Fruit Failure
12. The next day, as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.
13. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to find out if it had any fruit. When He reached it, He found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.
14. Then He said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”
20. In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots.
21. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
22. “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. NIV
Mark 11:12-14, 20-22
Where is the Fruit?
If God visited our society, what kind of fruit would He find? If God visited our Churches, what kind of fruit would He find? If God visited our homes, would there be fruit to His liking? These are not rhetorical questions, these are concerns that must be addressed by our world, our Churches, and our homes. Where is the fruit?
Why shouldn’t God make this inquiry? Everything that God created was made for the purpose of bearing fruit. There have been no alterations to the initial command of Genesis. First God commanded the vegetation in Genesis 1:11, Let the land produce vegetation: seed bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds. Every tree, plant, and vine was commanded to bear fruit unto God. Then, God commanded the animals and creatures in Genesis 1:22, God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters, and let the birds increase in number.” Lastly, God made man in His own image and gave the command to be fruitful. Genesis 1:26. Fruitfulness is a command of God, but where is the fruit to demonstrate obedience to this command? Where is the fruit?
The fruit is more than a production activity, being fruitful is the fulfillment of God’s Purpose in the earth. Whenever purpose is fulfilled, God is always glorified. The fruit demonstrates abundance of life. Things without life cannot produce. The fruit of a believer is their faith, their praise, and their work in the Lord. The fruit is the way believers live and interact in an evil world and a chaotic society. The fruit demonstrates obedience to God’s plan. Obviously, there are things that God does not want to grow. It is not God’s will for evil things to grow. It is not God’s will for violence and murder to grow. God’s desire is to grow a wholesome and helpful society through the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. When the Church varies from that plan, it has become disobedient to God’s command. I ask you, where is the fruit?
Lastly, the fruit demonstrates usefulness. Everything that God created had both a purpose and a benefit to something other than itself. This is an important concept as we see society becoming more and more self-focused. This brings us into the Scripture text when Jesus approached the fig tree. There are four powerful warnings that we must take to heart if we are to follow God’s command of fruitfulness. Warning No. 1 – Give God what He expects. Warning No. 2 – Don’t be deceived by the leaves. Warning No. 3 – Remember the Goal is to please God. And Warning No. 4 – Fruit failure leads to destruction.
It’s Show Time
When Jesus approached the fig tree, He did so as Creator of all things as well as the Son of Man who was hungry. The next day, as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry … Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to find out if it had any fruit. When He reached it, He found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Clearly, Jesus was expecting something other than mere leaves. In Palestine, fig trees would bear what is known as the ‘early fruit.’ They were not ripe but you could still eat them. Some of the fig trees would have fruit with few or no leaves. What made this tree so deceptive is that it had spent all of its energy on producing leaves and not fruit which had rendered it totally useless to anyone. Here was Immanuel, God in the flesh, standing before His tree that He created expecting some fruit. It was showtime, but the tree had only leaves to demonstrate all the goodness that had been showered upon it. You might say the tree was dressed up but not fixed up.
This fig tree represents people who have been blessed with much but have not reciprocated by producing good. God does not need “green leaf Christians,” He is calling for fruit bearing Christians. Jesus said in John 15:8, My Father is glorified when you bear much fruit. Every believer is not only capable but has been so abundantly blessed, that they can give God something. We can all give God thanks. We can all offer Him the praises of our lips. We can all show kindness to others – that’s fruit. We can all have a grateful attitude – that’s fruit. Look at it on the other hand, whether we have had little or much, we have all given something to the devil. If you gave your time to the devil, why not give your time to God? So now that you are saved, give God something. Give the fruit that God expects. It’s showtime, step up or stop showing your leaves.
Not only should we give God what He expects, we should not be deceitful with leaf production. Let me give you another term for deceptive leaf production, it is called pretending. Some would call it faking it. Jesus approached the fig tree expecting to get fruit because He saw the tree that had lots of leaves. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to find out if it had any fruit. When He reached it, He found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. I’m wondering if our efforts in the Church are focused more on looking good than actually doing good.
After leaving the fig tree, Jesus entered the Temple of God and found those buying, selling, and putting on a religious spectacle. It was anything but worshipping God. They were what the fig tree symbolized. They were faking it. They had lots of green religious leaves but no real relationship with God. Our Lord drove them out of the Temple because they were only producing leaves. Jesus responded to them with the Word of God. My House will be called a House of Prayer for all nations but you have made it a den of thieves. The religious leaders and those who followed that deceptive practice were stealing from both God and the people who came to worship. Like the fig tree, they were getting blessed but not bearing any fruit. It was showtime but they failed to show anything of value.
The third warning is highly critical. As believers, we must make certain that our goal of producing fruit is to please Almighty God. So often, we get sidetracked because of the opinions of people. There have been times in our lives where we have not prepared for fruitfulness because of factors that indicated it was not the right time. Like the fig tree, circumstances dictate that it was not the season for figs. In the Old Testament, the people of Israel were returning from the Captivity in Babylon. Many of them were so concerned about resettling in Canaan that they literally neglected rebuilding God’s Temple. They had laid the foundation, but the work of God was at a standstill because of a bad economy, enemy threats, and insufficient resources. They were looking for a convenient time to work on the Temple of God. The prophets Haggai and Zachariah kept warning the people that their works would not prosper unless they take heed and obey God’s Word. God was looking for fruitfulness but they were offering excuses. Like those Jews of ancient Israel, the Church of our day has made excuses rather than doing what pleases God. Some justify unfruitfulness by saying we are still dealing with the COVID threat. Others blame the unfruitfulness on a bad political system. Others use the argument that we are headed for a recession. Ladies and gentlemen, God is not buying our excuses. It is showtime and we must at least give God what we have. Remember, even two fish and five loaves can work a miracle. When pleasing the Lord becomes our goal fruitfulness will abound.
The fourth warning is to not allow fruit failure to lead to destruction. When the Lord found no fruit on the fig tree, He didn’t simply walk away in disappointment. No, the Lord spoke a curse on the fig tree. Then He said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” The Disciples heard the pronouncement but probably thought it was not immediate and certainly not that severe. The next day told a different story. When they walked by the next morning, they saw that the tree had withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” Jesus responded to Peter saying, “Have faith in God.” This is a warning to us that we should never allow ourselves to become totally unproductive. Bear the fruit that God expects.
Faith Leads to Fruitfulness
How do we avoid that state of unfruitfulness? Jesus gave the answer. We are to Have faith in God. Faith works so powerfully. Faith provides the platform for us to speak God’s Word. Second, faith provides the power to move past the excuses and offer our lives for God’s Glory. Third, faith provides the promise that God is actually working in our lives so that we can be fruitful. Finally, faith provides us with purpose so that we will always know that we are bearing fruit for God’s Glory. When we follow the path of faith, we will never experience fruit failure. 2 Peter 1:8, for if these things be in you and abound, they make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.