When the Lord Approaches Your Fig Tree

I would like to share something with you today that, in one way or another, was inspired by the message the pastor shared last Sunday. I don’t know how many of you were here on Sunday, but the pastor was speaking about this passage in Mark, Chapter 11, which talks about the moment when Jesus came upon the fig tree and cursed it because he found no fruit on it.

As he was preaching, an impression came to my mind that I had not considered before, and I would like to share some of those things with you because I believe there are some secrets there that we can learn from.

If you can find that book, that passage in Mark, Chapter 11, we are going to read verses 12 through 14. And I can tell you something, my brothers and sisters: perhaps this idea, this impression that I am going to share with you, may exegetically or theologically take me outside the boundaries of what many biblical commentators might say, but you know what? Sometimes I believe that is also one of the beauties of the Bible.

I say this because I have studied—I mean, I have spent time, energy, and money on my studies—and I know how biblical studies can often make a person focus too much on seeing the Bible through one specific framework. But I also believe that the Bible has that life, that vitality of the Spirit, so that, without necessarily straying from the principles contained in it, we can still receive and learn some things that God himself wants to make known to us.

As I meditated on this, I thought: all of us, in one way or another—all of us, and I am going to say something very important—all of us, in one way or another, are very accustomed to God always being available to meet our needs. How many of you can say yes to that? Obviously, many times, or most of the time, we learn this from Scripture. That is, whoever comes to God must come believing that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. We believe that God is always there, ready to meet our needs. Many times we sing, “Oh, I hunger for you, for your presence, for your fragrance, for your power—a hunger that hurts…”

You have heard that song, right? A hunger that hurts… Sometimes we get very tragic in our songs. How many of you have ever felt hunger that truly hurts? And at some point we have said to God, “Lord, I have a hunger for you that hurts, a hunger for your presence and to be with you.” We have said it in prayer, and there are times when we approach that prayer as though saying, “No, Lord, you have to satisfy this hunger now; if you do not do it now, I will die.” We sometimes become very melodramatic with God—very tragic, very dramatic.

But what if, in some song, we stopped to think about or consider this: if God were hungry for us, would we be available to satisfy him? Have you ever stopped to think about that? If God hungers for you, would you be willing and available to satisfy that hunger? Would we be available to satisfy the hunger God has?

Go with me to Mark, Chapter 11, verses 12 through 14. It says:

“…The next day, when they came out from Bethany, Jesus was hungry…”

This divine being, this Son of God who had become man, felt something we all feel every day, sometimes even three times a day. Some people feel it four or five times a day, but normal people feel it three times a day—and three times at night. So:

“…Jesus was hungry, and from a distance he saw a fig tree that had leaves, and he went over to see whether it might also have fruit, whether perhaps he might find fruit on it. But when he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then Jesus said to the fig tree, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again,’ and his disciples heard him say it…”

You know, I could not help laughing when the pastor said on Sunday that if he were that fig tree, he would say, “But how is it my fault if it is not fig season? Why are you going to curse me?” And it became even more interesting to me because one of the biblical commentators I was reading dared to write something that sounded like a criticism of Jesus’ action, asking why Jesus used his divine power to curse that plant or tree when he could very easily have used his divine power to make it produce fruit right then and there.

That makes you think. Why would he use divine power to curse instead of using his divine power to bless this fig tree and make it bear fruit even though it was not the season for fruit? Interesting, right? Sometimes you read those things and it is like… they make you think.

But look at what it made me think about. I remember the pastor mentioning—and I strongly agree with this, as do many commentators—that, if I may do some exegesis with you, the place where Mark positioned this illustration involving the fig tree in the passage came at a very critical point in that account. On the one hand, it can be interpreted as meaning that this act by Jesus symbolized a time of judgment that was going to come upon the people of Israel, upon the Jews. And how do we know this? Because in the preceding verses we see that, when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, one of the first things he did was go to the temple. And when he entered the temple, what did he do? If you look at the text—can you put up verse 10? Verse 10 says that Jesus entered the temple, and what he did was look around.

