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The Barren Fig Tree
Text: Matthew 21:18-19. “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.’ And immediately the tree withered away.”
Introduction.
This
sermon is directed, primarily, to people who claim to be born-again-Christians.
The problems that concern me are serious. They exist in lots of church
congregations today. Some people who have attended church all of their lives
have never formed a personal relationship with Jesus. Others have never led
anyone to Him.
One of the first persons Jesus sent anywhere to share the gospel was not an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, or a pastor-teacher. Yet many “Christians” seem to feel that only persons who fill one of those offices are responsible for winning the lost.
The demon-possessed Gadarene was a public figure but he was notable only for his desperate need of deliverance. He wanted to follow Jesus but he received a different assignment. After he was delivered Jesus told him to do what all Christians should do: “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” (Mark 5:19).
Based on the apparent lack of personal ministry by many professing Christians, the era in which we live may be the worst ever for one-on-one evangelism. The gospel is being preached around the world but not by people who share their faith one on one with friends, relatives and neighbors. The reason for this sorry state of affairs is at least three pronged: 1. Church members not born again. 2. Pastors not encouraging witnessing. 3. Christians not submitted to Christ.
Jesus
first
Jesus wants first place in your life. You need to follow Him as closely as possible, allowing Him to direct your daily activities. The Tenth chapter of John’s Gospel tells who has your best interests at heart and it isn’t Satan (who came to steal to kill and to destroy). It is Jesus, who came that we may have life … more abundantly. (John 10:10). Don’t let the distractions of the world rob you of abundant life. Learn to obey the Lord. Make serving Him your primary objective in life.
Prosperity
through production
Salvation is not a ticket to material prosperity, despite what you may hear on so-called “Christian” television. Our Lord did not die on the cross to make anyone wealthy. He did not promise us lives of ease or large bank accounts. He did not say we could have everything we want. We have no good reason to believe we can escape all of life’s trials.
Why should God make things easy for those He loves? Is that the way it works in the natural world? Wise farmers do not leave their fruit trees unattended. They prune them and fertilize them in order to increase their yields. God “chastens” those He loves (Proverbs 3:19) to make them worth more as His servants, or more productive in His vineyard.
Jesus calls us to work for
Him while we work at supporting ourselves. Dwight L. Moody, who founded
the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, understood the concept. He was a shoe
salesman before he became a world-famous evangelist. When asked about his occupation he said he worked for Jesus but
sold shoes to earn a living. Represent Jesus adequately in everything you do.
He wants to save lost sinners. Cooperate and He will use you to influence some
of them favorably.
Win Souls.
Although Jesus warned us we
would be confronted by a hostile world when we try to win souls He did not
excuse us from that calling. If you are a born-again Christian you are Christ’s
witness. It’s a lifetime assignment. Whether or not you ever do the job, you
will remain responsible for it as long as you live in the world.
Do you produce?
Are you a soul-winner? What have you done to help
your friends, relatives and neighbors find Jesus? You will answer for your
neglect if you let them proceed unchallenged on their way to hell. I hope you
don’t consider soul winning a chore? There is no thrill equivalent to that of
leading someone to Jesus. And God has reserved crowns for soul winners. James 5:20 says, “he who turns a sinner from
the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of
sins.” Luke adds,
“there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who
repents.” (Luke 15:15).
Text
in context (Matthew 21:17-20).
“Then He left them and
went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there. 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?””
The
Tree Confronted.
The
fig tree incident occurred during the last week of Jesus’ life on earth, only a
few days before He went to the cross.
Jesus used His last
days to teach in the Temple at Jerusalem. At the end of each day He walked
about six miles to Bethany to spend the night. On this particular morning Jesus
was hungry as He returned to Jerusalem. When He saw a fig tree with leaves He
approached it hoping to find fruit. When He discovered the fig tree was barren
He cursed it, saying, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” When
the disciples saw it the next morning, they asked, “How
did the fig tree wither away so soon?”
Jesus attributed the
death of the tree to His faith, indicating His pronouncement became fact
because He believed what He said. His exact words were: “Assuredly, I say to you, if
you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig
tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’
it will be
done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive”
(Matthew 21:21-22).
Believer’s
Authority.
