Matthew 21 and verse 17 through
20. And he, that is Jesus, left them
and went out of the city unto Bethany, and he lodged there. Now in the morning, as he returned
unto the city, he hungered. When he saw a fig tree in the
way, he came to it and found nothing there own but leaves
only, and said unto it, not the disciples, the apostles, but
he said unto the tree, let no fruit grow on thee henceforward
forever. And presently the fig tree withered
away. Now we're looking at this barren
fig tree today. When we read in Matthew chapter
21, It is a very interesting chapter. It is packed full of
good things for us to study and to consider. It is a great treasure
trove of truth found in Matthew chapter 21. Things that were
done, things that were said by the Lord as the time of His death
drew ever nearer in the city of Jerusalem. And he did some
great works there. And he made some final teachings
while he was there in Jerusalem and delivered up finally after
that to the death of the cross of Calvary. Now the Lord had
told the Twelve, if we look back in Matthew chapter 20 and verse
17 through verse 19, telling them as they journeyed
on their way that he would be put to death in Jerusalem. This, he said, as even then they
were making their way unto Jerusalem And he tells them that he would
be betrayed into the hands of the Jewish leaders and that they
would deliver him up or over unto the Gentiles to be crucified,
but that he would rise again on the third day. but hurrying
along to the events that are covered here in chapter 21. Now the first thing that meets
us in the chapter here is a glorious account of the Lord entering
into Jerusalem on this particular occasion. Now, the Lord had been
there before. He had gone to Jerusalem before,
as in John chapter 2 and verse 13, for the celebration and the
keeping of the Jewish Passover. He had been there again for a
Feast of the Jew in John 5 and verse 1, and the Feast of Dedication. So our Lord had made some trips
in and out of Jerusalem. But this time it was different. Ordinarily, as our Lord made
His way in, there would be the twelve disciples and perhaps
others that attach themselves unto them. But he makes here
what has been called the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. And as he does, he is riding
upon a colt the foal of an ass upon which never man had ridden
before. And he entered into the praises
and the shouts of many along the way. And as he did this,
He fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah chapter 9 and verse
9. This was fulfilled in the Lord's
triumphant entry into Jerusalem. And we have to say here, just
a point and aside, let us just make the point that if the Lord
had the intention of setting up a temporal earthly kingdom
that He might reign over, this would have seen the very time
to have done it. Because there weren't many that
seemed to be in the mood for it. But no, our Lord said He
had come to Jerusalem to be crucified and to be put to death. Now,
the second thing that we read in Matthew 21 is an account of
the cleansing of the temple in verse 12 and verse 13. when the
Lord threw out those that profited from religion and had corrupted
the house of God and made it a place of merchandise. And again,
in doing so, He fulfilled the Scripture. Isaiah 56, verse 7.
John 2, verse 17. Psalm 69. And verse 9, the zeal of thine
house hath eaten me up. We remember the disciple remembering
that quotation from the Old Testament Scripture. And in this same chapter,
from verse 28 of it, on unto the end are two very powerful
parables with a direct application unto Israel or to the Jew, and
we will consider them in time, if time permits. Now, the third
thing in chapter 21 is the Lord cursing the barren fig tree that
he came upon by the wayside. And the cursing of that tree
came about in this manner. or after this fashion. The Lord,
with the twelve, had gone out and spent the night in the city
of Bethany. Next morning they were making
their way again into Jerusalem, and the Lord hungered, it said,
The Lord was hungry. And I might make this point.
