Why did Jesus curse the fig tree in Matt. 21:19?

Question

I heard a Pastor/teacher say that Jesus cursed the fig tree because it is written in the Old Testament (maybe Isaiah, I don’t remember where they said it was) that when the righteous approach, a tree should bear fruit and the tree did not, that is why Jesus answered by cursing the tree. Do you know of this verse? "... `No more from thee may fruit be -- to the age;' and forthwith the fig-tree withered." (YLT)

Answer 1

The fig tree represented Jerusalem. God had compared His people to the fig tree in the Old Testament. So when Jesus was standing in front of the fig tree on His way to Jerusalem, it was the same as cursing the people of Jerusalem who were not bearing fruit for him. See my answer to the previous question "Who or what does the fig tree represent in Matthew 24:32-35?".

Answer 2

"The fig tree first produces fruit, and then leaves appear... In other words, even out of season, a fig tree with leaves promises to bear fruit!

Fruit of the Moraceae family, originating in the region of Mediterranean Arabia, it has deciduous leaves that fall in autumn-winter. Fruits are also produced in these seasons.

Being by the roadside, the fig tree had been pruned, or at least that was the most likely.

However, in Mark 11:13, it says that it was not the season for figs, so this excludes the autumn-winter season from the context of Jesus—the fruiting period. Therefore, Jesus was in the spring and was looking for late fruit or was in the summer and was looking for early fruits!

'All thy fortresses are fig-trees with first-fruits; if they are shaken, they have fallen into the mouth of the eater.' (Nahum 3:12 YLT)

The fig tree is full of leaves, and Jesus was walking along the road to Bethany; this also confirms that Jesus was not in winter.

The fig tree described in Matthew 21:19 and Mark is very similar to the fig tree of the fourth year of Luke 13:6-9.

Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” Luke 13:6-9

The clause ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν (answering said... Mark 11:14) is used in response to a contradiction in numerous passages: Matthew 4:4; 12:39, 48; 13:11, 37; 15:3, 13, 24, 26; 16:2; 17:11; 19:4; 21:29-30; 24:2; 25:12; 26:23; Mark. 6:37; 10:3; 11:14; Luke 4:12; 5:22; 7:22; 8:21; 9:20; 10:27; 13:2; 15:29; 19:40.

Here a question arises: Why did the fig tree without fruit, outside the production season, contradict Jesus' quest to satisfy his hunger?

The fig tree narration is the second time the Gospels report that Jesus was hungry, the first being in Matthew 4:2 and Luke 4:2.

The phrase γένηται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα of Matthew 21:19 is similar in form to that of Hebrews 6:20 γενόμενος εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα...

Phinehas: Phinehas son of Eleazar ranks third in glory for being zealous in the fear of the Lord, and standing firm when the people turned away, in the noble courage of his soul; and he made atonement for Israel. Therefore a covenant of friendship was established with him, that he should be the leader of the sanctuary and of his people, that he and his descendants should have the dignity of the priesthood forever. Just as a covenant was established with David son of Jesse of the tribe of Judah, that the king’s heritage passes only from son to son, so the heritage of Aaron is for his descendants alone. And now bless the Lord who has crowned you with glory. [Heb: Gk lacks And] May the Lord [Gk he] grant you wisdom of mind to judge his people with justice, so that their prosperity may not vanish, and that their glory may endure through all their generations. Sirach 45:23-26 New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition

'The keeper of a fig-tree eats its fruit, and the preserver of his master is honored.' (Proverbs 27:18 YLT)

Did Jesus constantly go that way? Did Jesus take care of that fig tree?

'As grapes in a wilderness, I found Israel, as the first-fruit in a fig-tree at its beginning. I have seen your fathers; they -- they have gone into Baal-Peor and are separated to a shameful thing, and are become abominable like their love.' (Hosea 9:10 YLT)

'For a nation has come up on my land, strong, and there is no number. Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the jaw-teeth of a lioness. It has made my vine become a desolation, and my fig-tree become a chip. It has made it thoroughly bare and has cast down; made white have been its branches. Wail, as a virgin girds with sackcloth, for the husband of her youth. Cut off has been present and libation from the house of Jehovah. Mourned have the priests, ministers of Jehovah. Spoiled is the field; mourned has the ground; for spoiled is the corn. Dried up has been new wine; languish does oil. Be ashamed, you husbandmen; howl, vine-dressers, for wheat and for barley; for perished has the harvest of the field. The vine has been dried up, and the fig-tree does languish; pomegranate, also palm, and apple-tree, all trees of the field have withered, for dried up has been joy from the sons of men.' (Joel 1:6-12 YLT)

Why did Jesus curse the fig tree in Matt. 21:19?

'I utterly consume them,' an affirmation of Jehovah. 'There are no grapes in the vine; yes, there are no figs in the fig-tree, and the leaf has faded, and the strength they have passes from them.' (Jeremiah 8:13 YLT)

'But the sons of the reign shall be cast forth into outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.' (Matthew 8:12 YLT)

In Jeremiah 8, the Lord God highlights that although he is warning about the great evil that will come against the people, they are hardened, and there is no repentance. Much of this hardening is the fault of those who run the Temple. Priests, Levites, and prophets are all liars and corrupt, says the Lord to Jeremiah, and this is what Jesus recalls when drying up that fig tree by the wayside, full of leaves and without fruit but with the promise of producing them.

