He didn't do that! The frigging fig tree.
So everybody knows that Jesus once cursed a fig tree. The fig tree died. It was bad.
I never really understood it. Jesus curses the fig tree because it bears no fruit. I get that. But in Mark’s Gospel, it wasn’t even fig season. I don’t get it.
After thinking about this for a long time, being haunted by it for years, I realized something:
Maybe I don’t even understand what a fig tree is.
My knowledge was abstract: A fig tree is a tree where figs grow. But what are figs, really? I only know dried figs from the supermarket. If the fig tree is a metaphor, it cannot work for people who don’t know fig trees.
So what does a fig tree do, besides bearing figs? When does it bear figs? When does it grow leaves? I had no idea. In my mind, it was just a tree thingy that grows undried dried figs. (Because for me, figs only existed in dried form.) And, of course, I knew that some guys in the Bible covered their nakedness with fig leaves — so are the leaves huge?
Figs don’t work like I thought.
Figs get their first fruit before they fully develop their leaves. Trees I knew before didn’t work like this. The first figs are not proper fruit, but at least they are edible. They are called breba figs.
Breba Crop: This early harvest appears from late April to June. Breba figs grow on the previous year’s wood and often showcase distinct sweetness.
We can also compare a fig tree to an apple tree and see that they work quite differently.
| Season1 | Fig Cycle | Apple Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| Early Spring | Buds break, small leaves start emerging on old wood | Buds break, flowers & leaves start emerging |
| Mid-Spring | Leaves continue growing, breba figs start forming | Full bloom: flowers open, pollination occurs |
| Late Spring | Leaves fully develop, breba figs still growing, main crop begins on new wood | Fruit set: tiny apples start forming after pollination |
| Early Summer | Breba crop ripens, main crop continues developing | Apples continue growing, tree produces new shoots |
| Mid-Summer | Main crop figs enlarge, reaching maturity stage | Apples mature, early varieties (e.g., Gala) begin ripening |
| Late Summer/Fall | Main crop ripens, ready for harvest | Peak apple harvest season for most varieties |
| Late Fall | Leaves start shedding, fig growth stops | Leaves drop, tree enters dormancy preparation |
| Winter | Full dormancy: tree rests, no new growth | Full dormancy: tree rests, no new growth |
So why did Jesus curse the fig tree?
The other fig trees have no leaves yet, because it’s still early in the season. But one tree stands out — it already has full leaves.
A fig tree with full leaves should have breba figs (ripe or not). If it doesn’t, something is wrong. It is also broken because it’s out of sync with nature. It appears much healthier than the others, and is the most rotten of them all.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
You will know them by their fruits.”
Maybe we live in winter, and no harvest can be found.
-
This table is AI generated, because I am lazy. ↩