The Killing Curse - Matthew 21:18-22

Over the last several weeks we have begun to look at the final week of Jesus’ life as recorded in the gospel of Matthew. So far we’ve looked at Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his cleansing of the temple. Those two events stand in stark contrast to one another, as they show two very different sides of Jesus. This morning we turn our attention to another story that is jarring to us, because it seems like Jesus is throwing a tantrum, but there’s more than meets the eye here, and a careful study will challenge us to live out our faith.

We turn our attention this morning to Matthew 21:18-22, where we read about Jesus cursing a fig tree because he was hungry and it had no fruit. It seems petty and childish, but it’s not. It’s actually a powerful object lesson, intended to wake up Jesus’ disciples (which includes us) to develop a genuine, fruitful faith.

The Curse

So let’s look at what Matthew says,

18In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, 19and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up. (Matthew 21:18-19, NLT)

Over in the gospel of Mark, we read a similar account, which gives us a little more information,

12The next morning as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so he went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit. 14Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!” And the disciples heard him say it. (Mark 11:12-14, NLT)

The essence of the story is that Jesus and his were heading into Jerusalem the day after the triumphal entry. Along the road, Jesus saw a fig tree that was full of leaves, and since he was hungry he stopped to pick some figs and eat them (this was a common and accepted practice in that culture). But when he got up to the tree there weren’t any figs, so he cursed it. Matthew tells us that it immediately withered up, while Mark says that next day the disciples noticed the tree was dead. Some people declare this a contradiction, but it’s easily reconciled. The tree immediately showed the effects of Jesus’ curse, and it would make sense that when the disciples passed it the next morning, they would have marveled at the fact that the tree was now dead.

But that’s not what troubles most of us. We still find ourselves asking why Jesus was so angry at this tree not having figs. In our culture today we have a word for the fact that many of us have short tempers when we are hungry. We call it being “hangry”. Snickers even has a series of commercials based around this whole concept—that when your friend starts getting hangry you should give them a Snickers to make them return to normal. So is that what was going on here? Was Jesus hangry and thus he lost his temper at the tree? Is it like how you find yourself craving the leftover pizza from the night before only to go to the fridge and discover someone else has already eaten it, so you slam the door of the fridge in anger? Not at all. Jesus is not nearly that petty.

Mark’s account includes an interesting detail. He says that Jesus checked the tree for figs even though it was not yet the season for ripe figs. Most likely this event occurred in early April. There weren’t usually figs on trees that early in the year, but you have to understand something about the pattern of fig trees. There are two times when you can get figs on a tree. The first time is early in the year (around May), when there are small, green buds on the tree that are edible. The second time is later on when the buds have fallen off and the full-size figs appear. The small green buds generally appeared at the same time that leaves appeared on the tree. So even though it wasn’t the season for figs yet, when Jesus saw the tree full of leaves, it was reasonable for him to expect that this particular tree would have also had some of the early figs on it. But it didn’t. It was false advertising. The tree looked good from a distance, but when he got closer, he discovered that there wasn’t any fruit at all.

There is debate on whether this event happened as Jesus was on his way to go clear the temple or after he had done so. Regardless, we can really only understand the object lesson Jesus was giving when we view it in light of the clearing of the temple. His anger with the people in the temple wasn’t that they weren’t doing good religious things. They were. They were performing the sacrifices and they were going through all the motions they thought they were supposed to. Jesus’ anger was aroused because the people had missed the point! They were doing all of the right religious acts, but they were doing them for the wrong reasons. They were going through the motions, but their hearts were far from God. Like the fig tree, they had all sorts of leaves but no fruit.

What Jesus was doing here wasn’t done in anger at the fig tree at all—rather it was intended to teach his disciples that a tree that doesn’t bear fruit is worthless. This is a great danger for “church people”. We can fixate on the external while ignoring what’s inside. If we do that, we are no better than the religious leaders in the temple.

What do you think Jesus would do if He came into our church today? What would He do if He came into your life? Would He commend you or would he curse you? These aren’t comfortable questions, but I think they’re the questions Jesus wanted us to ask. He cursed the fig tree to get our attention.

So ask yourself whether or not there is fruit on your tree.

What is your mindset when coming into worship on Sunday morning? Are you simply doing what you think you should, or are you coming expecting to hear from God? Are you expecting to change how you live in response to what you hear, or are you simply marking time?

