, seeing that we are all in danger of cleaving to externals and substituting these which are intended to be helps to the production of godly life and character, it becomes us all to listen to the solemn word of exhortation that comes out of my text, and to beware lest our religion runs to leaf instead of setting into fruit.

It does so with many of us; that is a certainty. I am thinking about no individual, about no individuals, but I am only speaking common sense when I say that amongst as many people as I am now addressing there will be an appreciable proportion who have no notion of religion as anything beyond a more or less imperative and more or less unwelcome set of external observances.

III. And so, lastly, let me ask you to notice what Christ did.

I do not need to trouble myself nor you with vindicating the morality of this miracle against the fantastic objections that often have been made against it; nor need I say a word more than I have already said about its symbolical meaning. Israel was in that week being asked for the last time to ‘bring forth fruit’ to the Lord of the vineyard. The refusal bound barrenness on the synagogue and on the nation, if not absolutely for ever, at all events until ‘it shall turn to the Lord,’ and partake again of ‘the root and fatness’ from which it has been broken off. What thirsty lips since that week have ever got any good out of Rabbinism and Judaism? No ‘figs’ have grown on that ‘thistle.’ The world has passed it by, and left all its subtle casuistries and painfully microscopic studies of the letter of Scripture-with utter oblivion of its spirit-left them all severely and wisely alone. Judaism is a dead tree.

And is there nothing else in this incident? ‘No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever’; the punishment of that fruitlessness was confirmed and eternal barrenness. There is the lesson that the punishment of any Bin is to bind the sin upon the doer of it.

But, further, the church or the individual whose religion runs to leaf is useless to the world. What does the world care about the ceremonials and the externals of worship, and a painful orthodoxy, and the study of the letter of Scripture? Nothing. A useless church or a Christian, from whom no man gets any fruit to cool a thirsty, parched lip, is only fit for what comes after the barrenness, and that is, that every tree that bringeth ‘not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.’ The churches of England, and we, as integral parts of these, have solemn duties lying upon us to-day; and if we cannot help our brethren, and feed and nourish the hungry and thirsty hearts and souls of mankind, then-then! the sooner we are plucked up and pitched over the vineyard wall, which is the fate of the barren vine, the better for the world and the better for the vineyard.

The fate of Judaism teaches, to all of us professing Christians, very solemn lessons. ‘If God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He also spare not thee.’ What has become of the seven churches of Asia Minor? They hardened into chattering theological ‘orthodoxy,’ and all the blood of them went to the surface, so to speak. And so down came the Mohammedan power-which was strong then because it did believe in a God, and not in its own belief about a God-and wiped them off the face of the earth. And so, brethren, we have, in this miracle, a warning and a prophecy which it becomes all the Christian communities of this day, and the individual members of such, to lay very earnestly to heart.

But do not let us forget that the Evangelist who does not tell us the story of the blasted fig-tree does tell us its analogue, the parable of the barren fig-tree, and that in it we read that when the fiat of destruction had gone forth, there was one who said, ‘Let it alone this year also that I may dig about it, . . . and if it bear fruit, well! If not, after that thou shalt cut it down.’ So the barren tree may become a fruitful tree, though it has hitherto borne nothing but leaves. Your religion may have been all on the surface and in form, but you can come into touch with Him in whom is our life and from whom comes our fruitfulness. He has said to each of us, ‘As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.’

Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11:13-14 it was too early in the season for fruit: Jesus did not curse the fig tree merely because it lacked fruit. Rather, he was performing a prophetic sign act like those of earlier prophets (Isa 20; Jer 13:1-11; 19:1-13; Ezek 4). Just as Jesus judged the fruitless fig tree, so too he judged the Temple and the worship of Israel, in which he found no fruit. This judgment was fulfilled in AD 70 with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mar 11:13. Ἔχουσαν φύλλα, having leaves) And on this account promising fruit.—εἰ ἄρα, whether accordingly [if haply] The whole question as to the kinds of fig-trees may be set aside [dispensed with]. The leaves, which were on it, gave promise ostensibly of an abundance of fruit: accordingly the Lord approached to see, whether He would find anything more than leaves; but He found nothing but leaves, and not also figs: for it was not the time of figs. A nearer view of the tree showed that the tree was not such, as the leaves peculiarly [extraordinarily] promised it would be; but just such as was to be expected from the ordinary season, which was not the time of figs (comp. Mat 24:32); that time either refers to the part of the year, a very few days after the vernal equinox, ch. Mar 13:28, or, independently of the time of year, it is denoted that trees of that kind were not then fruit-bearing. Therefore every fig-tree ought either to have not even leaves; or else, having leaves, to have had fruit also. Other fig-trees, which were clad neither with leaves nor fruits, were exempted from blame: this fig-tree, laden as it was with leaves, though promising, yet in fact refused the fruit which it promised. Therefore it was made to suffer the penalty.—γὰρ, for) This particle intimates the reason for which, both on a tree, though laden with leaves, yet the Lord sought fruit in particular, namely, because it was not the time of fruits: and why He found on it nothing save leaves. [It had seemed likely that at least unripe fruits would be found on it: what use these would have been made to serve by our Lord, it is needless to inquire. He may have been impelled, by the promptings of hunger, to seek for fruits, even though not wishing to eat such food. Nay, even unripe eatables relieve at times, when hunger is pressing. And He who had turned the water into wine, and a very few loaves into a banquet, sufficient for thousands of men,—with what ease may we suppose that HE would have been likely to impart instantaneous ripeness to the fruit.—Harm., p. 453]. This clause [for the time of figs was not yet] applies [is intended] for the explanation of the whole period, as the γὰρ, for, ch. Mar 16:4, where see note.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 11:13 . εἰ ἄρα , if in the circumstances; leaves there, creating expectation. εὑρήσει : future indicative; subjunctive, more regular. ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς , etc., for it was not the season of figs. This in Mk. only. The proper season was June for the first-ripe figs. One may wonder, then, how Jesus could have any expectations. But had He? Victor Ant. and Euthy. viewed the hunger as feigned. It is more reasonable to suppose that the hope of finding figs on the tree was, if not feigned, at least extremely faint. He might have a shrewd guess how the fact was, and yet go up to the tree as one who had a right to expect figs where there was a rich foliage, with intent to utilise it for a parable, if He could not find fruit on it. In those last days the prophetic mood was on Jesus in a high degree, and His action would be only very partially understood by the Twelve.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

An example of that vengeance which hangeth over the heads of hypocrites.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 13. For the time of figs was not yet.] Rather, For it was not the season of gathering figs yet. This I am fully persuaded is the true sense of this passage, ου γαρ ην καιρος συκων. For a proof that καιρος here signifies the time of gathering the figs, see the LXX. in Ps 1:3. He bringeth forth his fruit, εν καιρω αυτου, in his season; i.e. in the time in which fruit should be ripe, and fit for gathering. See also Mr 12:2: -And at the season, τῳ καιρῳ, the time of gathering the fruits of the vineyard. Mt 21:34: - When the time of the fruit drew near; ὁ καιρος των καρπων, the time in which the fruits were to be gathered, for it was then that the Lord of the vineyard sent his servants to receive the fruits; i.e. so much of them as the holder of the vineyard was to pay to the owner by way of rent; for in those times rent was paid in kind.

To the above may be added, Job 5:26: - Thou shalt come to thy grave in FULL AGE, like as a shock of corn cometh in his season; κατακαιρον, in the time in which it should be reaped.

When our Lord saw this fig tree by the way-side, apparently flourishing, he went to it to gather some of the figs: being on the way-side, it was not private, but public property; and any traveller had an equal right to its fruit. As it was not as yet the time for gathering in the fruits, and yet about the time when they were ready to be gathered, our Lord with propriety expected to find some. But as this happened about five days before that passover on which Christ suffered, and the passover that year fell on the beginning of April, it has been asked, "How could our Lord expect to find ripe figs in the end of March?" Answer, Because figs were ripe in Judea as early as the passover. Besides, the fig tree puts forth its fruit first, and afterwards its leaves. Indeed, this tree, in the climate which is proper for it, has fruit on it all the year round, as I have often seen. All the difficulty in the text may be easily removed by considering that the climate of Judea is widely different from that of Great Britain. The summer begins there in March, and the harvest at the passover, as all travellers into those countries testify; therefore, as our Lord met with this tree five days before the passover, it is evident, - 1st. That it was the time of ripe figs: and, 2ndly. That it was not the time of gathering them, because this did not begin till the passover, and the transaction here mentioned took place five days before.

