Question:
I have a question I would like to have answered: Why did Jesus curse the fig tree when it wasn’t the season for the tree to bear fruit? (Mark 11:13-14).
Answer:
Jesus, living in an area where fig trees were common, was aware of the nature of fig trees. Figs set fruit before coming into leaf, so one might expect to find a few early-set fruits. The verse reads: “Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again'” (Mark 11:13-14 NIV). God demands fruit from His people in every age.
Some Bible scholars accept the incident as a parable, using the fig tree as an illustration of the barrenness of the Jewish people. They followed Him and heard Him preach, but bore no fruit of righteousness. The lesson is for us as well: If we expect to bear fruit to present to the Master for the harvest at the end of the age, we have to be setting that fruit now so that it may have time to grow and mature before the harvest. If we let our lives slip away without growing fruits of holiness, we will not have a harvest at reaping time. If we have “nothing but leaves” to present at the Judgment, we cannot expect a reward. “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matt. 7:19 NIV), said Jesus.