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NASB | Matthew 21:19 Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He *said to it, "No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you." And at once the fig tree withered. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 21:19 Seeing a lone fig tree at the roadside, He went to it and found nothing but leaves on it; and He said to it, "Never again will fruit come from you." And at once the fig tree withered. |
Subject: Why did Jesus curse the fig tree? |
Bible Note: Nolan, Good stuff, and thanks for refining "power THROUGH the Holy Spirit." I was relating Jesus' frequent hints to the disciples about their future in the HS to this particular episode, perhaps awkwardly, but I'm stuck on "...you will not only DO what was done to this fig tree..." (v.21). More on why in a second. Good observation of how the disciples were mystified ("How did the fig tree wither all at once?"), rather than reminded of Jesus' power through this dramatic action, which indicates that Jesus is indeed referring to their weakness of faith with "Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt..." But notice that He follows with, "...you will not only DO...", thus accenting the theme of action rather than the theme of doubt. In Mark 11:21-24, the link to active faith and answered prayer is magnified: "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you." And so it appears that Jesus intends this Agent Holy Orange event to demonstrate the power of faith over matter rather than to serve as a parable on false piety. This combined with Jesus' deliberate verbal killing of a thing must have seemed almost magical to the disciples. What must they have thought to hear their Lord say that simply by asking in resolute faith will their requests be granted? And what fuel for quarrels: "I got more faith than you do; I flamed a sycamore tree"; so the lesson can't be along these lines, because it leads either to boasting or frustration. It seems, therefore, that for prayers to be answered they must be grounded in faith, not material, in God's will, not ours. Move a mountain for sure, but only according to God's will, not ours; seek His will first and the action will follow. To quote Chambers: "You labor at prayer and results happen all the time from His standpoint." (MUHH, Oct 17) So if the lesson isn't on seeming in faith but on doing in faith, why death for a tree caught out of season? What is the lesson? Colin |