What do you do when confronted with an area of sin in your life? Do you rationalize it and excuse it, or do you repent of it and seek to change it?

Are there things you know God is telling you to do (or not to do) yet you refuse to listen to Him? Are there places where you know what the Bible teaches, but refuse to submit to it?

Do you see yourself growing in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control, or are these things stagnant in your life?

Do you find yourself primarily concerned with what you can get out of life, or are you increasingly focused on what you can give to others?

Each of these things gives us a glimpse into our hearts. They help us to see whether we are truly following after God or whether we are just going through the motions. If our religious actions are only skin deep we are no better off than those outside the church—even though we think we are.

This is one of the chief complaints people have about the Church, isn’t it? If you ask someone why they are hostile to the Church, many of them will tell you that it is because the Church is full of hypocrites. Sometimes we brush off this charge, saying that the Church is full of sinners in need of grace (which is true), but if we’re honest, they may be onto something. They may see things more clearly than we do. They rightly assume that if Jesus is really the Lord of our lives, then we should look different than the world around us. I don’t think most people expect perfection, but I do think they expect that when we identify ourselves as Christians, our lives should reflect the attitude of Christ. Isn’t it true that sometimes the most devoted churchgoers act just like the rest of the world?

When we don’t get our way, do we treat the customer service representative with respect (as Jesus would) or do we act the way a non-Christian would?

Do we try to help those who are in need, or do we look down on them?

Do we treat those who disagree with us with respect and love, or do we attack them in order to silence them?

Do we extend forgiveness to those who have hurt us, or do we retaliate?

Does the way we live look more like Jesus, or more like the world around us?

These are sobering questions, because we have a tendency to think we’re doing pretty good…until we compare ourselves to Jesus. Jesus has shown us what it means to live in obedience to God, and if we call ourselves His followers, our lives should look more like His the longer we follow. If they don’t, then we aren’t really following Him.

There is good news, however. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus tells a parable about a fig tree that wasn’t bearing fruit. Listen to what He says.

“A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. 7Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’

8“The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. 9If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.’” (Luke 13:6-9, NLT)

The point of Jesus’ parable, as well as his object lesson of cursing the fig tree is this: it’s not too late to change! Jesus reminds us that there is still time for us to change course. As long as there is still breath in your lungs, it is not too late to turn your heart toward Him. We don’t know when our time is up. So if you have found yourself running away from God, now is the time to turn to Him. Now is the time to stop living for yourself and start living for Him. Now is the time to repent, to listen, and to start going in the direction He has called you to go. He warns us to act before it’s too late, because there will be no mercy for those who have gone through the motions of religious devotion without ever turning their hearts toward God.

The Promise

I really believe that the point of this entire passage is the story of the cursing of the fig tree, because I think Jesus was trying to teach his disciples an important point. But, in that moment, they missed what he was trying to teach them, and instead they got focused on the wonder of what Jesus had done. Rather than getting the point that they needed to guard themselves against the dangers of religious hypocrisy, they wanted to know how Jesus managed to make a tree wither up and die with just a word. So, they asked him how he had done such a miracle. His response has been a source of much debate.

20The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” 21Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. 22You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” (Matthew 21:20-22, NLT)

Jesus responded by telling His disciples that He was able to do miracles like this because of faith, and that if we have faith, then we too can do amazing things.

There is a segment of Christianity called the Word-Faith Movement that builds much of their theology off of this verse—teaching that if you believe something and don’t doubt, then God has promised He will do it. So if you just believe God for that job you want, or that new house, or fame, fortune, or healing, then He will give it to you if you simply believe hard enough. And if God doesn’t give you those things, it’s clearly because you didn’t have enough faith.

This is a very popular and pervasive concept. It is the kind of message you hear from people like Joel Osteen, who pastors the largest church in the country—a church that meets in (and fills) what used to be the stadium for the Houston Rockets. Thousands of people (and millions more on TV) are preached messages like this each week. I went to see Aladdin this week with Gracie and it seems to me that there are a lot of similarities between this view of God and the genie in Aladdin. If we just believe hard enough, then our genie (God) will grant us our wishes. No wonder it’s such a popular message.