“…And Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and after looking around at everything, since it was already evening, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve…”

So, it is as though Jesus went in to investigate and saw everything that was happening in the temple. If we look at verse 15, please—can we see verse 15? Look at what verse 15 says:

“…Then they came to Jerusalem, and when Jesus entered the temple, what happened? He began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves…”

And the account continues from there. It is one of those moments when we might say that Jesus had a screw loose and went crazy. And he began driving everyone out of there with a whip, with blows. That is why, when the account of the fig tree is seen there between these two events, what it exemplified or symbolized was that Jesus’ action in trying to cleanse the temple revealed that a hard time was coming upon the people of Israel because they were not doing things the way God commanded.

So, exegetically, that is how the account of the fig tree is read. A second way it is also read is that Jesus wanted to teach his disciples a lesson about the prayer of faith, because after that account, if you go to verse 20, look at what it says:

“…And as they passed by in the morning, they saw that the fig tree had withered from the roots. Then Peter, remembering, said to him, ‘Teacher, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered.’ And what did Jesus say to him? He said, ‘Have faith in God, for truly I tell you that whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, whatever he says will be done for him…’

So, what happened to the fig tree can also exemplify a way in which Jesus taught his disciples, “Look, if you do something, if you say something, if you ask for something in faith, it will happen.” Now, after giving you that exegetical analysis—and I can already see that you are falling asleep—let me give you the heart of the matter. This is what I understand the Lord impressed upon me.

I want you to picture that scene: Jesus walking along those roads, hungry. Perhaps the disciples could even hear his stomach growling. And it is as though he said, “Guys, I am hungry. This is serious. We are going to have to stop somewhere and eat a hot dog or something because I am hungry.” And he sees this fig tree, approaches it, and goes looking. Look at what the account says:

“…When he arrived, he found no fruit…”

And look at what God made me think about. God made me think about this: there are times when God hungers for us, and he sees us from a distance. He sees us and often approaches us in the midst of our daily routine, in the things we are doing. He approaches us and sees our foliage; he sees that, on the surface, we appear to be doing well. But God knows what is truly there, and he approaches us and begins searching among the leaves. And where is the fruit? Where is the essence of what this tree is? You tell me you are an apple tree, but I see no apples. You tell me you are a pear tree, but I see no pears. You tell me you are an orange tree, but I see no oranges. You tell me you are a fig tree, but I see no figs. What happened?

You know, the human tendency in this situation, when something is expected of us and we cannot provide it, is to respond with these justifications—not to call them excuses—such as, “Oh, I did not know I had to do that.” Or we also say, “Oh, no, I am not ready for that.” Or we simply say, “This is not my time to respond to such a demand.” As the text says, it was not the season for figs. Do you see where I am going with this? It was not the time.

As you can see, we are very quick to justify ourselves, especially when it has to do with giving of our time in life—time in its different forms. When it comes to family time, when it comes to your work time, when it comes to your time to rest—which some people guard very jealously—or when it is time to go to church, as we are doing today, or when it is time to relax, or when it is time to play and have fun. But what about the time we give to God?

What about the time we give to God? You know, the Bible teaches us that everything has its time. What does Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3, say? Can someone tell me what Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3, says? It says:

“…Everything has its time, and everything desired under heaven has its hour. There is a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot what was planted, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…”

I liked that, right? So, just in case someone says that dancing is not biblical, you can quote that passage to them. Okay?

“…There is a time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to seek something and a time to lose something, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to sew, a time to be silent—and many times that is something many of us need to practice more—a time to be silent and a time to speak—which we also need to monitor very carefully—a time to love, a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace…”

Look at what verse 11 says. I liked this verse:

“…God made everything beautiful in its time, and he has placed eternity in their hearts—this is about us, human beings—yet man cannot comprehend the work God has done from beginning to end. I have known that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good in their lives, and also that it is a gift from God for every man or woman to eat and drink and enjoy the good from all their labor…”

Everything has its time. How are we keeping track of our time? That is a question I can ask. How are we managing our time? But above all, how are we responding to the time when God wants to work in the midst of our lives?

