Authors often use trees symbolically in their writing. I teach my students that symbolism is when “something” functions on two levels. The “something” can be a person, an object, a situation, or an action. The object has a literal identity as well as a symbolic one. For example, a tree is “literally” a plant that can be tall or short, broad or skinny, and contain branches or limbs, with or without leaves. Trees have root systems that anchor them to the earth. Through the root system, water and nutrients pass to the rest of the tree. Some trees can grow many years old, while others might never see the wisdom of years. Some trees provide shade, and some do not; some bear fruit, while others never produce one bite of anything or they produce something distasteful.
The symbolic meaning of a tree depends on how an author uses it in a story. Authors often use spring trees to represent renewed life and second chances. Barren trees often represent a failure in the tree’s ability to adorn itself with beautiful leaves. Trees that fail to produce proper vegetation symbolize a missed purpose. Sometimes, authors relate a tree’s abundance of long branches as a tree of benefit because it has spread its limbs far and wide, positively impacting items near it. At the same time, short limbs might represent living in a restrictive environment with no ability to thrive and mature.
I’m sure you’re catching on by now that these symbolic lessons can be compared and related to a reader’s life. In Isaiah 2:13, Isaiah talks about tall and lofty cedars in Lebanon and oaks in Bashan. In my search to learn more about these strong and durable trees, I stumbled across information saying Jesus cursed a fig tree. I thought, “What? Jesus wouldn’t curse a fig tree.” But guess what? He did. I found it in what some scholars call Mark’s Sandwich. A Mark Sandwich is when Mark relays one story (bottom piece of bread), tells another story (meat in the middle), and then finishes with the beginning story (top piece of bread). To me, that sounds like a man needing some focus medication. LOL
So, why did Jesus even approach this fig tree? If leaves are on the tree, that would suggest springtime. Typically, the figs grow as the leaves fill out the tree. This tree that Jesus approached had leaves; therefore, one can suspect it also had fruit. But not this tree. Not a fig on it. Some scholars think Jesus came to the tree because he wanted a fig to eat. I’m a foodie person. When I’m hungry and want food, nothing can upset me quicker than going to the fridge looking for something only to find someone else has eaten it. I might also curse someone if they’ve taken the last bite of peach cobbler. But that’s not the case here with Jesus. No one had eaten his figs; the tree had just not produced any.
The fig tree sections in Mark’s Sandwich are the bottom and top pieces of bread. As Paul Harvey would say, the meat in his sandwich is “The rest of the story.”¹ Mark 12:15-19 fills in the “meat” section of the sandwich and tells what happens after Jesus cursed the fig tree. He arrived in Jerusalem, and it was Passover time. The money changers and animal merchants used this event to increase their fees for self-profit. They set up their money-making stations in the temple, God’s house. Jesus set them straight. He went into the temple, drove out those buying and selling, turned over the tables, and prohibited anyone from carrying merchandise through the temple. God’s house is for praying and worshiping Him. But, these people turned it into a market. The final piece of bread in the Mark Sandwich is when the disciples and Jesus pass back by the fig tree and see it withered.
Now that Mark’s sandwich is complete, what do the two stories have in common? Fig trees are known to symbolize Israel in the Bible. Like Israel, this fig tree had an opportunity to “produce great fruit.” However, there was no fruit on the fig tree, and no one in the temple was producing anything good for God. They both had the potential, but neither were doing what they could.
Having the potential to move mountains for God, yet lacking ambition and follow-through skills, has defined me so many times in my life. I have the opportunity to bear the greatest fruit ever, but I let “things” get in the way. Daily expectations and to-do lists a mile long often steal away my time with God. This needs doing, that needs doing, and just like that, time is gone. In John 4:14, “Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.” How many people have gone on now that I had last year? I’m always thinking I have more time. If tomorrow doesn’t come, have I spent my time wisely today? Was I a fig tree whose branches were full of green leaves and prosperous figs, or was I a barren tree that never spiritually fed anyone?
Corliss , Richard . “Paul Harvey: The End of the Story.” Time. March 1, 2009. https://doi.org/https://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1882444,00.html.
Love it April! ❤️
💖 Love you Amy!