14. Amazed with Jesus at the Fig Tree
14. Amazed with Jesus at the Fig Tree.
“Life without wonder – radical amazement – is not worth living. It is the beginning of our happiness. Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement… get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible. Never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.” (Abraham Joshua Heschel).
I Stand Amazed | Celtic Worship ft. Steph Macleod
Jesus Christ engaged in a ministry of amazement, astonishment, wonder. Everywhere He traveled, He left people astounded and in awe. He caused a big stir wherever he went, and people left in His wake were amazed at who He was and what He was able to do, whether from His unusually wise teaching, His authoritative exorcisms, His unprecedented healings, His clever and insightful conversations, His dramatic miracles. It seemed everyone marveled at Jesus, despite His best efforts sometimes to be off the radar. There are three Greek synonyms that mean complete astonishment or radical amazement: ekplesso, thaumazo, and existemi. The differences between these three words, though, are fascinating. Are those of us who follow Jesus now, are we also amazed and astonished with Jesus?
“And the people were astonished (“ekplesso”) beyond measure, saying, ‘Everything He does is beautiful (“kalos”), and is done with excellence!” (Mark 7:37).
(1.) ASTONISHED: “ekplesso”; a strong Greek word for astonished; amazed; dumfounded; awestruck; overwhelmed at something extraordinary; struck out of one’s senses; takes your breath away, even to the point of panic. There were at least fifteen gospel events in which the Greek superlative “ekplesso” was used to communicate a radical amazement, astonishment, wonder at Jesus. Jesus was met with overwhelming astonishment after His Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 7:28); by His hometown friends as they rejected Him (Matt. 13:54); after His teaching on the inadequacy of wealth (Matt. 19:25); after His conversation with the Sadducees about heaven and the resurrection (Matt. 22:33); at His synagogue exorcism (Mark 1:22, 27); after His healing of the deaf and mute man (Mark 7:37); after He whipped the moneychangers in the Temple (Mark 11:18); at His brilliant level of understanding with the rabbis at just 12 years of age (Luke 2:48); after casting out a demon with just a word (Luke 4:32, 36); at the exorcism of a demon-possessed boy (Luke 9:43).
“And behold, a man from the crowd shouted out, ‘Master, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child! A spirit seizes him and suddenly he screams out and it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth! It mauls him and will scarcely leave him!’ Jesus answered, ‘Bring your son here to me.’ And even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him down to the ground and completely convulsed him. But Jesus severely rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the child, and then restored the boy to his father. And all were completely astounded (“ekplesso”) at the evidence of God’s mighty power, His majesty and His magnificence. While they were all marveling (“thaumazo”) at everything Jesus was doing…” (Luke 9:38-43).
(2.) MARVELED: “thaumazo”; another strong Greek word that means… marveled at, astonished by; amazed at; filled with wonder to the point of being bewildered; being awestruck in admiration. There were forty-four “thaumazo” passages in the gospels in which people marveled at Jesus, were greatly amazed by Jesus, astonished to the point of awed by Him. Included in the group of people who were completely amazed, “thaumazo’d” by Christ: the shepherds, Mary and Joesph, the disciples, the Pharisees, various crowds during His ministry, and even Pilate himself was astonished by Jesus and marveled at Him. People were amazed by everything from the angelic baby announcement, to various prophecies in Jesus’ young life, to the calming of the storm and the withering of the fig tree; from His miraculous exorcisms and healings to His teachings that always were on point and what were needed at the time.
“And when the friends of the paralytic couldn’t get near to Jesus in the house, they made a hole in the roof and lowered him down in front of Him… When Jesus saw their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven!’ ‘But that you all here may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins,’ he turns to the paralytic and says to him, ‘I say to you, arise, pick up your mat, and go home!’ And the man rose, immediately picked up his mat, and went out before them all, so that all the people were flabbergasted, out of their minds with amazement (“existemi”), and glorified God, exclaiming, ’We never saw anything like this!” (the whole story is in Mark 2:1-12).
(3.) FLABBERGASTED: “existemi”; an extreme word that means to be out of one’s mind with amazement; crazy with wonderment; a stunned astonishment so strong that one is beside oneself; to be overwhelmed so as to be bowled over; literally, to remove from a standing position. This word is used seventeen times in the gospels, including when Jesus healed and forgave the paralyzed man dropped through the ceiling of Peter’s house; when Jesus raised a young girl from the dead; when Jesus calmed the storm and casually climbed into the boat with His disciples; on the road to Emmaus when the disciples heard about the empty tomb from the women. Existemi is also used when the family of Jesus thought He was crazy, going out of His mind.
I Stand Amazed (How Marvelous)
“Now in the morning, as Jesus returned to the city, He was hungry. 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. And when the disciples saw it, they were astounded, they marveled (“thaumazo”), saying, ‘How did the fig tree wither away so soon?’ So Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:18-22).
The Object Lesson of the Fig Tree:
OBJECT: A fig tree, which is a symbol of Israel and its Temple in the Hebrew Bible, and the most fruitful tree in Israel.
