Today’s passage: Matthew 21:18-22
Helpful thoughts:
- Jesus was fully man. He got hungry.
- Fig trees normally produce fruit before the leaves. The fact that the tree had leaves but no fruit indicated there was something wrong with the tree.
- Read Luke 13:1-9. The fig tree here represents Israel; An appearance of godliness with no fruit.
- In ancient near east literature, great teachers were called a, “Rooter up of mountains”. Jesus was not literally suggesting that we should do a useless thing like throw mountains in the sea. He was using a figure of speech that was known at the time.
- Asking in prayer and having faith are ways we surrender to God’s will and petition Him. This passage could be misused to teach that if you have enough faith in your faith, you can make miraculous things happen. Jesus is saying, God’s will is perfect and powerful, believe in Him, seek Him in faith and in prayer, and watch what all He will do.
Questions to consider:
- Did Jesus curse this fig tree just because He was angry? To what reality was He pointing us?
- What kind of fruit can you see in your life? How has God been changing you? How has God been using you to change others?
- How do our requests for miracles help us to see our greatest values? What is the greatest (most significant) miracle God would do from His perspective?