Day 33 : Mark 11:19-25
The withered fig tree
After the clearing of the Temple, Jesus and his disciples made their way out of the city. Just before this we are told of the response of the Temple priests and those that looked after the law to Jesus’s actions. This very public protest had caused the religious and political leaders to worry about the repercussions. What if Jesus encouraged the people to rise up? What would Rome do? How can we stop this?
This response falls in line with those faced by Old Testament prophets who often found themselves on the run or sentenced to death for speaking truth to power. We see it today when people decide to make a stand for what they believe is an important cause to fight for. When people march against climate change or stand in protest against injustice they are often met with the violence of those in power as they seek to keep control.
From this point forward Jesus is on a collision course with the power brokers in Jerusalem. His actions in the Temple mean that over the next week they will seek to kill him and alongside the Romans will succeed in that aim. Yet Jesus is ahead of the game, he knows what he is doing; his actions are purposeful and deliberate. So, we return to the fig tree.
The fig tree that started this journey is now withered and dead. The disciples recognise it straight away and point it out to Jesus. A tree that promised so much and yet did not contain the fruit its leaves promised. A Temple that should have been a house of prayer for all, now a den of robbers. The fig tree is an enacted parable, a prophetic action carried out to make a larger point about the state of the Temple and the consequence if it does not become that which God created it to be.