Lessons from the Fig Tree II
Published: August 05, 2023
Post updated: September 27, 2024
By: Brian C Jenkins
Matthew 21:18-22; Mark 11:12-14, 20-25; Hebrews 6:4-8
Lesson Two
Why did Jesus curse the fig tree?
Have you ever met someone saying, “I used to be in church every Sunday. I went to Bible study every Wednesday. Tithed every chance I could get. I was a part of the deacon board. Eventually, I was promoted to the elder board. I sang in the choir and served in nine or ten different ways.” Does this sound familiar?
What about today?
It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
Hebrews 6:4-8
Jesus said, “May you never bear fruit again!”
‘Again’ is the key word. That means the tree bore fruit at some point. When the King was ready to eat his harvest, there was no fruit. If life is restricted, the only thing left is to wither. Therefore the curse led to its death.
Application: It’s like saying at 33 I led 15 people to Jesus, and ran a Bible study for two years. Life happens, and now at 37, I don’t care anymore. The excuse is that my life is too busy or messed up. I walked away from Kingdom work because I had other priorities. Generally speaking, if Jesus is calling you back to him and you choose to ignore his call, you will be in danger of being cursed. In other words, when Jesus is ready for your fruit, you have no fruit to give. But the curse only happens if you are unwilling to be fruitful. What was done before doesn’t trump where your heart is now. The Bible says to be ready.
Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:62
Backsliding
To understand the veracity of this topic, we must touch on a few different things to include the once saved, always saved world view.
The Prophecy of Psalm 69
Psalm 69 is a hardcore prophecy of Jesus’ mind through a Psalm of David. If we use the lens of prophecy, we can see things spiritually we wouldn’t otherwise know or understand. There are a couple major points about Psalm 69 that must be addressed before diving deep. We must first figure out what the Bible means by tables. Then secondly, we must understand the prophecy within Psalm 69:21 and how it connects to the cross.
The Two Tables
An Excerpt from The Altar…
The Table of the Lord
The Table of the Lord is the Altar
The Altar may be bloody and gruesome but is where life is shared.
How do we know this?
Is the cup of blessing that we bless not a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is the bread which we break not a sharing in the body of Christ?
1 Corinthians 10:16
Jesus sacrificed himself on the ultimate altar, the cross.
Jesus’ blood being shed on the cross brought a new covenant with God the Father.
In the same way, after supper, he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
Luke 22:20
When we take Jesus seriously, we can share his life and promises from his shed blood instead of despising him and the cross.
Jesus is our only access to eternal life.
Without Jesus, there is no life; therefore, the association is with the table of demons.
The Table of Demons
At the table of demons, through disobedience and/ or ignorance, we sacrifice our souls (mind, will, and emotions) and share the lives of demons.
The only deceptive promise that can be attained through demonic activity is temptations that lead to death.
…but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.
James 1:14-16
For more information on the Two Tables please visit The Altar.
They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.
Psalm 69:21
Now Psalm 69:21 should sound familiar. Where else do we hear of putting gall in food or giving vinegar for a drink? It is written in both Matthew and Mark.
They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
Matthew 27:33-35
They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
Mark 15:22-24
All of this is being brought up to show that King David, through a prophetic word, was able to relay the mind of Jesus. If we can wrap our minds around this fact and take into account what God says about the Lord’s Table and the Demonic Table, the rest of Psalm 69:22-28 should make explicit sense.
May the table set before them become a snare; may it become retribution and a trap.
May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.
Pour out your wrath on them; let your fierce anger overtake them.
May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents.
For they persecute those you wound and talk about the pain of those you hurt.
Charge them with crime upon crime; do not let them share in your salvation.
May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.
Psalm 69:22-28
This should be a heavy wake-up call for those of us who embrace any part of this world’s system. We must understand that Jesus was on the cross, the altar, and the Lord’s Table, with these thoughts and prayers. If that makes sense then let’s continue. He said if we choose not to accept the cross where we share in his life, then a heavy curse shall overtake us at the demonic table. Jesus said, that through prophecy, the demonic table will become a snare and a trap. Their eyes will darken. In other words, they won’t be able to see their path or what to do about the things in this world. They will constantly have to work but with no success. Money is not what makes a person successful. Proverbs 22:1 says that a good name or a good reputation is greater than wealth. In other words, the fruits of the spirit will not be produced. Instead, your fruits will wither and withered fruit becomes bitter. Why? Let’s take a look at verse 26.