Answer 3

Many had used the OT in the answer, focus on the symbolism of fig trees as to the Israelite. But the fig tree is also a symbolism to us today.

Revelation has letters to the seven churches in Asia Minor. In the letter to Ephesus, Rev 2:5 read

5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. (NIV)

It alludes if a church did not bring the righteous people to the Lord, the Lord will remove the church.

The fig tree is the church, and its fruit is the righteous people.

Jesus did this in front of His disciples. His disciples didn't seem catch the symbolism of it, rather they were amaze on this miracle. Jesus did explain why he did it, in both Matthew and Mark account, Jesus affirmed His disciples;

Matthew 21:21-22

21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.

22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Mark 22:22-24

22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.

24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

How would the wither of a fig tree related to "faith" and "believe"? Jesus came to establish His Church, thru faith the righteous grown. If a church fail to yield a righteous, the church withered. So Jesus was telling His disciples to build His Church on faith, but some churches will fail and they will wither like the fig tree.

Answer 4

While the symbolism of the fig tree has been stated in several Biblical commentaries, the question of why did Jesus curse the fig tree can be found in the context of the verse.

The chapter "A Fig Tree Is Used to Teach a Lesson About Faith" in the book Jesus—The Way, the Truth, the Life, mentions the following:

But why did Jesus cause the tree to wither? He reveals the reason in his response: “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what I did to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And all the things you ask in prayer, having faith, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:21, 22) He is thus repeating the point he made earlier about faith being able to move a mountain.​—Matthew 17:20.

The chapter continues to explain that the need for faith will be tantamount given the things the apostles and disciples of Jesus would experience in the coming years.

[All scripture quotations from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition)]

Answer 5

Justice is knowing the fig tree was his way of telling those with the mind to know that he didn’t die for sin. The fig tree he killed before his crucifixion saying `No more from thee may fruit be -- to the age;' and forthwith the fig-tree withered." (YLT). Remember eden? The fig was a symbol of trying to cover themselves after sin! I know everyone will pay for their own transgressions. Plus think about how Mark 3:29 connects with the cross! You should be able to recognize asking for blood is actually dangerous!

Answer 6

Regarding OT verses that relate to OP, we have these

• Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. (Isaiah 3:10)

• The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, but lawlessness takes away lives. (Proverbs 11:30)

• Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree, in its first season, I saw your fathers. (Hosea 9:10)

The idea that Jesus literally cursed the for its failure to bear fruit does not hold up. The fig tree had no will of its own, and thus it would not reasonable for him to curse it more that reason. He must have cursed it as a symbolic act. The verse from Hosea, however, gives us a clue as to the meaning of Jesus' curse.

The two accounts (Matthew's and Mark's) differ somewhat. In Matthew's account, the curse is not as absolute as it seems in Mark (see below) and the symbolic meaning of the curse is clearer. On the other hand, both accounts imply that the ostensible reason for the curse was that Jesus was hungry and expected the tree to have fruit that he could eat.

When they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” (Mark 11:12-14)

Mark mentions that it was not the season for figs, but if we look at the preceding verses, we can see another reason than hunger that precipitated Jesus' act: namely Jesus was unhappy that his "triumphal entry" did not go as well as he had hoped.

Those who went before and those who followed cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming! Hosanna in the highest!” And he entered Jerusalem, and went into the temple; and when he had looked round at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. (vss. 9-11)

Mark's version of the Triumphal Entry differs from Matthew's (Mt. 21), where large crowds greet him enthusiastically, the city is "stirred," Jesus conducts several healing miracles, and the overturning of the moneychangers' tables happens on the same day. Here in Mark, it seems that only his followers shout "Hosanna" and he does nothing in the city other than to "look around at everything" before leaving because it was already late. The triumphal entry, in other words, is hardly Triumphal.

There would be no reason for Jesus to curse the fig tree if he were satisfied with the previous day's events because the fig tree had done nothing wrong. There is a deeper meaning to this story. The fig tree represented both Jerusalem and Israel. When the Triumphal Entry failed to materialize, Jesus returned to Jerusalem in an unhappy mood, at least in Mark's account. So he cursed the fig tree. The same meaning may be taken from Matthew's account, although the sequence of events is different. Luke and John do not report this event.

Matthew adds that when Jesus was asked about the time of the Last Days, he said:

From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. (Matthew 24:32)

In context, this statement clearly pertains to the fig tree that Jesus had cursed, so it seems to indicate that when Israel and/or Jerusalem become open to Jesus' message, then the Last Days are at hand.

Conclusion:
Jesus cursed the fig tree because the people of Jerusalem and Israel generally did not respond to his message. In Mark's gospel, the incident occurs after the demonstrations planned as the Triumphal Entry apparently did not pan out. Jesus despaired that his Gospel of the Kingdom would be accepted. Both accounts present the curse as a result of Jesus' rejection. Ultimately, in Matthew's account, the curse was not as absolute as it initially seemed. The fig tree would eventually blossom again, a sign of hope for the Second Advent.