The Road To Jerusalem
Introduction: We are going to begin a Trilogy of Messages leading up to Easter: The Road
• The Road to Jerusalem
• The Road to Good Friday
• The Road Home
Today I want to look at one aspect of the Road to Jerusalem…
Transition: Jerusalem is the epicenter of Jewish worship and life…every year the people of God were required to travel to Jerusalem for Passover.
So much happened at families from all over would travel to this beautiful city for a time of Celebration and Worship…
This would have been Jesus’ 4th trip to Jerusalem to Celebrate Passover, but this time He would become the Passover…the lamb whose blood if applied to a life…death the final enemy would Passover them.
Matt 21:18-22
18 In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. (ESV)
Mark 11:12-14
12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.
ESV
Transition: These two passages are full of inspiration, questions, substance, and prophetic imagery and some of that I may delve into but I want to first look at the text for face value and ask a question or two.
I. Key Words or Phrases
a. Hunger
b. Seeing
c. Fig Tree – of course this is significant…
d. Wayside
e. Nothing but Leaves
f. Mark said, “for it was not the season for figs”
g. Jesus Cursed the Tree…
h. The disciples heard it…
II. Key Phrases of the Verse Broken Down…
a. Let’s first deal with the obvious question: was Jesus being unjust to this tree?
i. I know you might say, “Pastor you can’t ask if Jesus was unjust…He was the son of God…”
ii. If it was “not the season for figs” then howcould Jesus expect to eat something from the Tree and Jesus would know if it was season for figs and He would not expect figs on the tree therefore He would be unjust to curse a tree if it was not the season for figs…? Correct?
b. The Fig Tree Blooming and Life-Cycle
i. A Fig Tree by year three will produce figs and by year four for certainty…
ii. So here we find Jesus who had been doingministry for more than three years and the people whom he is surrounded by and the Nation of Israel are not producing the fruit that a Nationwide Ministry should be producing with this level of leadership in their midst…
a. So He curses the Fig Tree as a Prophetic Demonstration against Israel…
b. Now this isn’t replacement theology…Jesus is not replacing the nation of Israel with the Church…but he is putting a responsibility on their lack of fruitfulness.
iii. In the Natural let’s look at a fig tree’s fruit bearing cycle or process
a. A Fig Tree produces little blooms in March…these blooms are followed by big Green leaves that cover the potential fruit…the leaves are in full foliage by April…so the text tells us that Jesus sees a tree whose leaves are full and green…this is the time of Passover.
b. The blooms don’t turn to figs till late May or early June
c. Now here is the issue…the little blooms are edible and many people would eat these blooms as they would journey…
d. The text says the tree was by the Wayside…in other words it didn’t belong to an individual so all those who passed the tree had the right to eat from the fruit of this tree…
e. Yet there is no food, nothing to eat…
iv. So, Jesus looking up the road and seeing a Fig Tree…sees leaves everywhere…expects to find these edible blooms which are good for breakfast. So, a few things are possible
a. The tree was just barren…which in that case it is just taking up space in the ground and Jesus curses the barren tree…
b. In Jewish culture Barrenness is a sign of Curse.
c. In Luke 13 Jesus tells a parable of a man who has a fig tree that isn’t bearing fruit after three years and the man in the parable says, “cut it down…” it’s just taking up ground…the servant begs the master…”let me put manure, fertilizer around it and if it doesn’t produce fruit next year…I will cut it down.”
i. We can’t just be green trees and then not producefruit…
ii. Fruit is a few things in scripture…
i. It is children…God told Adam and Eve “be fruitful and multiply.”
ii. It is personal growth
iii. It is character in our lives
iv. It is the Fruit of the Spirit spoken of in Galatians 5
v. It is also Fruit of seeing souls saved…
vi. We must have fruit in our lives as well as in the Church…
vii. It’s not good enough for us to look like we are producing something and then not have anything to sustain someone else….
viii. It your leaves were lifted up…the facade we use to cover…would there be fruit or is there just barrenness…
d. Another possibility in the text is this: someone or a nation even had broken the gleaning laws…
i. Lev 23:22
22 ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the Lord your God.'”
NKJV
ii. Even with trees it was forbidden to harvest everything on that tree…there had to be something left for the poor and the stranger…if not you violate the gleaning laws…
i. We see this lived out in the lives of Boaz and Ruth…
ii. This is why tithing is so vitally important…
iii. You’re testifying to Jesus I refuse to violate the gleaning laws…so I give you first fruits and first portions.
iv. So let’s go beyond money…do you eat every part of the sermon, the worship experience, even SEW and just keep it for yourself or are you looking for ways to share your experience, your knowledge, your relationship with the Lord…?
c. Jesus Cursed the Tree because
i. He was hungry for fruitfulness…
ii. He was watching, seeing, observing…the treefor it had all the indicators that it had blooms…but it had nothing except let down and disappointment…
a. We get this same picture of Jesus in the book of the Revelation where he is walking among the candlesticks…the churches of Revelation 2&3 Jesus is inspecting for fruitfulness.
iii. So let me ask this question real quick…if Jesus passed by our church, our families, our lives…would he find fruit or simply find leaves
Transition: Let me share a deeper revelation concerning what happened on this road to Jerusalem…and it is an encounter that each of us will eventually have to answer ourselves.
III. Fig Leaves
a. Let me give you some theology…
i. 1Corinthians 15, compares Jesus to Adam by declaring that Jesus was the last Adam…what the first Adam could not do, the second Adam has done and will do all the First Adam didn’t.
b. Recall when Adam sinned, he covered himself with fig leaves…because Adam and Eve realized they were naked and they were ashamed…the fig leaves served as a temporary covering…
i. In Matthews gospel is says, “there was a fig tree in the way…” In Marks gospel it says of the same incident that, “Jesus answered the fig tree…” NIV and NKJV says, “Jesus responded to the fig tree…
ii. Jesus answered the fig tree because the fig tree asked Jesus, the second Adam, do you want me to cover you like I covered the first Adam…Jesus was to be covered with Glory after the cross and he would not accept a temporary covering
b. Temporary Covering
i. The fig tree prophetically speaks a few things to us…
ii. it speaks of self-atonement
i. Isaiah says our righteousness is as filthy rags…
ii. So are we covering our sin with a lot of good works, but not Jesus?
iii. Are we seeking to earn God’s favor and salvation instead of receiving and walking in it…
iv. Anytime we think more is needed than the blood of Christ and the cross for the forgiveness of our sins…we are trying to Self-Atone.
iii. Coverings
i. Good intentions are fig leaves
ii. He sure was a good guy and we hope the good outweighs the bad we have done and that makes us a good guy…that my friend is fig leaves…
iv. self-righteousness
i. Religion…we go to church to make us good…fig leaves
ii. Comparison…my more righteous than that person, I know I am better than most folks in this church…fig leaves.
IV. Closing
a. Jesus is walking down the road of our lives and seeing, looking and observing.
i. Looking for leaves…signs of life
ii. Then at closer inspection he is looking for blooms in our lives…signs of possible fruit
iii. Jesus is observing is there any fruit to be found in our lives
b. Lastly, are we still using the leaves of Fig Leaves to cover our shame, guilt, sin and embarrassment.