Jesus
always acted with authority as He performed His Fathers will. (John 5:19, John 8:29, and John 14:10). Christians
can use His Name today to produce the kind of results Jesus’ faith generated. (John 14:12). Although I don’t plan
to elaborate on the authority of believers who act in faith as God leads them,
I cannot deny what Jesus taught. His teachings are timeless. They apply to
Christians now as they have applied to other Christians during the reign of
grace. Jesus intends for us to do
greater works than He did. (John 14:12).
I know, from
experience, that Christians who take Jesus at His word are often rewarded with
the miraculous, exactly as He promised in Matthew 21:21-22. However, I want to
talk about why Jesus chose to curse the fig tree and what it means to
Christians who do not become fruit bearers.
So why did Jesus
curse the fig tree? Why did the One who healed the sick, raised the dead, and
calmed a troubled sea speak death to a seemingly helpless tree? On the surface, at least, it seems out of
character. After all, He saves men who have not earned salvation, offering them
life rather than death. So let’s look below the surface, where the untimely end
of the fig tree becomes an object lesson for disobedient Christians.
A Command
When
you accepted God’s gift of salvation you became obligated to lead other sinners
to Jesus. Mark 16:15-18 is directed to
each of us. “And He said to them, ‘Go
into all of the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes
and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out
demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if
they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay
hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
In case you didn’t
notice, that passage begins with a command: “Go into all the
world and preach the gospel to every creature.” I must go, you must
go, all of us must go. The gospel must be taken to people who haven’t heard it.
If you never leave home you can still display the results of the gospel in your
life. Explain to your family, your friends, and your neighbors, what God did
for you.
Jesus insists that we
obey Him. Isaiah used a phrase that emphasizes our responsibility, calling us “trees of righteousness, the planting of
the Lord, that he might be glorified” (Isaiah 61:3). In other words, we exist to please our Lord. He
planted us in His Church, or “grafted” us into His Vine, so
we could produce fruit to glorify Him. (John 15:8).
We
can do that in at two ways: By allowing God to produce the fruit of the Spirit
in us (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control). (Galatians 5:22-23). And by making sure people see
those traits in us.
Responsibility
delineated.
There are
actually three events recorded in Matthew twenty-one that emphasize our
responsibility as fruit producers.
One (Verses 21:18-22).
The
first event concerns the barren fig tree Jesus condemned. It was a warning to
the disobedient. We are His servants. We must witness to a world of lost
sinners. He expects us to do so effectively. The people we lead to Him become
the fruit He wants to produce through us. We risk being condemned for
barrenness when
we do not do our jobs.
Two (Verses 28-32).
Event
number two involved two sons of a man who owned a certain vineyard. He told
both of them to work there. Son number one agreed to obey but did not keep his
word. Son number two refused initially but changed his mind and did the job
after all. Jesus asked which of the two sons was obedient. The answer was the
one who actually did the job their father assigned. Surely you can see the
implication. Christians who acknowledge the Lordship of Christ while disobeying
His commands will never hear Him say, “Well done, good and
faithful servant. (Mat. 5:21).
Three (Verses 33-43).
Event number three tells of a tenant who
refused to pay his rent, abused his landlord’s servants and killed his son.
Jesus said the evil tenant would be destroyed for his wickedness. He earned his
punishment through theft and murder. Could we call it a form of theft, or even
murder, when a Christian’s disobedience deprives a lost sinner of finding
salvation through Christ? Whatever else we might call it, failure to
produce for Christ is sin. Jesus described Himself as a vine and us as his
branches, indicating we exist only to produce fruit for Him. (John 15).
The
Tree.
Let’s
look again at the barren fig tree, comparing it to barren Christians.
I. Appearance.
The
tree was healthy and attractive. It
looked good. Jesus expected to find edible fruit among its leaves. Mark 11:13
says, “And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went
to see if perhaps He would find something on it.” Unfortunately the timing wasn’t right. Figs
usually arrive later in the year. Mark 11:13 says, “When He (Jesus) came
to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
Was Jesus wrong to look
for figs at that time of year? The event took place in early spring, a few days
before the time of our Easter celebration. Peloubet’s Bible Dictionary says
this about it: “The usual crop of fruits is not gathered till May
or June; but in the sunny ravines of Olivet fig trees could have ripe fruit
some weeks earlier (Dr. Thompson), and it was not strange that so early as
Easter Christ might find the young eatable figs, although it was not the usual
season for gathering the fruit.” (Page 197).
In any event the
“out of season” excuse, which wasn’t good enough for the barren fig tree, won’t
be acceptable for barren Christians. We are told to:
“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort
with all longsuffering and doctrine.” (2 Timothy 4:2, KJV). We are also told: “Sanctify the Lord
God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that
asketh reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” (1 Peter 3:15, KJV).