Here is an evidence that our Lord was really and truly a partaker
of human nature. For He hungered. Matthew 21 and
verse 18. He grew weary in the flesh, John
4 and 6, and sat upon Jacob's well. He thirsted in Matthew
chapter 23 and verse 35 and John 19 and verse 28. Our Lord ate He drank, he grew weary, and
he slept while he dwelled among men upon the earth. But on this
occasion, the Scripture said, he was hungry. And being hungry,
he saw up ahead a flourishing fig tree by the wayside. And he would have figs for breakfast
that day as he saw the fig tree up ahead. Now this fig tree,
which we are considering today, was a very unique tree. It was a fig tree perhaps like
none other of its time or its day. And it was unique both as
to its condition and also as to its location. And the Lord's
action toward it consumes our attention today. Some put emphasis
upon Matthew's account because it has in the margin one fig
tree. Our Lord saw a fig tree up ahead,
but in the Greek they say it is one fig tree. Not just a fig
tree, but one. a certain one. Some have expressed
it as a lone tree, a single tree. Not a fig tree vineyard or a
fig tree farm, but a fig tree standing alone by the public
right of way. There were many fig trees in
that region in the time of our Lord. And the Lord might have
found figs from one upon a private property. And a large tract,
they say, of the Mount of Olives was covered with the growth of
fig trees, and thus It had the name Bethphage, meaning figs. And the history of Israel shows
us the presence of fig trees all down through their history. It was fig leaves that Adam and
Eve took to make themselves apron to hide themselves from the presence
of the Lord in the garden. John Gill wrote, on one of our
texts in the Greek. The text is this, "'tis one fig
tree," unquote. And he adds a remarkable fig
tree on top of that, one called this fig tree, ownerless. that it belonged to no one in
particular. It sat outside, and it sat alone,
and that by itself. Well, now let's consider its
condition. I was reading Spurgeon this week
in his little book on Matthew called The Gospel of the Kingdom,
and he said that its position was conspicuous and its appearing
striking." There was no doubt the reason why, humanly speaking,
it caught the Lord's attention and figs and He was hungry. We read in Mark chapter 11 and
verse 13, "...for the time of figs was not yet." And we see
that Mark and Matthew Speaking of the same event, and yet in
Matthew's account, he speaks of it as if it occurred all at
one and the same time, while Mark makes it clear that it is
spread out over two days. Something happened on the next
day or morning, Matthew 11, 19 through 21. But the words of Mark, the time
of figs was not yet. It was not the season for figs. Why then an expectation of figs
up on a tree at that season? No doubt it was from what Spurgeon
called its striking appearance. It was leafed out, it was flourishing,
it looked healthy, and it looked well. Because both Gospels, Matthew
and Mark in his account, mentioned how well leafed out this tree
actually was. Mark 11 and 13. having leaves,
Matthew 21 and 19. And see the statement, having
leaves, but the time of figs was not. Or we might turn it
around. The time of figs were not, but
the tree having leaves. And we notice two things that
are said in the account of Mark, chapter 11, And verse 13, He
saw a fig tree afar off having leaves. Now let's underline that. Having leaves. He saw a tree
yonder ahead having leaves. But later in the same verse,
When he came to it, it said, he found nothing but leaves,
having leaves, but nothing but leaves. It looked from a distance
as if it might be promising and have fruit, as if it would yield
enough for our Lord to satisfy his hunger. I wonder if we can
picture in our mind the Lord coming to that tree, perhaps
parting the canopy of that tree, looking inside, and not a fig
insight on this flourishing tree. Leaves a clinic. leaves covering
over, but no figs. Someone said, it was great at
wood and leaf, but it was worthless for fruit." And then we notice
the extreme action that our Lord took against the fig tree. Peter
in Mark chapter 11 and verse 21 called it a cursing of the
tree. Master the tree which thou curse. Matthew 21 verse 19 The Lord
speaks to the tree, let no fruit from now on forward grow on you
forever. And presently, we read, the fig
tree withered away. Mark 11 and verse 14, No man
eat fruit of thee hereafter forever. By the next day, as they passed
by again, the tree was dead from the root. The tree was dead from
the root and up. The root, the branches and the
leaves withered and dried up. Root dead, no sap flowing at
all to feed the tree. What had been a flourishing tree
the day before was now dead from the root and withered in every
branch and in every part. And due to that being dead, it
would never again bear any fruit. Never again would it yield up
the fruit expected from such a seeming prosperous and found
no fruit upon it. at all. And this is the very
reason that our Lord cursed the fig tree unto death. Soon it would be no more than
a ghost of a tree. By the way, that occurred overnight
or instantly, and was so by the next morning. As they passed,
They saw but a skeleton of a tree, and then, being dead, it would
fall apart, perhaps be gathered up for firewood by someone passing
by, or lying rotten there upon the ground. Now I think There's
nothing so awesome or sad as a dead tree. You look at a dead
tree, not when it is in regression in the winter or fall, but when