For farther satisfaction on this point, let us suppose: -

I. That this tree was intended to point out the state of the Jewish people.

1. They made a profession of the true religion.

2. They considered themselves the peculiar people of God, and despised and reprobated all others.

3. They were only hypocrites, having nothing of religion but the profession - leaves, and no fruit.

II. That our Lord's conduct towards this tree is to be considered as emblematical of the treatment and final perdition which was to come upon this hypocritical and ungodly nation.

1. It was a proper time for them to have borne fruit: Jesus had been preaching the doctrine of repentance and salvation among them for more than three years; the choicest influences of Heaven had descended upon them; and every thing was done in this vineyard that ought to be done, in order to make it fruitful.

2. The time was now at hand in which God would require fruit, good fruit; and, if it did not produce such, the tree should be hewn down by the Roman axe.

Therefore,

1. The tree is properly the Jewish nation.

2. Christ's curse the sentence of destruction which had now gone out against it; and,

3. Its withering away, the final and total ruin of the Jewish state by the Romans.

His cursing the fig tree was not occasioned by any resentment at being disappointed at not finding fruit on it, but to point out unto his disciples the wrath which was coming upon a people who had now nearly filled up the measure of their iniquity.

A fruitless soul, that has had much cultivation bestowed on it, may expect to be dealt with as God did with this unrighteous nation. See on Mt 21:19, &c.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(13) For the time of figs was not yet.—It has been sometimes urged that this gives the reason for our Lord’s coming to seek “if haply he might find” fruit. The fig season had not come, and therefore the fruit, if any had been borne, would not have been gathered. There is nothing, however, against taking the words in their more natural sequence. The precocious foliage had suggested the thought that some of the early ripe figs might be already formed; but it was no exception, as far as fruit was concerned, to others of its kind. For it, as for them, the season, even of the earliest fruit, had not come. The seeing the fig-tree “afar off,” is a touch peculiar to St. Mark, and adds force to the narrative, as implying a keener pressure of hunger than St. Matthew’s description.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. seeing a fig tree] The very name Bethany means “the place for dates,” while Bethphage is “the place for the green or winter fig,” a variety which remains on the trees through the winter, having ripened only after the leaves had fallen.

having leaves] It stood alone, a single fig-tree, by the wayside (Mat_21:19), and presented an unusual show of leaves for the season.

if haply] Rather, if therefore, if, as was reasonable to expect under such circumstances, fruit was to be found.

for the time of figs was not yet] that is, the ordinary fig-season had not yet arrived. The rich verdure of this tree seemed to shew that it was fruitful, and there was “every probability of finding upon it either the late violet-coloured autumn figs, which often hung upon the trees all through the winter, and even until the new spring leaves had come, or the first-ripe figs (Isa_28:4; Jer_24:2; Hos_9:10; Nah_3:12), of which Orientals are particularly fond.” Farrar, Life, II. 213. But this tree had nothing but leaves. It was the very type of a fair profession without performance; a very parable of the nation, which, with all its professions, brought forth no “fruit to perfection.” Comp. Luk_19:42.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And seeing a fig tree afar off,.... By the wayside, at some distance from him:

having leaves; very large and spreading, which made a great show, as if there might be fruit on it:

he came; unto it; either he went out of his way to it, or having seen it before him a good way off, at length came up to it

if haply he might find any thing thereon; that is, any fruit; for he saw at a distance, there were leaves upon it; and which was the more remarkable, since it was the time of the fig tree just putting forth its tender branches, leaves, and fruit:

and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; no fruit at all upon it, contrary to his expectation as man, and the promising appearance the tree made:

for the time of figs was not yet; or, "for it was not the time of figs"; for the word "yet", is not in the text: and the words seem rather to be a reason, why Christ should not have expected fruit on it, than that he should: but the sense is, either because the time of gathering figs was not come; and since therefore they were not gathered, he might the rather hope to find some on it; or because it was not a kind season for figs, a good fig year; and this tree appearing in such a flourishing condition, might raise his expectation of finding fruit, yet he found none but leaves only; because it was so bad a season for figs, that even the most promising trees had none upon them: or this, tree being of an uncommon sort, though Christ expected to find no fruit on other trees, because the time of common: figs was not come, yet he might hope to, find some on this. Some critics neglecting the accents, render the words, "where he was, it was the season of figs"; See Gill on Mat 21:19.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.

