Flipping tables and cursing fig trees; what was Jesus actually doing?
FLIPPING Tables and CURSING Fig Trees; WHAT WAS JESUS Actually DOING?
Monday Morning (Mt. 21:18–22; Mk. 11:12–14)
It’s Monday morning. Jesus had just openly declared His messianic identity (being the Messiah) through the events that took place the day prior. He had entered Jerusalem as King, which set into motion His last week on Earth. Mark's gospel says that after He showed up in Jerusalem, He went to the temple and "looked around at everything." (Mk. 11:11, NIV) There was a heaviness that would be met with righteous anger soon, but Sunday evening was fading, and the hour was late. Jesus returned to Bethany, and the events that changed the world began.
The day felt as fresh as the excitement from the events that took place the day before. Messiah fever was in the air as Jesus and His disciples headed into Jerusalem. They stayed in the small village of Bethany the night prior, and on their two-mile journey into Jerusalem, Jesus became hungry. He spotted a fig tree that only had leaves growing on it, no fruit. He said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” (Mt. 21:19b) The tree immediately withered.
Let’s be clear, Jesus is not overreacting because of His hunger. Jesus is doing something that, at first glance, is often missed. “Fig trees typically sprout leaves in March and begin to develop a green fig around the same time. [The Gospel of] Mark’s comment, ‘It was not the season for figs’ (v. 13), helps the reader understand that Jesus’s action was symbolic since He would not expect to find edible figs at the time. Figs were not harvested until later in the spring.” (1) Jesus was well aware that the fig tree was fruitless. So, if Jesus didn't curse the fig tree out of anger, why did he do it?
Some scholars suggest that Jesus's action was a prophetic sign, indicating that the nation of Israel, represented by the fig tree, had failed to produce spiritual fruit and would face judgment. This interpretation is supported by the fact that immediately after cursing the fig tree, Jesus entered the temple and drove out the money changers, symbolically cleansing it of corruption. In the book The Final Days of Jesus, the authors say, “Israel is often characterized as a fig tree in the Old Testament (Jer. 8:13; Hos. 9:10, 16; Joel 1:7), and Jesus’s cursing of the fig tree symbolizes the judgment of God upon a nation that has the outward appearance of life but fails to bear fruit.” (2) Therefore, Jesus used this act to demonstrate that Israel would face judgment for its lack of fruitfulness and disobedience to God's will. Those who are familiar with the Old Testament references to the fig tree as a symbol of Israel would have understood this powerful message.
Monday Afternoon and Evening (Mt. 21:12–13; Mk. 11:15–18; Lk. 19:45–48; Jn. 2:13-25)
Once in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple, and it's safe to assume that everyone's attention was riveted on Him. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus observes people trading livestock. The Bible says that Jesus “made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.” (vs. 15) (Remember the temple courts; we are going to come back to this.) The Greek word used for “drove” is ἐκβάλλω (Strong’s NT 1544). According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, Jesus was not simply asking those who were selling and buying in the temple courts to leave. No, ἐκβάλλω is used “with the included notion of more or less violence." (4) Jesus cracked the whip with a fierce, righteous rage.
From the outside looking in, we can see that Jesus entered the temple, made a whip, asserted His authority with the whip, overturned tables, distributed money, expelled those who were present, and fulfilled prophecy (Psalm 69:9). All because they sold animals within the temple? I am not convinced.
Let’s go back to where this is happening—the Court of the Gentiles. It's important to note that Jesus was upset about the location of the sacrifices rather than the actual buying and selling of the animals. This idea is supported by William F. Cook III's book Jesus's Final Week. “Jesus expressed righteous indignation as he disrupted those buying and selling and overturned the money changers’ tables. Traveling from distant lands with animals suitable for sacrifice would hardly be possible. Yet selling animals in the Court of the Gentiles was inappropriate, not to mention the seemingly exorbitant prices being charged.” (5) Consider this. Israel's mission was to share God with the world by bringing in the Gentiles, and they were utterly failing. In fact, the opposite proved to be true. This is the root cause of Christ's holy anger.
What does this mean for us?
These passages teach us a lot. One that stands out is that while it's important to follow authority, knowing the Bible and honoring God are of even higher priority. As followers of Christ, we must never lose sight of the mission He has given us. We are commanded to follow Israel's original commission to convert people from every nation. Don't hide behind reasons like "I just don't have the talent for that" or "I just can't bring myself to do that." God has commanded you to share the good news of who He is and what He has done. If we don't, we are as guilty as those trading in the Court of the Gentiles. Don't force them out with religious legalism and antics; rather, invite those who don't know Christ in.
References Cited
(2) Köstenberger, Andreas J., Justin Taylor, and Alexander Stewart. 2014. The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived. Crossway. https://www.christianbook.com/final-jesus-important-person-ever-lived/andreas-kostenberger/9781433535109/pd/535109.
(3) Thayer, Joseph H. The New Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.
(4) Cook, 2022.