What the Fig?

Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.
On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of robbers.’”
The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.
When evening came, they went out of the city.

OK, I know on Palm Sunday I should probably post about, well, the triumphal entry. But hey, there’s gotta be at least a couple of churches in your town willing to cover that base for us, right? OK, good. This happens, in Mark’s Gospel, right after that, so this is all bonus material today.
So, after all the hubbub of Jesus getting to Jerusalem in time for the Passover celebrations, Jesus has a quick look around the temple, and leaves. Sounds kind of strange, doesn’t it? Or maybe not. In some ways, it sounds like what you and I might do after a long day of travel. You get to town, get your bearings, check into the hotel, and get some shut eye. You’ve had a big day and probably an even bigger one scheduled tomorrow.
Next day, Jesus is making his way back to town, and he’s a bit hungry. As luck would have it, from a distance Jesus is able to identify a fig tree. Let’s not rush too hastily over that detail. Jesus saw the fig tree initially off in the distance. It looked enough like a fig tree that might have fruit to warrant further inspection, even though it wasn’t “figging” season. Upon getting up to it, it turned out Jesus was dealing with a “poser” tree: all leaf and no fig. His response? “If you can’t feed me now, don’t bother thinking you’ll every produce again.” I have a fig tree right outside my backdoor in here in Birmingham. I literally just glanced out the back door, and although it has leaves all over it, they are spring leaves, bright, shiny, nothing to indicate I might get a fig off it. Nope, it looks nothing like the huge, dark leaves that thicken all over it when it drips with tasty figs-non-newton. Some of you know already the fate of that fig tree in Mark’s story. It withered from the roots inside of 24 hours. Jesus wasn’t angry just because an out of season fig tree didn’t have any figs. That would be ridiculous. The curse came about because the fig tree claimed to be something it wasn’t.
So, what’s worse than claiming to be all figgy when you’re really just leafy? How about turning the temple into a Wal-Mart? Or hey, how about turning a Wal-Mart into a temple? That kind of seems like a bad idea, too. In either case, Jesus made his point crystal clear: Get out. A friend recently pointed out to me that this was not just an occasion of blind, instantaneous Jesus-rage. Notice that he had seen the temple the evening before when he got to town prior to retreating to Bethany for the night. He didn’t just show up and start throwing punches. He’d at least slept on it for a night. (I bet the fig tree wished it had had a night to prepare!) Jesus makes his point especially clear by invoking a passage from the seventh chapter of Jeremiah. I really do recommend giving a read to the first eleven verses of Jeremiah 7. In that passage, the prophet is commanded to stand at the gate of the “Lord’s house” and tell the people that “the temple of the Lord” is not some kind of mantra or a hideout or refuge to flee to after a hard day of oppressing the widow and the alien, shedding innocent blood, stealing, committing adultery, and generally denying God in word and deed. Even more so, it is hardly the venue for staging and committing such acts. It reminds me of when we were kids and played “freeze tag” or “hide and seek” in which there was some kind of “home” or “base” where we were “safe.” That ain’t the game we’re playing here, saith the Lord: “Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.” (Jer. 7:11). Shiver!
Unfortunately, not a lot has changed in the past couple of millennia. The examples of modern hucksters who still line their pockets from the trough of the “Christian” marketplace are amazing. Everything from the blatantly obvious money-sponge-televangelists to the gray areas of huge book deals from Christian leaders, the modern relic shops that offer “Christian” trinketry for the “godly” home, and even the local mega churches with in-house coffee shops, book stores, and product placements all invite the question: What are we doing here? Where do we draw the line between providing a nourishing environment for the people of faith and saying “There’s a time and place for everything, and this ain’t it!”? Well, I suppose there’s not what we in the legal profession call a bright-line test. Hey, we’re used to believers talking about judging a tree by its fruit, but what about its leaves? Maybe that is part of the answer. In my discussions with other believers about how much is too much “commercialism” in the church, I have gotten used to hearing people say things like, “Hey, if this (book, program, personality, etc.) brings people into the church, then it was all worth it.” Really? Leaves from a fig tree brought Jesus to it, but when it ultimately lacked fruit, it was deemed expendable. We as a people of faith run the same risk when we, both in our personal and ecclesiastical lives, try to attract people with . . . well, with what? Health? Happiness? Understanding? Wealth? Better families? None of these things are inherently bad, but if that’s all there is, those we attract will eventually walk away in fig-free-frustration for our lack of fruit. The things most needed are not for sale. You won’t find a price tag appropriate for prayer, salvation, or the communion of the saints.
One word of caution. Not everybody will see it this way, especially those in charge of the questionable situations. In Jesus’s case, those in charge failed to see the beauty of Jesus’s performance art critique. They decided that the things Jesus was teaching were getting too much of the crowd’s attention which had formerly been focused on the merchandising in the temple. As such, they decided the best plan was just to kill Jesus. But I guess that is the danger of turning the Lord’s house into a den of robbers. Your money might not be the only thing they are willing to take.