There is another passage, Romans Chapter 13, that I also want to read to you. Romans Chapter 13, verse 11—look at what it says:

“…And do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for us to awaken from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, and the day is approaching. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us all walk properly, as in the daytime—not in gluttony and drunkenness, not in lust and debauchery, not in strife and envy—but clothed with the Lord Jesus Christ, and let us make no provision for the desires of the flesh…”

There are many people who, when the Lord approaches their fig tree, so to speak, justify themselves by saying something like, “No, this is not my time. I want to keep enjoying the good life. I want to keep enjoying my friendships. I want to keep enjoying the Corona drinking I can do with my friends on the weekends. I want to keep enjoying the ability to use my eyes to contemplate the beauty of God’s creation in women; I am not yet willing to give that up.” Or in men, in the case of a woman. “I want to keep using my time to speak harshly to whomever I please and thus intimidate people so I can hide my own insecurities. I want to keep using my time to enjoy the money I earn and spend it on my own pleasures. There is still a BMW I want to buy, and until I have that BMW, I am not going to give my time to God. Until I get the house I am looking for, I am not going to give my time to God. I am still very young, and that is for old people. So until I am 65 years old, I am not going to give my time to God.” Forgive me, those of you here who are 65 years old.

We justify ourselves and say, “No, it is not time. It is not fig season. It is not the time for the fruit you are looking for. God, you are hungry—you hunger for me—but it is not yet time for me to give you what you desire from me.”

There is another text in Second Corinthians, chapter 6, verse 2, which we also know, and it says this:

“…In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation…”

The Word of God, my brothers and sisters. Words from God. That first part that says, “In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you”—do you know what that means? When you were hungry, I was there. When you fell and scraped your knee, I was there. When you were crying because your boyfriend or girlfriend left you, I was there, wanting to be your boyfriend or girlfriend. When you got laid off from work and went to the bar to drink away your sorrows and vent, I was there drinking a glass of water with you.

In an acceptable time I heard you, and in the day of salvation—this part, “in the day of salvation,” means something like, on the day when something new was about to begin—I was the one who came to your aid. Behold, now is the time for you to do your part; behold, now is the day of your salvation. Behold, now is the moment when God has such a great hunger for his people, for his sons and daughters, as never before. God has a hunger for humanity. God has a hunger for you and for me. God has a hunger for his creation not to be lost, but to be able to receive the life he has for each one of us.

God has a hunger to see his sons and daughters living a fruitful, abundant life, not a life of mediocrity. God has a hunger to reveal to each one of us the secrets he holds in his heart. God has a hunger to hear us say, “Daddy, thank you for everything you give me,” instead of, “Oooh, nobody loves me!” Do not come with that same old song again: “Oh, Lord, they stabbed me in the back!” If you keep behaving that way, they are going to keep stabbing you in the back.

God is hungry. And he is not hungry for rice and beans, pork chops, and some good sweet plantains or ripe plantains. That is not the hunger God has. He is hungry for you—for you—and to spend time with you. Not merely to hear you cry, but to hear you simply say to him, “Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Daddy, for who you are, for what you mean, and for what you do in my life. Thank you for what you are doing in the world. Thank you because you remain faithful to your promises, because even when we turn away from you, you remain there, steadfast.”

Look how interesting this is: last night, the Orthodox Jew whom the pastor had announced, Aria Abramowicz, was here, and he spoke about the people of Israel—and who better to hear about the people of Israel from than an Orthodox Israelite himself? And he himself says that one of the things Israel has in its favor is that, no matter how many times the people of Israel are so stubborn that they turn their backs on God, God will nevertheless remain faithful to his promises; God will nevertheless remain faithful to the covenants he has made with this people since way, way back, since Abraham. God remains faithful through it all.

The same thing happens with us. We can keep saying, “No, Lord, it is not time. It is not my time to bear figs; it is not my time to take you seriously. It is not my time to abandon my way of behaving in order to accept the way you want me to behave. It is not my time to stop thinking the way I have learned to think over the 30, 40, or 50 years of my life and adopt a new way of thinking. It is not yet my time to stop speaking badly behind someone’s back and instead speak well in front of people—and to their faces and behind their backs, in front of them and everywhere else, to speak well, as you want me to do. It is not my time to do those things, because those things are boring. I would rather live my own interesting life, gossiping about others all the time.”