I hope it’s clear that I don’t believe that’s what this passage is teaching at all. So what is it teaching? I think Jesus was saying that with God, there is no obstacle that is insurmountable, but we have to trust Him rather than trusting our own devices.

The point is this: God can and will do amazing things through ordinary people who trust Him enough to be obedient to Him. There are amazing stories of people who have sought to be obedient to God’s commands, trusting that He would provide for them even when they didn’t see how it was possible. And time and time again, God came through, often in ways they would have never imagined. These are people who pray in faith, not trying to get God to align with their wills, but trying to be obedient to His.

That is what Jesus is teaching here—we are to live in a way that trusts Him above all else. We should ask Him to remove from our path any obstacle that would prevent us from following Him. And if we believe Him and there is a mountain in our way, we can know that He will move it.

There’s something subtle here that is easy to miss. Jesus said that if the disciples had faith they could move this mountain. Which mountain was Jesus referring to? I think Jesus may have been referring to the mountain on which the temple sat. He was pointing the disciples to the fact that even though it seemed impossible, through Him they would render the temple completely irrelevant to the worship of God. It was a statement that surely would have shocked them, but it’s clear how true it was. After Jesus died on the cross, everything changed. No longer was it necessary to go to the temple to worship, but because of Jesus, everyone could have direct access to the Father. Interestingly, not even 50 years later, the temple itself was almost completely destroyed, and it has never been rebuilt.

Here’s what we need to see: we should not let any of the “mountains” we face in this life keep us from following the Lord. We should trust Him so much that we are willing to attempt things that seem impossible, knowing that He will move whatever mountain needs to move. Famous missionary William Carey is noted for saying, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” That is what mountain-moving faith is really all about.

People with mountain-moving faith are people who believe in prayer, who don’t give up even when the situation seems hopeless. People with this kind of faith keep asking God to do what only He can, rather than trying to manufacture results by their own devices. That’s the nature of faith—it’s trusting God to do what is best, not trying to force Him to do what we want.

Conclusion

Sadly, our churches are full of people who are probably not that much different than the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. There are many people in churches around the country who are there because they are fulfilling their religious devotion, but their hearts are far from the Lord. Some are there because they want something from God. Others are just going through the motions.

Jesus used this powerful object lesson to wake us up to the danger that is inherent in such attitudes. He says that just like a fruit tree that looks pretty but doesn’t bear any fruit, the person who looks good on the outside but doesn’t truly follow Him is worthless.

So how do you avoid becoming such a person? I’ve got some suggestions.

Pray for God to mold you into the person He would have you be. If you believe that God can change you, then you should ask Him to! When you see things that aren’t right in your life, bring those things to the Lord and ask for His help. The more time you spend with Jesus, the more you will become like Him.

Don’t simply talk about the need to change priorities . . . take bold steps to actually do so. Lead your family toward Biblical fruitfulness.

Set out to initiate conversations about trusting Christ. Don’t simply talk about how people need Jesus—actually tell them about Him! Start spiritual conversations. Give God the chance to use you to impact the life of another.

Refuse to allow worship to simply become routine. Make a conscious effort to prepare yourself to come and worship the Lord. Think about how much time you spend preparing your physical appearance to come to church. Shouldn’t you also devote some time to preparing your heart? Take time to pray that God would speak to you during worship. Read through the scripture for the day ahead of time and begin meditating on what it means. Maybe arrive a few minutes early to spend some time just sitting before God and preparing to meet with Him.

Be open to hearing criticism from those around you. Instead of immediately rushing to defend yourself, take some time to ask the Lord if there’s any merit to what is being said. It’s possible that He’s using this person to help make you into who He would have you be. Be teachable.

Look for a way to serve God in a significant way. It may be building a relationship with or mentoring a neighbor, volunteering with a mission organization, helping with youth ministries; all sorts of things. Open your mind and your heart and dare to do something outside of your comfort zone to produce fruit for the Lord.

Finally, expect great things from God, and attempt great things for God. Your faith will grow as you see Him move the mountains in your life.

The great danger of the Christian life is complacency. It is easy to play the game of Christianity without ever turning our hearts toward Jesus. He warns us not to allow that to happen. If we will tend to our hearts and seek after Him, we will find that He will help us grow into people whose lives bear much fruit—bringing blessing to those around us and honoring the Lord. And that seems like a goal worth striving for.