it is dead, root, branch, and on. So the question then is this,
what is the significance of this tree, of it having no fruit,
and of our Lord cursing it and of it dying. Why did the Lord
do it? What lesson is learned? Surely
we could agree that the action of our Lord in taking the life
of this tree was meant to teach us some spiritual lesson and
to impress something upon the twelve, something that they might
later remember and apply and understand. Even as they did
other things, they did not understand the time, but later they did
understand them. It made an impression upon them
in Matthew chapter 21 and verse 20, And when the disciples saw,
they marveled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away? Marvel was that sight! So quickly did it wither away,
almost as if before their eye. And Mark 11 and verse 14 says,
And the disciples heard, that is, they heard what our Lord
had said unto the tree. Now A.T. Robertson in his word
studies in the New Testament said that this is what in the
Greek is called an imperfect tense, meaning they were listening,
they were standing there hearing what our Lord had said unto that
tree. And Mark 11, 20, 21, next morning
the tree was dead, and Peter, who else but impulsive Simon
Peter, remembered what our Lord had said and what he had done. He was reminded, and he called
the Lord's attention to it, and he said, Lord, Master, The tree
which thou cursest is withered away." Now, the Lord gives no
explanation as to what the tree and its cursing might have symbolized,
telling them, have faith in God who has power over all nature. Even as Christ stilled the storm,
turned the water into wine, and many other miracles showing the
unlimitedness of His power. Now, concerning the significance
of this tree, its barrenness, its cursing, and its dying. Almost every good, sound expositor
that you will read will say that this is an emblem of the Jew
or an emblem of Israel. In fact, I'll quote from J.C. Ryle, quote, The fig tree, full
of leaves, but barren of fruit, was a striking emblem of the
Jewish church when our Lord was upon the earth. Let's let that
thought lay aside for a moment. and return unto it later. That a fig tree can be an emblem
of a spiritual condition. We want to establish the point
that a fig tree can be an emblem of a spiritual condition based
upon other saying and other scriptures in the Bible. Example, Isaiah
5, 1-7 if you remember, Psalms 80 and verse 8-16. Now in those passages, Israel
is likened unto a choice vine that was transplanted out of
Egypt and put in a very choice vineyard, which was fetched about,
a tower was built in it, and a wine press. In Isaiah chapter
5 and verse 2, it was planted, that is, the vine in his vineyard,
which Isaiah 5 and 1 said, was in a very fruitful hill. It was good soil. It was rich
soil for growing and for producing, conducive to a good growth and
a bountiful harvest, a rich soil. was this vineyard of the Lord. Now, the passage in Psalm 80,
verse 8, which we'll read in a bit, and Psalm 44, verse 2,
Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt. Thou hast cast out
the heathen and planted it. Now, we'll make use of these
passages more later in our study after we remind ourselves of
some other metaphors that are used in the scripture from agriculture
or from husbandry to describe or to picture or to figure spiritual
things. In Matthew 7 and verses 15 through
20, We all remember our Lord speaking of the good tree and
the bad tree, of the good fruit and of the corrupt fruit. Again
in John 15, 1 through 6, the Lord Jesus likens Himself to
a vine there in verse 1. The true vine and believers,
he said, are the branches. And verse 5, he just says it
clearly, I am the vine and ye are the branches. And unless
you abide in me, you can bring forth no fruit. But now let's
go back to the fig tree and we notice something about it that
I think is pertinent. And that is that where it was
It stood alone. It was the only one in that particular
place in that area. But more importantly, we see
the fig tree in two states or two conditions right here in
this short passage of the Scripture. First of all, it is described
as fully leafed out. It is full of leaves. from a distance, it was a very
impressive sight for a tree for the eyes to behold as to its
outward appearance. It looked very promising at first
sight and from a distance, for it had massive growth and an
abundance of leaves. Secondly, however, what the tree
becomes, cursed, smitten, blighted, dead in root, leaves all withered,
crumpled up and dried, and condemned to barrenhood, fruitless, useless,
and that forever, our Lord said." Now we see the same thing in
the two passages that we referred to. If you want to turn to Psalms
chapter and meshing both of these passages of Scripture together,
let's glean some truth that seems to be in the fig tree as well. Number one, how the vine outwardly
flourished. Now, Psalm 80, I'm reading verse
8 through 11. Thou hast brought a vine out
of Egypt. Thou hast cast out the heathen
and planted it. Thou preparest room before it,
and did cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with the
shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly
cedars. She sent out her boughs unto
the sea, and her branches unto the river. Now, in Isaiah 5 and
verse 1, a very fruitful hill was the place of our Lord's vineyard
and where He planted this transplanted vine. And in verse 4, what more
could have been done to my vineyard than was done unto it? What else
is lacking? Nothing. Everything conducive