It says they persecute those you wound. Well remember, Isaiah 53:10 says it was the Father’s will to crush Jesus on that cross for our sins. Therefore when a person persecutes another who is in Christ, they persecute and profane Jesus. In other words, they profane the power of the cross. He said to charge them with crime upon crime and not let them share in salvation.
Everything we’ve talked about thus far was to get to this point right here.
May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.
Psalm 69:28
Did everyone catch that? Think about what he just said. A name can’t be blotted out if it wasn’t entered in the first place. Therefore it is as possible to have our names entered into the Book of life as it is to be removed.
Once Saved Always Saved…
Once saved always saved only applies to those who stay in Christ. However, it is still possible for a person to choose not to want to stay in Christ. Let’s hear it from the mouth of our savior. Let’s read from John 15:1-17.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
Jesus said the Father cuts off every branch in Christ that bears no fruit. In Christ means that are attached to Jesus. A believer who bears no fruit. In other words, they say they love Jesus but as we will see in a minute, they still have a tough time with obedience. They still rebel against his Word. They are still worldly-minded. They still embrace the ways of this world system and as we have repeatedly heard are tied to the demonic table.
You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
Unbelievers can not produce the fruit of the spirit described in Galatians 5. It’s impossible. The only way a person can is if they believe and accept Jesus as their savior. That heart change gives them access to become a kingdom citizen. However, Jesus also says that we can not be fruitful unless we remain in Christ. In other words, consistently putting God’s Word first in your life. Another way of saying it is to believe what God says is true and do it.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. We are guaranteed salvation if we learn to abide or hang out with Jesus.
If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
By now it should start to come together and make sense. Without Christ, we live in a state of withering. Just like how maggots and bugs are found under the shadow of an old piece of wood, demons are attracted to a person who is in a withered state. Embracing this world system opens the door for demonic activity to reign in your life.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Not only do we have the ability to have our prayers answered in all that we desire that is within our Father’s will but the fruit we bear will prove that we are true disciples of Jesus.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.
There we have it. It is possible to backslide. It is possible to as a Christian choose not to follow Christ anymore. That’s not God backing out of the deal. That is our choice to back out of the deal. Judas was a disciple of Jesus. He was one of the twelve. He remained in Jesus’ love until he embraced the wrong mindset. His life took a bad turn for the worst really fast once he agreed to betray Jesus.
A Call to Action
Regardless of how a person sees this topic. No matter the way it is interpreted, the goal is not to contribute to the age-old argument that God meant this or God meant that. This is being taught to bring people to the realization that God means business. We as followers of Christ should do whatever it takes to align our hearts to want to bear more fruit to do good works. How can we say we love Jesus but still hate people? How can we say Jesus is our example but we still cuss and curse people down more than we uplift and encourage people. How can we say Jesus is King yet our actions scream that we still solve our problems with demonic arguments?
If the fruit in your life has withered, or you are feeling the burnout and you want to quit. I beg you don’t quit, just yet. You’re still here on this planet. Death hasn’t knocked on your door… just yet.
How do I get back to life in Christ?
Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
Revelation 2:5
What should I do? Have that one-on-one with God and spill your guts. Tell him everything. Be honest about it all. Remind him what he’s already said in His Word about your flesh, desires, issues, & circumstances. Being vulnerable and weak is the right answer. Then we must find a person or a group of persons to speak our issues with to help guide us in the realignment of our lives with Christ. We were never called to be alone. Fellowship with other believers fills in the blanks. Then we must by faith go back to the point in our lives when we last produced fruit.
Our actions are the measure of our faith. As our actions move toward Jesus, he will move toward us. He will hit us with a personal word, just for us. God does this without contradicting what’s already been written in his general word. As we embrace the correction of how we once thought to how he thinks, he removes the confusion.
This is how we get realigned under his Kingdom program and produce fruit again. Just remember, tomorrow has never been promised to us. Don’t wait until your last breath. We all have an appointment to see Jesus. Don’t wait till the end to see him and risk not having any fruit to show. Try to overcome your flesh now and see him in this life so that you can bear much fruit. It’s not about how you start but how you finish.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
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