Early in the morning, as they were walking along, they saw the fig tree withered to its roots. Peter remembered and said to him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered." Jesus said to them in reply, "Have faith in God." (Matthew 11:20-22)
The fig tree is commonly thought to represent the people of Isreal and their fruitlessness. It is considered a foreshadowing of Jerusalem's fate for failing to receive the teachings of Christ. Dr. Pitre again offers another look. The Jewish people believed that the fig tree was THE tree, yes, the one that Adam and Eve ate the fruit of and thus permitted sin and death to enter into our world. They thought it was a fig tree because that is the only tree that is mentioned. Here's what Genesis Ch. 3 says, "The woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves."
At the beginning of His last week, Jesus curses the fig tree saying, may no one ever eat of you again. Jesus is the new Adam, and He will offer His sacrifice on a new tree, the cross, to undo the effects of the old Adam and the old tree. He makes all things new. #livinglent2