LESSON: While walking along with His disciples one morning, Jesus saw a fruitless fig tree, and immediately thought of this as another teachable moment. He decided to use the fig tree to teach a lesson on fruitfulness in Israel and the power of prayer. After pointing out to the disciples that the fig tree has no figs, He thought symbolic action was called for. He spoke directly to the fig tree, (talking to a tree?), and commanded it to wither and remain fruitless. Jesus is saying here that God is hungry for spiritual fruitfulness in Israel, but He is seeing none of that. There is no fruit of repentance, no fruit of true righteousness. Jesus demonstrated here that the time is coming when Israel will be judged for its unfruitfulness. Just like this particular fig tree, the Temple and all its empty ritual and hollow tradition look good from a distance. But God looks closely, and Israel is lacking in spiritual substance. Just look at the buying and selling in the Temple, displacing worship and prayer. The religious system of Israel looks promising but is actually barren of good fruit. The Temple system is running out of time, and is shriveling up, and will soon be replaced by Christ’s Church full of Gentiles and Jews together, leaving the Temple behind. The prophetic act of cursing the fig tree is dramatic and unexpected, and this is a lesson the disciples will never forget. After they marveled at this fig tree moment in complete amazement, Jesus patiently explained that they shouldn’t be surprised that He could shrivel a fig tree. The power of God can accomplish amazing things, Jesus says. Don’t underestimate what you can achieve through your faithful prayer, He says. I like to think that before walking away from the shriveled fig tree, Jesus talked to it again and restored it to full health. Long after this fig tree incident, the disciples were convinced of the power of prayer. They might not have moved a mountain, but they did turn Jewish society upside down, which was equally miraculous.
The Parable of the Fig Tree:
Jesus evidently wanted to make sure His people understood that message, so He made the same point in a little parable in Luke 13:6-9.
THE CONTEXT. a. The early parts of this chapter in Luke refer to Jesus’ call for national repentance. This parable, more allegorical than most of his parables, continues that theme of repentance, only the story is directed toward the Jewish leadership, the pious ones, especially in the Temple. This parable is not referring to the Jewish nation (the orchard) as a whole, but to its fruitless leadership.
b. Jesus is referring to some well-known biblical symbols in this parable. A vineyard has already been established as a symbol for the nation of Israel, in Isaiah 5. Later on in Luke 20, a vineyard was a symbol for the kingdom of God. Upon hearing the word vineyard, every faithful Jew would immediately think of the Jewish nation.
c. It’s clear as a bell to the audience: the vineyard is Israel, the owner is the Lord God. It might have been clear to some that Jesus Himself was the vinedresser, the gardener. So some would have begun picking up on the idea that they perhaps were in the Messianic Age.
THE FIG TREE. a. This is the symbol for the Temple, the religious leadership of Israel, which is not bearing the fruits of repentance and spiritual union with God. It would have been sensed immediately that the parable was told against the religious authorities, as in Luke 20.
b. The fig tree was generally regarded as the most fruitful tree in that region. It had three harvests each year, and had ripe fruit ten months of each year. The fig tree was so valuable and esteemed that it would be unthinkable to cut one down unless it was barren for many years and thus considered hopeless.
c. To dig around the tree and fertilize it was common gardening practice. If it was barren, it would indeed deteriorate the soil and take up usable space. Also, the fig tree absorbs more than its share of nourishment from the ground, and so often deprives the surrounding vines of what they might need. It would be the gardener’s duty to cut a fruitless tree down if such was the case.
THE PARABLE. a. The owner/God has discovered that a particular fig tree/temple leadership in his orchard/Israel is fruitless, barren. He’s thinking of getting rid of it. He intentionally planted that tree to bear Him fruit. He planted the Temple and its leaders through Torah, His presence, prophets, interventions, and He expects fruitfulness. He wants a productive vineyard and a fruitful tree in its midst. The gardener/messiah pleads for some additional time of grace. He will give it special attention for a time to renew its life, to make it fruitful. The gardener then agrees that if he can’t renew it in the future, then he will let it be cut down.
b. Jesus knows that the religious leadership is not showing the fruits of repentance. As the Great Intercessor, He is asking the Father for a time of patient forgiveness to renew its spiritual life. Then Jesus says if, after a while, it is not renewed, then judgment is called for.
c. “Let it alone” literally means “forgive.”
d. “Next year” literally means “in the future,” an unspecified time period.
e. Renewal has to come from the gardener’s work. The fig tree will not come back to life by itself. The Jewish leadership cannot renew itself. It needs the special attention of Jesus the Messiah, who will act to redeem the leadership, to make it spiritually fruitful.
f. When the fig tree is barren, it affects the surrounding vineyard. The same with fruitless leadership. God doesn’t want the fruitless leadership to effect the Jewish community or the kingdom of God. So He can’t accept this barren status forever. It is not sustainable.
g. It’s fascinating to note the discussion between the owner and the gardener, between the Father and the Son. It seems they are talking about the virtue of mercy and grace in the midst of spiritual expectation. God is longsuffering and patient, but He seems to be saying that the time is now to repent. This grace won’t last forever, evidently.
Imani Milele Choir | I Stand Amazed (How Marvelous)