The temple was a marvelous structure, but for Jesus it was something more; it was His Father’s house which was meant to reflect His Father’s heart. And what was His Father’s heart for the temple? To draw people from all nations to Himself. It was the one place they could offer sacrifice for the forgiveness of their sin, the one place they could meet with God, come to know Him and to corporately call on His name in prayer. The temple was not just a building; it was the place where heaven met earth, where all people could come and know the God of Israel. So on the way to His Father’s house, Jesus sees a fig tree that has such an explosion of green leaves that its beauty can be seen from a great distance. But upon closer examination of what is beneath the leaves, the tree is completely fruitless. But we aren’t troubled by the fact that the tree is unfruitful because the text tells us that it wasn’t the season for figs. What is troubling is that Jesus knows that the tree should not be expected to have any fruit on it and yet He judges the tree and it withers under His judgement of its fruitlessness. Let us examine how Jesus is making the tree itself a living parable about the state He finds God’s people in at His Father’s house.