unto fruit and to harvest was provided in that vineyard. But then, secondly, We want to
look at the latter end of the Lord's vine in these passages
of Scripture again, Psalm 80 and Isaiah chapter 5. After a
blessed and successful transplanting, after a time of flourishing,
the psalmist asked in Psalm 80 and verse 12 a question. Why have you broken down the
hedges, so that all that pass by plucker? The bore of the woods
does waste it. The beast of the field does devour
it. And verse 16, it is burned with
fire, it is cut down. In Isaiah chapter 5 verse 2,
And he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought
forth wild grapes. And verse 4, when I looked that
it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes. Then in verse 5 and verse 6,
what will the Lord do under His vineyard? He will take away the
hedge, He will break down the wall, He will lay it waste, briars
and thorns will grow and consume and take over the vineyard as
it is left untended, and the necessary rain withheld." Of
course, this is a metaphorical way, again, of describing the
dealings of God with Israel. How can we be sure of that? How
can we make that statement? Well, in Isaiah 5 and verse 7,
it says this, The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house
of Israel. The men of Judah, His pleasant
plain. No doubt about it. And the last
part of the verse, And He looked for judgment but behold, oppression. He looked for righteousness,
but behold, a cry." This is how badly things were out of order
in Israel at that time. Where there should have been
righteous judgment, there was oppression, conspiracy, and such
like. Where there should have been
righteousness, there was the cry and the complaint of those
that had been wrong, and so corrupt had that society become and that
government. And any such one will throw aside
righteousness, they will tolerate and they will practice evil,
and then God may send judgment upon that group or body of people. But now let's go back to the
barren fig tree as a figure now of the Jewish condition or of
the Jewish religion in the days of our Lord among them. I'll put it this way, Judaism
was all leafed out. Judaism was like that tree, all
leafed out. They made a very showy profession
of religion. The Pharisees, by the way, the
dominant party among Jewry at that time, were such as prayed
on the street corner that they might be seen and heard of men. When they came to give their
offering, they, as it were, sounded a trumpet that others might have
their attention caught and notice them putting in their offering. And to cover up their mischief,
they made long rambling prayers. They tied the tiniest things
that came into their possession. Matthew 23. They loved the praises
of men. Matthew 6 and verse 5. They loved
to be greeted in the marketplace. They loved to go a-walking and
have the people say, Good morning, Rabbi. Hello, Father. Thank you, Reverend, as they
went there among the people. In other words, they wore their
religion outwardly and upon their sleeve, pretending to be righteous,
very religious and very pious. And they gloried in things that
were outward. They gloried in material things. Their temple, their priesthood,
the animal sacrifices, the special day and celebration and the feast
and all of that. But just as the Lord looked behind
the abundance of the leaves on the fig tree and saw no fruit,
even so, when our Lord appeared among Israel, again I'm quoting
J.C. Ryle, quote, beneath those goodly
leaves the Jewish church was utterly destitute of fruit, unquote. And I read this from another.
He found nothing but mere words. empty boast, an outward show
of religion, an external profession, and a bare performance of trifling
ceremonies and oral traditions of men." That's what it consisted
of in that day. And again, as our Lord cursed
this ostentatious tree, that is, this tree with an excessive
display of leaves and growth upon it, and yet was barren of
any fig or of any fruit, He pronounced a woe against the tree, likewise
He pronounced a woe against Israel. He took the kingdom of God away
from them and gave it to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof
and brought His judgment upon them. And Judaism died when our
Lord gave up the spirit or the ghost there upon the cross. It died like the fig tree root
and branch. You know, it's amazing how often
this truth comes before us when we study the Scripture and when
we watch for it and are looking. That is, a judgment that was
to come upon that generation of Jew for their rejection of
Christ and of the Gospel and the fulfilling of the cup of
iniquity, Matthew 23 and 32. Have we considered some of the
first words of John the Baptist as that man sent from God began
his ministry? In Matthew chapter 3 and verse
8 through 10 and verse 11, speaking to the Pharisees and the Sadducees
who came out to hear him and his baptism, he spoke in the
end of verse 7, Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to
come." How did you get this idea? Who hath warned you to flee from
the wrath to come? Now hear me closely. On this
I agree with John Gill that in the context, taken in its context,
the wrath to come is not hellfire and everlasting destruction,
but as Gil said, the temporary calamity and destruction, the
wrath which in a little time would come upon that nation to
the uttermost for their rejection of Messiah and the gospel generation. And you can see this confirmed
in verse 10 and in verse 12 of Matthew chapter 3. Perhaps the