Ver. 13, The time of figs was not yet] viz. Of ripe figs; but if he could have found but green figs only, he would at that time have been glad of them. He looked for somewhat from that great show of leaves. But the old proverb became true, Great bruit, (noise) little fruit.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He came, if perhaps, &c. Christ knew there was no fruit upon it, and that it was not the season, or a season for figs. See Matthew xxi. 19, what instruction he designed to give his disciples by what he said and did to the fig-tree. (Witham) --- Jesus Christ here curses the barren tree, on account of his disciples, who were present; for as he every where gave instances of his most beneficent will, it was proper he should also give them proofs of his justice and severity. Hence his principal motive for cursing the fig-tree was, not on account of any hunger he then experienced; for it is not probable that Christ should experience so great hunger, and at so early an hour, as these words seem to indicate. (Ven. Bede)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find anything thereon. St. Matthew (Mat_21:19) says he saw "one fig tree" (mi), and therefore more conspicuous. Fig trees were no doubt plentiful in the neighborhood of Bethphage, "the house of figs." Dean Stanley ("Sinai and Palestine," p. 418) says that "Mount Olivet is still sprinkled with fig trees." This fig tree had leaves, but no fruit; for it was not the season of figs (o gakwn). Other trees would all be bare at this early season, but the fig trees would be putting forth their broad green leaves. It is possible that this tree, standing by itself as it would seem, was more forward than the other fig trees around. It was seen "from afar," and therefore it must have had the full benefit of the sun. Our Lord says, (Luk_21:29) "Behold the fig tree, and all the trees: when they now shoot forth, ye see it, and know of your own selves that the summer is now nigh." He puts the fig tree first, as being of its own nature the most forward to put forth its buds. But then it is peculiar to the fig tree that its fruit begins to appear before its leaves. It was, therefore, a natural supposition that on this tree, with its leaves fully developed, there might be found at least some ripened fruit. Our Lord, therefore, approaches the tree in his hunger, with the expectation of finding fruit. But as he draws near to it, and realizes the fact that the tree, though full of leaf, is absolutely fruitless, he forgets his natural hunger in the thought of the spiritual figure which this tree began to present to his mind. The accident of his hunger as a man, brought him into contact with a great parable of spiritual things, presented to him as God; and as he approached this fig tree full of leaf, but destitute of fruit, there stood before him the striking but awful image of the Jewish nation, having indeed the leaves of a great profession, but yielding no fruit. The leaves of this fig tree deceived the passer-by, who, from seeing them, would naturally expect the fruit. And so the fig tree was cursed, not for being barren, but for being false. When our Lord, being hungry, sought figs on the fig tree, he signified that he hungered after something which he did not find. The Jews were this unprofitable fig tree, full of the leaves of profession, but fruitless. Our Lord never did anything without reason; and, therefore, when he seemed to do anything without reason, he was setting forth in a figure some great reality. Nothing but his Divine yearning after the Jewish people, his spiritual hunger for their salvation, can explain this typical action with regard to the fig tree, and indeed he whole mystery of his life and death.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For it was not a season of figs - It was net (as we say) a good year for figs; at least not for that early sort, which alone was ripe so soon in the spring. If we render the words, It was not the season of figs, that is, the time of gathering them in, it may mean, The season was not yet: and so (inclosing the words in a parenthesis, And coming to it, he found nothing but leaves) it may refer to the former part of the sentence, and may be considered as the reason of Christ's going to see whether there were any figs on this tree. Some who also read that clause in a parenthesis, translate the following words, for where he was, it was the season of figs. And it is certain, this meaning of the words suits best with the great design of the parable, which was to reprove the Jewish Church for its unfruitfulness at that very season, when fruit might best be expected from them.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

leaves

Fig trees which have retained their leaves through the winter usually have figs also. It was still too early for new leaves or fruit.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Connecting Statement:

This happens while Jesus and his disciples are walking to Jerusalem.

if he could find any fruit on it

"if there was any fruit on it"

he found nothing but leaves

This means that he did not find any figs. AT: "he found only leaves and no figs on the tree" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Litotes)

the season

"the time of year"

He spoke to it, "No one will ever eat fruit from you again

Jesus speaks to the fig tree and curses it. He speaks to it so that his disciples hear him. (See: Apostrophe)

He spoke to it

"He spoke to the tree"

his disciples heard it

The word "it" refers to Jesus speaking to the fig tree.

translationWords

fig

fruit

disciple

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

13. ἰδὼν συκῆν ἀπὸ μακρόθεν. It was a single tree by the roadside (Mt.), and its having leaves before the season would make it conspicuous. See on Mar 5:6 for the pleonastic ἀπό.

