Dr Paul Allen

Fig Tree (Ficus Carica) - detail - geograph.org.uk - 562736 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 21:18–22 “Seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it…. And He said to it, ‘May no fruit ever come from you again!’ And the fig tree withered at once” (v. 19). Anti-Christian philosophers often misuse this passage to defame Jesus and deny that He is God incarnate. How can a good man curse an “innocent” fig tree? they ask. And, if Jesus is omniscient, why does He expect figs when it is not fig season (Matt. 21:18–19; Mark 11:12–14)? These objections are easily answered.First, Christ , as God the Son , has defacto authority over His creation and the sovereign right to do with it what He wills. Jesus, therefore, can curse the fig tree if He so desires. Second, understanding what it means for figs to be in season shows us how Jesus can expect fruit when it is not fig season. During springtime,  Palestinian fig...

Curtain Fig Tree, Queensland, Australia (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. [Matt. 21:19a] Think of what problems might arise from the fact that the Bible was written in terms of a culture different from our own. One problem in teaching the Bible to inner-city children, for example, is that they may have no idea what a sheep is. A more serious dilemma may be faced by a missionary who takes the gospel to a tribe whose gods are terrifying demons. How do they learn the concept of a loving God ? Sometimes we get tripped up when we read the Bible because we don’t know the customs of the ancient world. For instance, when Jesus approached the fig tree in Matthew 21:18 –22 he turns around and curses the fig tree because it is barren. We can take this story as an object lesson concerning Israel , which it clearly is. But the historical incident seems peculiar, until we learn about figs in the Near East . Th...

English: An etching by Jan Luyken illustrating Luke 13:6-9 in the Bowyer Bible, Bolton, England. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "He was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it." ( Mark 11:12-14 ) Many detractors of our Lord have pointed with glee to what on the surface seems like a fit of petty anger on Christ 's part, spawned by His selfish appetite. In reality, it was probably unrealistic to expect figs at that time of year, a fact which He must have known quite well. Perhaps the key to the whole passage is in the fact that "His disciples heard it." When we look at the surrounding passages, we see that Christ was using the barren fig tree to teach His disciples something they desperately needed to...