We put those obstacles in God’s way. And look, perhaps—I asked myself, “Lord, what does this mean? Are we going to end up like the fig tree, then? Are we all going to end up dried up from the roots?” Not necessarily. Obviously, if we insist on continuing to live according to our own timing and not God’s timing, we run the risk of drying up from the roots. And sadly, I know there are people who are drying up from the roots. There are people whose roots are kind of—what word can I use that sounds refined?—dehydrated roots, thank you. Dehydrated roots; I liked that. There are people who are like that, my brothers and sisters, and the bad thing is that many times we do not want to acknowledge it. “Ah, but I have leaves. Look how good I look with my leaves.” Leaves for what? The most important thing is the fruit you can bear, not necessarily the leaves.

And that is what God hungers for from us. God hungers to see us living fruitful lives that demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit, that demonstrate that love, that demonstrate that peace, that demonstrate lives of faithfulness and integrity, and that demonstrate a gentle character, a character of self-control.

Those are the things God is looking for. Those are the things God is hungry for: that we not be a people who praise him with our lips while our hearts are far from him. God does not want that. God wants a people; God hungers for a people who focus on God more with their hearts than merely with their lips.

Look, my brothers and sisters, I tell you, as I was preparing this message, something inside me was trembling. When I heard the pastor’s message on Sunday—look, the conviction of the Spirit pierced deeply into my heart. Think about that question: What is the basement of your house like? What is the attic of your house like—the places no one sees? I think about the basement of my house, and I say, “My basement is fine,” but sometimes it smells damp, and when it smells damp, you have to turn on the humidifier so those bad smells will go away. Again, the leaves look fine, but deeper inside, farther down, there are things one cannot see that are not right.

And look, I say this intentionally, my brothers and sisters: the first thing my wife and I did when we moved into our house in Randolph was—we, how do you say it, ripped out—we tore out the entire basement. We went so far that we discovered a termite nest in the basement. Imagine that. When we saw it, we were like… I saw those little things moving along the wall, across the floor, and I said, “Nooooo! I bought a house with termites! Why didn’t that show up in the inspection?”

And that became a months-long project of rebuilding the basement, and now the basement is habitable. My in-laws stay down there—thank God, they are in the basement and I am upstairs in my room, amen. We have a floor separating us. Relax, I love my in-laws. Believe me, I love my in-laws. Thanks to my in-laws, my basement is the way it is, because he was the one who took vacation time when he could not afford to and helped us work on the basement.

Let anyone who has ears to hear, hear. That is all I am going to say. But look at why I say this. To my eyes, my basement appears to be fine, but I know that there are things that are still somewhat rotten and still need to be treated. There are many people who, according to their own timing, believe their lives are fine. “Ah, everything is tidy; the curtains look good and are in their proper place; we vacuumed,” things like that. So everything looks clean on the surface. But it really is not.

God hungers for us, and he is not looking for leaves beneath which to shelter. He is looking for fruit that he can eat, fruit that can nourish the relationship that unites us with him. This is the time, my brothers and sisters. We are living in a time when God is seeking an even deeper connection with us.

So I tell you: the Lord Jesus is walking near you, and he is hungry, and he sees you from a distance. He says, “Ah, look at that lovely little tree; look how beautiful it is. Let me come closer and see whether it has something I can eat.” Do you have something to offer the Lord? Do I have something to offer the Lord? Let us think about this, my brothers and sisters.

What is more, I dare to pray this way. Just as that passage from Second Corinthians said, this is the day of salvation. This can be the day when you say to the Lord Jesus, “Lord Jesus, look, perhaps my tree has no fruit, but I want it to bear fruit, and you are the only one who can enable that fruit to grow. I do not want this anymore. I do not want my life to be merely a tree you pass by without being able to take anything from it. I want to be able to bear fruit.”

