If this incident was not so tragic, it would be ludicrous. In the gospel according to St Mark, we see that Jesus was hungry. He looked up and saw in the distance, a luscious fig tree, promissory of food. But up close, Jesus found nothing on it but leaves. The tree was a total letdown.
Jesus’ Disappointment That He Found Nothing On It But Leaves
On this occasion, Jesus had a need; He was hungry. But did He have a right to expect this tree to have fruits? The casual answer is No because it was not the season for figs. And yet, He was greatly disappointed that He found nothing on it but leaves. Why?
Jesus was using this tree to teach believers a lesson. It is a principle which Paul understood. In writing to Timothy, Paul admonished that young believer to ensure he always bears fruit.
It did not matter if it was the fruit season or not. He told him to preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. There is no time or season that the believer should not have fruits in his life.
Even in old age, we are to continue to bear fruit. Fruitfulness in old age is a promise to us. The bible says that they shall still bear fruit in old age. And they shall be fresh and flourishing. The fig tree in this story was fresh and flourishing but it was not bearing fruit.
Righteous Abraham was still bearing fruit past the age of one hundred years. And yet, some of us set an age at which we plan to stop yielding fruit for God.
The Righteous Cannot Have Nothing On It But Leaves
Please note that the promise of bearing fruit in old age belongs only to the righteous. An earlier verse says the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree. And this is precisely the reason for Jesus’ great anger at the tree when He found nothing on it but leaves.
He has the right to expect each of us who are His followers to be righteous. After all, He, as the Righteousness of God, exchanged His righteousness with our sinfulness. He died a gruesome death on the cross just so we can be righteous. And if you are righteous, you will bear fruit constantly.
Unrighteousness will Cause Nothing On It But Leaves
By extension, if you are not bearing fruit, it means that you are not righteous. And because He purchased our righteousness at such a great cost, Jesus is justly angry at the tree when He found nothing on it but leaves.
He desires to plant us in the courts of His father’s house. That is when we shall be assured of flourishing in the courts of our God. There is no way to have nothing on but leaves when you are planted in the house of the Lord. His righteousness commands automatic fruitfulness. We shall then be like the tree by the river in Heaven, yielding fruit every month.
A Curse Resulted When Jesus Found Nothing On It But Leaves
However, if we have nothing in but leaves, we will receive a curse. And it is not a careless curse. Anyone who has nothing in but leaves will never again yield fruit. Or as Jesus pronounces it, “let no one eat fruit from you ever again.”
Harsh, but entirely appropriate. And that is because whenever God plants a tree, He makes sure that He properly tends the vineyard. We see such an instance in the gospel of Mark. “A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower.”
The Holy Spirit Protects Against Having Nothing On You But Leaves
That hedge represents the gift of the Holy Spirit. Not only did Jesus die for us, but He also sent us His Holy Spirit to guide us in fruit-bearing. With such a high investment in our lives, we should only bear good fruit. Without the hedge of the Holy Spirit, some bear wild fruit, as the account in Isaiah illustrates.
Please take time to read it in the fifth chapter of Isaiah. It is quite instructive. For now, we only quote from one verse of it. It illustrates God’s thought process when we either fall to bear fruit or bear wild fruit.
“What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?” The judgment is just as harsh as when Jesus cursed the fig tree and caused it to wither.
Jesus Found Nothing But Leaves On The Church
Many of us are like the fig tree, with nothing on but leaves. Some are worse, bearing wild, useless fruit. God said about those: “I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned. And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will lay it waste. It shall not be pruned or dug, but there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it.”
Our regular users know that we do not make a habit of quoting large passages of scripture. However, this passage is so relevant to the present uselessness of the church that we had to do it. Instead of leading society, the church now sheepishly follows society’s lead. How very sad.
And so that we know for certain that He is talking not about wine or vineyards, God continues. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; for righteousness, but behold, a cry for help. He needs us to know that He is really concerned with us and the ways we treat one another.
The Church Is Left Desolate
God has taken away the Holy Spirit hedge from the church. Only yesterday, I heard of a church where pastors and members are great. Even the service is reportedly great but the Holy Spirit is missing. Sadly, that is not an isolated case.
We are all about showboating, with nothing on but leaves. God promises to lay the church waste – absolutely useless. Ask yourself: is the church impacting society in any way? You know the answer to that one. And so do we.
Paul says of the church: having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! It should not surprise you that people are actually turning away from the church. The power of God is missing from the church. God has found nothing on it but leaves.
The Cure For Having Nothing On But Leaves
It is not complicated at all. In the practice of medicine, once you reach a diagnosis, you are at least halfway to the cure. Since unrighteousness is the root cause of fruitlessness, a return to righteousness will bring fruitfulness.
It is simple but far from easy. We have become addicted to our own form of righteousness. We want nothing to do with God’s righteousness.
Rick Joyner, rightly in our view, opines that the church as we know it will soon die. But of course. Since we refuse to return to the ancient pathways of righteousness. Mercifully, God always has a remnant. Our goal here is to ensure that you and I are part of God’s faithful remnant.
Maranatha!
