Great Monday.

Curse on the Fruitless Fig Tree.

(Mat. 21:18-22; Mark 11:12-14).

Two Evangelists, Saints Matthew and Mark, relate that after the Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, He spent the night with His disciples in Bethany, In the morning of the next day, while walking back to Jerusalem, the Lord noticed a fig tree. While wishing to partake of its fruit, He couldn’t find any on it although it was covered with leaves, and said: “Let no fruit grow on you ever again” — “Immediately the fig tree withered away,” which amazed the disciples. The Evangelists speak that the Lord “was hungry” and that’s why He was looking for the fruit. This is not surprising, because of the Lord Jesus Christ’s human nature, He was subject to all human weaknesses, and was like us in all respects, except sin. After all, He wasn’t only God, but God-Man. Characteristically, He never used His Divine almighty powers to satisfy His human needs, but resorted to normal human means, rejecting once and for all the devil’s temptation to turn stones into bread. With this, Saint Mark notes that the fig tree didn’t have any fruit because it wasn’t the right time.

Then why did the gig tree was subjected to a curse? — Because it was deceiving and deluding through its appearance. Usually, leaves appear on a fig tree after it had given fruit. However, through its lush greenery, this tree promised fruit to the passerby when in fact it had nothing but leaves. The Church teaches that the fig tree was a symbol of the representatives and leaders of the Jewish Old Testament Church — high priests, Scribes and Pharisees, who wore a facade as fulfillers of God’s Laws, but in reality bore no fruit. As punishment for their hypocrisy, the Lord doomed them to wither, and as we will see later, predicted that “the Kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it” (Mat. 21:43).