Ask yourself tonight: if he comes to you looking for fruit, can you give him some? And if you cannot, do you know what? He wants you to be able to know him. He is not going to curse your fig tree. No. He wants to bless you. He wants your fig tree to bear fruit in season and out of season. That is another passage. It says that in Timothy, and one must always be ready in season and out of season, because one never knows when Jesus is going to arrive hungry, wanting to find something in us, so that he will not be surprised by what he finds: “Wait, this is not ready. What happened?” Are we ready? Are we willing to make the time to say, “Lord, look, put your hand into this bush; there is something here you can pick to satisfy yourself”?

The person who can say that is the person who has a direct relationship with the Lord Jesus. If I am a person who has lived without giving time to God—at least the time he deserves—I will not be able to bear that kind of fruit. My fruit will be something else. It will be bitter, sour fruit that will make the tongue of anyone who bites into it curl up.

But God wants us to bear sweet fruit, and for that fruit to grow, our lives must be completely connected to him. So I want to take a moment tonight to pray about that. If any of us, my brothers and sisters, need to reconnect with God so that he can nourish our lives in such a way that we can bear fruit, so that when he hungers for something from us, we can say, “Lord, eat; there is something here. You can count on me.”

I want to pray for you. So, with complete confidence, right where you are, if these words have echoed in your heart, stand up, and let us pray for you.

Beloved God, I thank you for your Word. Thank you, Lord, because you are the one who enables our lives to bear good fruit, Lord. But Father, look, I also acknowledge that many times we are either not ready, think we are not ready, or do not want to be ready; we have so many other things on our minds, yet you approach us with longing, with a desire to see something in our lives, to taste something, to take something from our lives.

And what greater satisfaction could there be than for us to be able to satisfy you, Lord? So, Lord, look, tonight I present myself before you together with my brothers and sisters, and if at any moment we have said that it is not our time, Lord, while you are telling us that it is, Father, look, bring conviction to our hearts so that we may turn completely to you and let you be the one who produces fruit in our lives.

Father, right now, Lord, I ask you to place that burden in our hearts, my God, concerning the things to which we are giving more time than to others. Lord, yes, if we are giving more time to our interests than to yours, Lord, look, correct us and put us on the path where we should be. Help us, Lord, to align our steps with you. Help us to make time for you, Lord, amid our busy schedules, whatever our schedules may look like. But may we always, Lord, in some way—in our minds, in our hearts, in our spirits, Lord—have that connection with you that nourishes our lives, so that we may bear fruit not only for you, but also for others around us.

Lord Jesus, we ask you to forgive us. My God, I ask you also to forgive us for the many times we have given you excuses, excuses that have no justification. Forgive us and allow our eyes and our hearts to be opened in this time, Lord—to be opened in this time of salvation, in this time of new beginnings, in this time of beginnings that will launch us into new dimensions with you, Lord.

You walk along the path of our lives, and you are hungry; you desire for us to respond to you. Put in us both the desire and the ability to act. May we not be feeble Christians; may we not be boring Christians, but passionate, radical Christians, Lord, set on fire by you and for you, Lord.

I ask your blessing upon each of my brothers and sisters, Lord. I ask you to protect them, and may these words upon which we have meditated and reflected, Lord, continue to echo in each of their hearts. Lord Jesus, your Word is life; your Word is real, Lord. To some, this Word may say one thing, and to others it may say something else, but Lord, may it be a message that comes from you, and may we respond to that message.

Bless your sons and daughters tonight; I ask you, please, Jesus, pour out your blessing upon us, Lord. Father, just as we hunger and thirst for you, may it be that whenever you approach us, Lord, we too may have the ability to satisfy your longing and your desire for us as well, Jesus.

We thank you. Bless us, Lord, as we leave here; bring us safely from this place to our homes, Jesus, and may your word continue to echo in our lives and in our hearts, Lord, and move us to action. May we not be left merely with knowledge, but may those words move us to action, to a life more fully surrendered and devoted to you. We ask this in the name of your Son Jesus, whom we love and to whom we give all the glory and honor. Amen.