Some professing Christians might look pretty good from a distance
without ever having won a lost sinner. But Jesus said this about them: “A
good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree
that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire, Therefore
by their fruits you will know them. Not every one who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in
heaven.”(Matthew 7:18-21). There
is an old Negro spiritual which says something similar: “Ever body talkin bout
heaven ain’t a goin there.”
II. Positioning.
The
tree stood alone. It may have been the only one in the area. No others are
mentioned.
Christians often
need to stand-alone in the world - to avoid its corruption and to share the
gospel effectively with lost sinners. You may be the only Christian in your
family, your workplace, or your neighborhood. Does your behavior identify you
as a Christian? Do other people want what you have in Christ?
III. Status.
The
tree was barren. When Jesus inspected it, and found it useless to Him, He
relieved of it of fruit bearing possibilities permanently. Let’s heed the
warning. Let’s begin producing fruit before it becomes too late, for us and for
the people we might otherwise lead to Jesus.
Later?
When Jesus gives you
opportunities to serve Him, act on them immediately. You have no promise of a
tomorrow so do it now. You don’t need a theological degree to witness
successfully concerning Christ’s love and compassion for the lost world. Love
people as He loves them. Tell them what He did for you.
We
Are Trees.
As I
said earlier, Isaiah 61:3 calls us
“trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” That designation
is ours whether or not we actually do the job. So remember your potential and
begin to exercise it. Proverbs 11:30 says, “The fruit of the righteous
is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” Daniel
12:3 says, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness
of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for
ever and ever.”
Experiencing
God.
I once read a note in a church bulletin that spoke about
“experiencing God.” It said: “God
is far more interested in a love relationship with you than He is in what you
can do for Him. His desire is for you to love Him. As He fills you with His
presence, He will guide you to do things. But even as you do those things, He
will be the One at work through you to accomplish His purposes. He is all you
need.” If you recognize a need to experience God in that fashion remember Rev.
3:20, where Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If
anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with
him, and he with Me.”
Most of us associate
Revelation 3:20 with a call to repentance in order to receive salvation, which
may be all right but it isn’t what Jesus meant. He was calling His followers
(including present day born-again Christians) to fellowship with Him in a way
that allows Him to become full-time Lord of their lives. When we cooperate with
Jesus He can express Himself through us in ways that draw other people to Him.
And that’s what makes us effective as fruit-bearers.
If you want to be an effective soul
winner, get serious about it. Seek Him whole-heartedly. Jeremiah 29:13
says, “And you will seek Me
and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” You
will need to surrender your life to His control. That means allowing Him to
fill your mind and direct your activities full time. Isaiah 26:3 contains a
promise of “perfect peace” for those who keep their minds “stayed on” Him because their “trust” is in “Him.”
Read your Bible to discover God’s perfect will for you. Allow Him to
speak to you in your private prayer time. Learn to praise Him sincerely in
every circumstance. If you can, join with other sincere Christians and seek Him
together. You might be amazed at how that will draw each of you closer to Him.
Visitation coming?
That would be great, of
course. It might inspire some of us to serve Him better. However, that kind of
visitation may not come at a gathering of the institutional church – and it
certainly won’t start there. Of course
congregational gatherings are important. But in this case, at least, they are
only incidental to God’s plan to draw individuals to Him.
Christ always visits
His Church through individuals. His special visitations are directed to
Christians who seek Him sincerely while serving Him as a way of life. Don’t
miss it. Get ready for the visitation, whenever it might come, by learning to
experience God as your all in all, today and every day.
Altar
Call.
Let me ask you a question: does anyone
here need and want to find Jesus Christ as Savior? Let me warn you: Although
salvation is free, to those who admit their sin and repent of it, serving the
Savior is costly. He wants all of you, all of the time.
Are there Christians
here who have not allowed Jesus to be Lord?
If so, perhaps you would like to surrender to Him now? If you want to
respond to either invitation, come down to the altar and let’s talk about it -
as someone leads us in an invitational hymn.
- -
- - -
David E. Beneze, 1006
Fairview Ave., Canon City, CO. Written at Rapid City, 8/9/81. See outline on
page 48 of ES Williams “My Sermon Notes.” Latest revision 03/01/2007.
Page last updated 12:01 PM 5/24/2007>