the red pill forum: holy week: the intentionality of Christ in the fig tree and the temple

as we look at the intentionality of Jesus in His last days, we have to look at the actions He took, and the places He visited. remember, as i said before, if something is included in Scripture, it is worth studying to figure out why it is included. for instance, there are two important actions that Jesus did on the monday of holy week: the cursing of the fig tree, and the cleansing of the temple. at first glance, these two events seem to be unrelated to each other, but when you take a moment to look at the historical significance of them, you see that they are in direct correlation with each other. they also have direct application to our lives as followers of Christ.

the first action Jesus takes is on His way into jerusalem. we learn the events from the day before with the triumphal entry had occurred late in the day, so when Jesus got to the temple, it was largely deserted, and therefore not the time to teach the lesson that needed to be taught. so He took the 12 disciples and went back to bethany and came back the next day. on the way into the city, He saw a fig tree with early leaves on it, and went to see if it had any fruit. when the tree was found to not have fruit, He cursed it and said that it would never produce fruit again, and the tree consequently withers. this seems like a petty and insignificant, and almost unfair action. after all, mark said that it was not the season for figs, so why would Jesus curse a tree for not having figs, if it wasn’t even fig season? was it because He was “hangry” because Scripture mentions He was hungry and went to the tree, and when there was no fruit, He basically threw a temper tantrum and cursed it out of spite? at a face-value reading, it would sure seem that way, and definitely not becoming of the Messiah. however, like many treasures in Scripture, in order to find it you have to dig. whenever approaching Scripture, especially the New Testament, it is important to remember that these were jews living in a jewish culture occupied by the romans. so when reading the Gospels, you have to have at least an entry-level working knowledge of judaism, a basic knowledge of history of the area, as well as knowledge of old testament prophecy, if you are to properly understand it. the disciples would have well understood the significance of the fig tree. there is a reason it is a fig tree, and not a pomegranate tree, or olive tree, or any of the other fruit-bearing trees of the region. to understand why it is a fig tree, you have to look back at the Old Testament, and the history of israel. God routinely uses the fig tree as a metaphor for israel in the Old Testament, and being an agrarian society, many such metaphors were used (ie., Jesus using vineyards in His parables). God repeatedly refers to fruitfulness as a sign of a healthy relationship with Him throughout both the Old and New Testaments. in the Old Testament, the prophets describe God as inspecting israel for “early figs”. those familiar with fig trees would tell you that whenever a fig tree starts producing leaves early, it will also produce early figs. so mark stating that it was not the season for figs, but referencing that the tree had leaves, was an indicator that the tree should have had early figs. Jesus not finding any and cursing the tree would have conveyed a meaning that was very apparent to the disciples, who had spent three years with Him learning about prophecy and the Scriptures. the meaning would have been a word picture of the Old Testament’s referencing israel as barren and a rotten fig which occurred during their exile to babylon and assyria, and a recalling of the promise that God would one day replant israel and produce “healthy figs” from her again. however, just like we are about to see in the temple, the jewish people are celebrating the passover, making a big show of the ritual, but like the fig tree, it is still just a show of leaves, with no fruit.

transition to the temple. Jesus enters the temple and once again sees the money changers, those that were taking the jews’ roman currency, which was the common currency of the region, and converting it to jewish currency so that they could purchase their sacrificial animals for the passover. the passover was one of the busiest times of the year for the city, and people would travel from miles around to celebrate and offer sacrifices on behalf of their families, which prevented most from bringing animals with them. so the temple officials, seeing a financial opportunity, would charge them to exchange their roman currency for temple currency. Jesus clearly takes great offense with this, and proceeds to overturn their tables, which would have the effect of causing chaos as people scrambled to pick up the flying coinage for themselves. Scripture then goes on to mention that He also overturned the chairs of the dove merchants. to understand this, you have to look at the requirements of the law for sacrifices. those who were able, were required to bring the best of their herd for sacrifice. the poor, however, who could not afford livestock, were to offer a turtle dove as sacrifice. again, the temple officials seizing on a money-making opportunity, sold the cheapest of animals to the travelers, with which they could make the most profit. they couldn't care less whether or not it met the requirements of the law, but rather were the equivalent of umbrella salesmen on rainy days. therefore, like the fig tree, there was a lot of show in the "worship" taking place in the temple, but there was no fruit behind it. as long as the temple elite made their money, and the people did the minimal sacrifice, all was good. Jesus came in, and knew that in order to effectively teach in the temple about proper worship, and reestablish God as the focus of that worship, as He would in the coming days, He would have to remove all of these distractions in order for people to hear His message. He also knew that by doing so, He would anger the temple officials, which would result in their plotting for His death, yet He did it anyway.

He is intentional in removing those distractions from our lives as well. many of us are like the fig tree, with a lot of show in our faith, but no fruit present. we get caught up in the mechanics of church, and relegate our spiritual lives to one day a week on sunday, neglecting Him the rest of the week. meanwhile, the church has become a consumer culture, with her members gathering for themselves preachers and leaders who will tickle their ears. the focus gets placed on the music, the comfort level, the style of seating, what the pastor wears, all materialistic things, with the church feeding into that. the church has become a business, with preachers hawking their latest books, and worship teams selling their latest CDs, complete with marketing teams and celebrity-leaders. i have a friend who was the pastor of a mega-church in texas, and he left the pastorate because he was getting invited to conferences on “how to get your book onto the new york times bestseller list” and “how to use your church budget to amplify your brand”. it made him sick to his stomach to see what the church he was pastoring was turning into, so he left to become a chaplain and get back to what he started out to do: minister to people and share the gospel.

Scripture warns us as to what will happen to those who do not bear fruit. John speaks of the pruning of those who do not bear fruit. it also warns us about the dangers of the church taking her focus off of Christ. Revelation speaks of the church at laodicea, and how Christ stands at the door of the church and knocks, because the church has become wealthy and carried on like it no longer needed Him and kicked Him out. may we take this week as an invitation to be intentional in our repentance and to reexamine our faith. is it self-centered, focusing on our preferences instead of Christ? or is it ritualistic, having an appearance of godliness, but denying its power? the people were unaware of their own shortcomings, and the temple was feeding into that ignorance. Jesus had to cleanse the temple and get it back to its original state in order to teach the people of their need for repentance. perhaps we need Jesus to come in and strip away all of the consumerism and materialism that has infected and tainted our faith, and clean house and get us back to true faith that is focused on Him.