Mark 11:12 – 14, 20 – 23
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.” And his disciples heard him say it. 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. 23 “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.
When reading this passage, a lot of hard questions come to my mind. For example, was Jesus angry because he was hungry? Will Jesus allow me to move mountains? (Glasshouse mountains closer to Brisbane?) If I pray to move a mountain and nothing happens, does that mean I don’t have faith? The answers to these questions are no, no, and no – space prevents a full explanation but what we can do is think about the clear realities from this passage.
Firstly, the withering of the fig tree is a good picture of Jesus coming to Israel where he was entitled to expect spiritual fruit. He was equally entitled to condemn and destroy them because of their hard hearted, barren spiritual lives; they didn’t even fully recognise their Messiah.
Secondly, we do need to be confident that the Lord will hear our prayers. Nothing is too hard for him, but his love for us is so great that he confines his answers to what is good for us. For example, we need to ask, what purpose would it serve if one of us prayed for the big show of a moving mountain. We are certainly on certain ground when we apply Jesus words to our sin. Will Jesus move the mountain of sin and guilt that lies on us when we ask him? He surely will. That is why he died on the cross for us.
David Johnston – Creek Road