closing words of Malachi. were ringing in their ear, and
perhaps John had them in mind. For John tells them, number one,
bring forth fruits meek for repentance. The margin has it, answerable
to amending of the life. Bring forth fruits answerable
to the amendment of life. Fruits that are in keeping with
repentance. Show your repentance by your
action and by your conduct. Remember, John had called them
a generation of vipers in this particular passage. But then
secondly, we notice that John, Matthew 3, strips them of any
notion that they were in a state of salvation merely by their
fleshly descendancy from Abraham. John knew their belief and John
knew their opinion and he strikes this from them. Now let's remember
the parable of the fig tree And in Luke 13 and verse 6 through
verse 9, there's another parable here, and it concerns a fig tree. It follows a discussion as to
whether a great calamity and the killing of several at one
time marks one as a great sinner. Those eighteen on whom the tower
of Siloam fell, were they sinners above the rest. Now, in this
parable, the man had a vineyard, and there he planted a fig tree
in his vineyard. And he looked for fruit from
it each year, year after year, and he found none, never any
fruit. And after three years, he told
the gardener or the tender of the vineyard, it produces no
fruit. Cut it down that it not cumber
the ground, the soil. Not only taking up space was
it, but it was actually ruining the soil because it was sucking
the water and the nutrients away from the other plants in the
garden. The vine dresser intercedes. with the owner, and he said,
let me dig about it. Let me arouse the roots, and
let me fertilize it, and let me feed it. And then, if it becomes
fruitful, if it does not, then cut it down. Now the primary
object of this parable was to show the condition and the danger
of the Jew. So let's make this point of emphasis. The generality of Jews remained
unrepentant until the end. They remained unrepentant until
judgment came upon them and the fig tree was axed. John said even now is the ax
laid to the root of the tree in that passage in Matthew chapter
3. They were exceedingly religious,
that is true, but they were self-righteous and they were awful hypocritical. And the Lord likened them to
whited sepulchers. I almost mispronounce that every
time I say it. I remember an old dumb preacher
from years ago called them whitted sepulchers. I almost say that
every time I come to a whited sepulcher. Graves, you see, and
He likened them to vessels, clean outside and shiny, but inside
full of all manner of excess, who shut up the kingdom of God
against them that were going in, though they did not enter
themselves. who devoured widows' houses. And so the fig tree died, root
and branch and leaf. Have you seen anything more unsightly
than a tree once vibrant and flourishing, dead and gone? Now concerning the fig tree,
with plenty of leaves and no fruit. Is this not a picture
of Israel in the Lord's day? But then I ask you, is it not
also a picture of much of modern Christendom in our present day. As we look about upon what is
called Christianity today, this again repeats the picture of
much of what we see in Christendom. For the Lord uses that empty,
useless tree to teach us of our beneficial essence, and that
is that profession An outward observation without fruit is
a stench in the nostrils of a just and a holy God. to paraphrase
again Ryle, the fig tree full of leaves, but barren of fruit,
is a striking emblem of modern Christianity as well as some
individuals." So we can threefold apply it. How religion has flourished
in our lifetime. Now I didn't say Christianity,
I said religion. multi-million dollar buildings
everywhere, million dollar organs, a large robed choir, a performing
band and music to entertain the people, making going to church,
quote, fun, unquote. Fun, fun, fun. churches with
20,000 members and several, quote, campuses, unquote. A comedian
for a preacher with no doctrine and no gospel of our blessed
Lord. Budgets in the middle, in the
millions, excuse me. A gym, a cafeteria, a psychiatrist
on the staff of the church, a robe-wearing preacher, pomp, Splendor, the
observation of special day, not found in the Scripture. And there
is a movement afoot right now where some who call themselves
Christian are reaching out to Islam. There is a new term, Chrislum. Chrislum has become a new term
of the day. A movement and a word. Great activity. no gospel, neglecting
faith and repentance and the deeper things of God and of the
law. I close with this remembrance,
Matthew 15 and 13. Every tree which the heavenly
Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. Every tree, not
planted, nourished, tended by God, shall be rooted up. It's
kind of like, except the Lord build the house, they labor in
vain that build it. Now, this word to the Pharisees
who were offended at the truth. The disciples came and said,
Lord, you offended the Pharisees. That saying greatly offended
them. And our Lord answered, Every
tree which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted
out. Now, my friend, let me tell you
this. To take offense at the truth speaks ill of a Christian
profession. To claim you're a Christian and
not hear and believe the truth of God. And let me tell you something
else. If truth root thee up, then you're
not of the Lord. If truth root you up, if truth
run you off, if truth is an offense, the truth of the Scripture, then
there is something greatly wrong in life. And let us remember
that, if we will.