The Fate Of The Fig Tree

Many of you know the parable of the fig tree. I want to draw your attention to its fate. Let us have a look at what the Word of God is telling us here.

Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again." Immediately the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?"

Matthew 21:18-20

So Jesus went up to a fig tree to satisfy His hunger, but found no fruit on it and said: "Let no fruit grow on you ever again". How are we to understand this? Can it really be that Jesus cursed the fig tree just because He was hungry and there were no fruit on the tree? Or maybe he was experimenting. He had power and He was wanting to demonstrate that power. No, that was not the case. Well, what then does this parable teach us?

Jesus, the Son of God, knew that everything that God has created has a particular function and purpose. The fig tree was created that it might bear fruit and feed hungry people. Jesus walked to the tree at a time when it was supposed to be bearing fruit, but He found nothing on it except for leaves. So He cursed the fig tree because it was not fulfilling its purpose.

Everything that God has created has a particular function and a specific purpose. For example, every tree (not just the trees that produce fruit) is created for some kind of purpose, and when people thoughtlessly destroy them, irreversible ecological changes take place.

Everything that God does is for a specific purpose.

So if God does not do anything just for the sake of it, then it surely follows that everything you see must exist for a particular purpose.

God gave you life for a purpose. You have a particular purpose to fulfill, and you must understand what this purpose is and fulfil that particular purpose. So if God has created you, then there are specific tasks that He has purposed for you to accomplish, tasks which only you and nobody else can fulfill.

You may not know what this purpose is yet, but this doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.

Each one of us has to be aware of his or her purpose in life. If we don’t know for what purpose we have been created and what our calling is, then we will inevitably misuse our life and our time. There are many people who live without a purpose, without a dream, without a vision for the future. They simply exist and bear no fruit.

But misuse is the same as destruction, the same as inevitable ruin. In the Bible we read: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). That means, ignorance and lack of knowledge can be the cause of a Christian’s ruin.

Hear the word of the Lord, You children of Israel, For the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: "There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land. By swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed. Therefore the land will mourn; And everyone who dwells there will waste away With the beasts of the field And the birds of the air; Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.

Hosea 4:1-3

Ignorance is dangerous, because it leads to ruin and destruction. But knowledge gives freedom. That’s why it is written: "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). The truth on its own can not make you free. You are made free when you know the truth. Knowledge is your strength.

Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding. Let not mercy and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Proverbs 3:13,3

Without knowledge there is no progress, there is no development. Apply maximum effort. Do all you possibly can to acquire knowledge. Knowledge is the light that dispells the darkness of ignorance. Some people have a high position in society because of their vast knowledge in one area or another. For example, your boss at work. He is the boss because he knows more than the rest of you. Why has a particular person become your leader at church? Because he has reached a particular level. He has reached a level that you have not yet reached. He knows things that you still don’t know. Even if you already hold some kind of position, unless you have the necessary knowledge and understanding that goes along with it, you may end up losing your position to someone else who does have it.