Cursing the fig tree

Question

Did Jesus violate the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12), when he destroyed the possibility... that the fig tree could ever feed the hungry? (Mark 11:14)

Answer 1

No. Matt. 7:12 applies to the behavior of people, of how we are to treat others. Jesus is Lord over all creation, and has authority to do all things.

"15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." (Col. 1:15-17, KJV)

But, we cannot know why Jesus cursed the fig tree without knowing about the symbolism of the fig tree from the OT. Everything in the NT comes from the OT, as the OT is the NT concealed, and the NT is the OT revealed. The only way we can identify God's symbolic and figurative language is learning how He used it first in the OT. It is not up to us to decide what is literal and what is figurative as God has already defined His symbols for us.

God had compared the nation of Israel to a fig tree.

“10 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.” (Hos. 0:10, KJV)

And, in Hab, 3:17,

“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:” (KJV)

when the fig tree did not blossom, then Israel did not blossom, or prosper.

Joel prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem; the first of the Chaldean invasion, and the 2d of the Romans. In Joel 1:6-7, Judah is described as the Lord’s land, the Lord’s vine, and the Lord’s fig tree.

“6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. 7 He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.” (KJV)

John told the Pharisees and Sadducees in Matt. 3:10, and in Luke 3:9 that the axe was already laid to the root of the tree, implying that Jerusalem and Judea were ready to be cut down.

As Christ was going into Jerusalem the second day after cleansing the temple, He stopped before the fig tree. Standing before Jerusalem, and standing before the fig tree was the same thing.

“18 Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. 19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! 21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.“ (Matt. 21, KJV)

The fig tree was unfruitful and was the symbol of the people and men of Jerusalem before which Christ stood. The mountain was the symbol of the sanctuary / temple of Jerusalem, what had been God’s house that men had made into a place of buying and selling.

The withering of the fig tree was the symbol of the judgment Christ pronounced against Jerusalem for its destruction – Matt. 23:37-38.

“37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” (KJV)

In the OT God compared righteous men to fruitful trees. The first Psalm discussed a righteous man, a man blessed by walking in the way of the Lord, who meditates upon the law of God, and in verse 3 it compares him to a tree.

“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” (Psa 1:3, KJV)

So, trees were often symbols for men. If they bore fruit, they were righteous before God. If they were unfruitful, they were ungodly, and of no use to Him, only good for burning.

In Psalm 92 –

“12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;“ (KJV)

Therefore, God considers a righteous man (or woman) to be the same as a fertile tree, one bearing fruit for the Lord. A wicked man or woman is compared to grass that withers and quickly dies (Psa. 92:6-7).

In Isa. 61:1-4, speaking of his purpose as a prophet to the people, we find in verse 3,

“To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” (KJV)

In Jer. 17:7 –

“7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” (KJV)

We have to learn from the OT how God compared one thing to another in order to know how He defined His metaphors, and symbols which He used in the prophesies. All of His prophesies contain much figurative, symbolic language and we will not recognize them in the NT until we first learn them from the OT. Not everything in God's word is literal. There are many metaphors, similes, and symbols in His scriptures.

Jesus was prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem in Matt. 21:19-21, therefore by cursing the fig tree, the symbol in the OT for the people and tribes of Israel, He was cursing the people in Jerusalem because they had become unfruitful.