εἰ ἄρα τι εὑρήσει. Si quid forte inveniret (Vulg.). Mt. characteristically omits an expression which implies ignorance in Christ, and he merely states that Christ found only leaves. In the fig-tree the fruit precedes the leaves, and therefore abundance of foliage was a profession that fruit was there, although it was not the time for either. The ἄρα means “in these circumstances”; as there were leaves, there was good prospect of fruit. Ἄρα is rare in Mk (Mar 4:41), but is fairly freq. in Mt., Lk., and Acts; nowhere in Jn. Cf. Act 8:22. Οὖν is also rare.

ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς οὐκ ἦν σύκων. So in [2622][2623][2624][2625][2626][2627]. For the season was not that of figs. It is not easy to see how this is an intimation from the Evangelist that the whole of Christ’s action was symbolical; that He was not desiring figs and did not expect to find any on the tree.

[2622] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[2623] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[2624] Codex Ephraemi. 5th cent. A palimpsest: the original writing has been partially rubbed out, and the works of Ephraem the Syrian have been written over it; but a great deal of the original writing has been recovered; of Mark we have Mar 1:17 to Mar 6:31, Mar 8:5 to Mar 12:29, Mar 13:19 to Mar 16:20. In the National Library at Paris.

[2625] An asterisk denotes that the word is not found elsewhere in N.T., and such words are included in the index, even if there is no note on them in the commentary.

[2626] Codex Regius. 8th cent. An important witness. At Paris. Contains Mar 1:1 to Mar 10:15; Mar 10:30 to Mar 15:1; Mar 15:20 to Mar 16:20, but the shorter ending is inserted between Mar 16:8 and Mar 16:9, showing that the scribe preferred it to the longer one.

[2627] Codex Sangallensis. 9th or 10th cent. Contains the Gospels nearly complete, with an interlinear Latin translation. The text of Mark is specially good, agreeing often with CL. At St Gall.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13.] εἰ ἄρα, si forte, si rebus ita comparatis: see Klotz ad Devar. ii. p. 178.

ὁ γἀρ κ. οὐκ ἦν ς.] The ellipsis may be supplied,—for the season was not (one) of figs,—or, for the season was not (that) of figs, i.e. not yet the season for figs. The latter suits the context best. The tree was precocious, in being clothed with leaves: and if it had had on it winter figs, which remain on from the autumn, and ripen early the next season, they would have been ripe at this time. But there were none—it was a barren tree. On the import of this miracle, see notes on Matt.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. καὶ ἰδὼν συκῆν ἀπὸ μακρόθεν3—and having seen a fig tree at a distance.

Insert ἀπὸ before μακρόθεν Tisch. Treg. WH. RV., and most authorities.

ἔχουσαν φύλλα—having leaves. This presence of leaves constituted the false appearance of the tree, as on the fig tree these are the sign of fruit. εἰ ἄρα τι εὑρήσει—(to see) whether then he will find anything on it.4 ἄρα is illative, and means here, “since he saw leaves, whether the fruit that accompanies leaves was there.”5 ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς οὐκ ἦν σύκων—for the season was not that of figs. This gives the reason why there were no figs, in spite of the presence of leaves. It was about April, whereas the season of figs was not until June for the very early kind, or August for the ordinary crop.

ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς οὐκ ἦν σύκων, instead of οὐ γὰρ ἦν καιρὸς σύκων, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBC* L Δ Memph. Pesh.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Afar off. Peculiar to Mark.

Having leaves. An unusual thing at that early season. If haply [ει αρα] . If, such being the case, i e., the tree having leaves - he might find fruit, which, in the fig, precedes the leaf. Mark alone adds, "for the time of figs was not yet."

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.