Day 32 : Mark 11:12-18
A house of prayer for all nations
Why curse a tree that shouldn’t be in fruit? This is the question many have asked of Jesus’s actions in this passage. It seems so out of character, like a petulant child who throws a tantrum when they haven’t got what they want. This action of Jesus follows on from his entry into Jerusalem and his brief visit to the Temple the previous day.
The first thing we need to understand is that fig trees are strange plants. First, a fig tree can take between two to six years before it begins to bear fruit. The tree Jesus sees is probably much older than this as he sees it from a distance, meaning it must have been a large one that stood out. Second, many fig trees begin to bear fruit before they produce leaves. That means if the fig tree is in leaf but has no sign of fruit the chances are it won’t produce any that year.
This though is a prelude to the next event that Mark brings us in the Temple courts in Jerusalem. Having quietly visited the night before, this time Jesus makes a scene as he turns the tables of the money changers and dove sellers. Both of these trades were part of the Temple’s system of sacrifices and giving but they were just the tip of the iceberg when it came to what had gone wrong. Jesus uses the words of the prophets to speak of what the Temple should be (Isaiah 56:7) and what it had become (Jeremiah 7:11). The Temple should have been a light on the hill, a beacon for all to see. It promised so much but on closer inspection offered nothing.