Scripture
20The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. 21Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!” Mark 11:20-21
Observation
The disciples were amazed that in just one day the Fig tree went from full plumage the day before to a corpse of a tree. I’ve never noticed the detail that it “withered from the roots up.” Jesus used this as an illustration for our lives and as an opportunity for discipleship. The reason Jesus had cursed that Fig tree in the first place was that it promised fruit by how it looked far away but upon closer examination had nothing to offer. If we aren’t careful we can end up just like that Fig tree because of where we are rooted. We can be full of promise and plumage without any fruit to offer a hungry world. Why did it whither from the root up? Root determines fruit. Jesus then proceeds to teach us how to deepen our roots to grow more fruit.
Deeper Faith through prayer- “2Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. 23I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. 24I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.”
Deeper Forgiveness through repentance- “25But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”
It’s important to note that this teaching was also illustrated by what preceded it. When they had entered Jerusalem Jesus began to clean house in the Temple. Just like the Fig tree, the religious system looked good from far away but upon closer examination it was fruitless. Root determines fruit and they had become a corpse version of what God had envisioned as a place for the hungry to come and be fed in His presence. “He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” (Mk. 11:17). The prayers of the religious leaders were nothing more than pomp and pretending. When they should have been modeling humility through repentance they plotted how to trap Jesus and demanded service from those they should have been serving. They looked good on the outside but were deeply rooted in pride. Just like the Fig tree it was dead before Jesus ever got there.
Application
Hundreds of people lined up yesterday outside of the San Diego Botanical Garden to catch a glimpse, snap a pic, and smell the stench of the exotic Sumatran jungle plant known as the “corpse plant”. It’s aptly named as it’s beautiful bloom brings with it the smell of rotting flesh. It only blooms every three or four years so, as if on cue, it began to bloom on Halloween, a day known for the celebration of death, and the crowds couldn’t get enough of it. Horticulture Manager John Clements explained, “the plant’s scent is designed by nature to attract carrion beetles and flesh flies from miles away to help with the pollinating process. The scent peaks during the nighttime hours of 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., when the air is still and the aroma can travel more easily.” Clements said, “on Sunday night, the plant’s odor grew stronger and more toxic-smelling as midnight approached. Garden workers experienced sore throats, burning eyes and a metallic taste in their mouths. The chemical reaction that creates the acidic aroma also heats up the flower’s spadix in a process known as thermogenesis. It started out like a good French cheese, stinky but delightful,” Clements said of the smell. “Then it moved on to adolescent boys’ socks. Then it was junior high school gymnasium, followed by full-on rotten fish. Finally, it moved all the way to a rotting corpse smell that was so thick and heavy you could cut it with a knife.” Now, I don’t know about you, but this is not something I would stand in line to wait for, let alone pay for, and yet by the end of the 48 hours of putrid blooming over 5,000 people will have come through the Botanical Garden, one person traveling all the way from Texas. Root determines fruit. The purpose of God’s Church, His people, isn’t to be a corpse plant, a rare oddity, a tourist attraction but to be a house of prayer and healing. Yet, it seems, much like the corpse plant, our stench of pride and bitterness is attracting bugs instead of reaching non-believers. It seems, much like the Fig tree and The Temple in Mark 11, we look good on the outside but our root system is shallow and fruitfulness is becoming increasing harder to find. How do we receive a vision for fruitfulness again? We remember root determines fruit and we root ourselves in Christ’s purpose for us- a house of prayer and healing for the nations. How do we remove the stench of pride? We repent for our sins and receive forgiveness. We extend forgiveness to those who have hurt us letting go of our bitterness. How do we have lasting fruit regardless of the season? A fruit the hungry will line up to eat rather than a novelty people will line up to watch? We deepen our faith by becoming a people of prayer who speak tell the mountainous problems to move because we believe our God is on the move!
Prayer
Lord, I repent for the place of pride in me that has tried make “Church” about myself instead of You. Forgive me for the places of bitterness and anger that I have held on to from those who have hurt me. This is a stench to heaven when we should be an aroma. I want to pray deeper prayers, not shallow ones that are limited to my understanding. I want be known as a person of forgiveness in an age of rage and bitterness. I repent for trying to sit at tables You are trying to turn over. I pray that You would restore the purpose and identity of Your Church. Let Your people to be a house of prayer and healing for the nations instead of a house of pride who are hurting the nations. I know that, to some, The Church will always be a stench, but let that not be because of our fruitless efforts. “Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.” ( 2 Corinthians 2:15)
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