Mark 11:11-14-- Poor Fig Tree!

Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late. On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" And His disciples were listening.

In this section in Mark, from 11:11 to 11:26, action goes back and forth from the Temple to a fig tree that Jesus curses.  The two stories are connected in Mark, the fig tree being an illustration of the leadership in Jerusalem who is in charge of the Temple.  In this first section, Jesus comes into Jerusalem after the procession declaring him king, and he investigates the temple, as if he is looking for something.  Jesus was not actually staying in Jerusalem, but in Bethany, a town just outside of Jerusalem.  After he had spent the night out, he and his disciples were returning to Jerusalem and Jesus spies a fig tree.  After seeing it had no fruit, Jesus curses it.  But the surface reason—that it had no fruit—seems unreasonable for a curse.  Yes, he was hungry, but it was not the season for figs.  Is he just cursing out of anger?  It seems unreasonable, but perhaps we shall see another reason for his cursing.

There are a number of times when Jesus just seems grumpy.  I mean, really, why curse a poor fig tree without fruit?  Don't you think the tree's got enough problems?

But Jesus didn't harm in anger.  He was looking for a teachable moment, and he was making sure that his disciples were paying attention.  Not because he wanted them to learn the right words to curse with.  But because they needed to learn.

There is a time to feign anger in order to teach.  All things, even anger, must be used for the benefit of others.