Israel’s Messiah Curses The Nation Of Israel. (The Deeper Meaning Behind The Parable Of The Fig Tree) Part two

In part one of this blog I showed that whenever Jesus taught about the Fig tree as He did in the parable of the fig tree, He was referring to Israel. The fig tree was Israel and the figs were the children of Israel. If you have not read part one of this topic, may I urge you to do so for background information and to get context for this blog.

Bethphage a small village situated on the Mount of Olives, near Jerusalem. was an important stopping point for travelers and pilgrims. But more than that this village was the village of Priests. the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was the supreme Jewish court and legislative council in Ancient Israel. It served as the highest authority for Jewish religious and judicial matters, preserving and interpreting religious law and overseeing communal affairs. Their regular meetings were held in Jerusalem. However, some of their important meetings were held in Bethphage. Bethphage means House of figs. Beth is Hebrew for house and phage is another way of saying figs. Examples of names carrying Beth; Bethlehem meaning house of bread or Bethel, house of God. What Washington is to America that is what Bethphage was to Israel. Bethphage represented the government of Israel and was alternately called the house of Israel.

THE SANHEDRIN IN SESSION

Did you know that Jewish tradition holds the  view that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was a fig tree? Many people have always thought that it was an apple and I do not know where that idea came from. Let’s examine the scriptures to see what the bible says:

Genesis 3 v 6-7 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was ^[a]pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves ^[b]coverings.

We can infer from the text that after partaking of the forbidden fruit, they then used the tree’s leaves to cover their naked bodies.

More Jewish beliefs about the fig tree

The Jews also believed that the law served the same purpose as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Why was that? Notice what the scripture says:

Romans 3 v 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Adam and Eve didn’t know what sin was until they ate the fruit. The law reveals our sin, that is what makes us conscious of our sin.

Romans 7 v 7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”

Thus, the Jews named the place Bethphage, house of figs or house of Israel. Then they planted fig trees all over the village to mirror their thoughts, authority and responsibility as the leaders of Israel. Just as the fig tree represented the nation of Israel, they represented the nation as its leaders, and they felt a great deal of pride in doing so. Then Jesus comes along en route to Jerusalem from Bethany and cursed the fig tree at Bethphage. Now with this context in mind let us look at Matthew 21 v 18 – 19 again;

 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. ¹⁹ And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.

Why did Jesus curse the fig tree? Because it did not produce fruit. More importantly, He cursed it because it symbolized the religious leaders of Israel who were corrupt, rebellious and haters of truth. It was these leaders who determined the trajectory of the nation of Israel. And they had repeatedly rejected Jesus as the Messiah of Israel. Now that the tree that represents Israel had been cursed and withered and died this meant that it was a matter of time before the nation withered and died too. In AD 70, the Romans attacked Jerusalem razed everything to the ground including the temple. After 70 AD, the destruction of the Second Temple led to a significant shift in Judaism from temple-based rituals to rabbinic Judaism .Many Jews were killed or enslaved by the Romans and large numbers were exiled creating the Jewish diaspora with communities settling around the world, while a portion remained in the land of Israel. Cursed for not producing spiritual fruit. What did Jesus say in John 6 v 29:

“Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” 

The fruit that Israel was supposed to produce was to believe in Jesus Christ who was sent by God. The vineyard owner (God) had said cut the tree off after three years, but the keeper (Jesus) said let us give it another season (six months). Unfortunately, the stubbornness of the religious leaders, their pride and their corrupt activities were too rewarding to give up.

CONCLUSION

The Parable of the fig tree is about the nation of Israel. What the parable is saying is, for almost two thousand years the nation of Israel has been dormant because it was cursed for rejecting Jesus as the Messiah and it withered away and died.

Key Takeaway from this blog

When you see the fig tree, bud and sprout leaves, when you see Israel become a nation again after being dormant for nearly two thousand years you should know that Jesus Christ’s second coming is near. The generation that sees Israel being reborn as a nation will not pass away. It will witness all these things including the return of Jesus Christ. Anyone born after May 14, 1948 is part of the final generation.