The Power of the Divine Word

Photo: ​troitskiy-hram.moseparh.ru Now in the morning as He returned into the city, He hungered. And when He saw a fig tree in the way, He came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away (Mt. 21:18–19).

Brethren, such is the power of the Divine word! As the omnipotent “Let it be!” gives existence and life to nothingness itself, so the omnipotent “let it not be!” destroys and deadens everything.

But what change has come over our Lord and Savior? Throughout His ministry, He only taught, forgave, nurtured, healed, and resurrected, and now, near to the end of His ministry, He utters a curse! Why is the fig tree punished so? Was it because it didn’t satisfy His hunger, as you might think, hearing the words “He hungered,” and “He came to it and found nothing thereon?” But He Who spent forty days fasting and, despite His hunger, indignantly rejected the tempter’s suggestion to turn stones into bread, could now endure hunger for a few more hours until reaching the city; and least of all would He turn His miraculous power toward vengeance upon an innocent tree. And did He not tell the disciples Himself when they invited Him to refresh Himself with food at the well in Sychar: I have meat to eat that ye know not of… My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work (Jn. 4:32, 34). Could this Divine food have been lacking now when the most difficult part of the determination of this all-holy will was to be accomplished on Golgotha? And, finally, giving the disciples an instruction on faith and prayer by the example of the curse of this fig tree, could the Savior had said to them: When ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any (Mk. 11:25) if He Himself had cursed the fig tree in anger and out of personal displeasure with it?

All of this, not to mention other circumstances, clearly shows, brethren, that the cursing of the fig tree came not as revenge or punishment of the tree (such an act would be incongruous not only with the Divine dignity of the Person of Jesus, but also with the nature of the tree), but for a higher purpose. It was one of those symbolic actions that the Savior sometimes used in place of words to express the lofty truths of His teaching. The fig tree was all the more convenient to use as a symbol now seeing as how it had already been used in one of the Savior’s parables. Do you remember this parable?

Here it is: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down (Lk. 13:6–9).

As you can see, there’s no final conclusion to this parable. It’s not clear what happened to the fig tree after that year: Did it improve and begin to bear fruit? Or did it remain barren? If it remained barren, then was it truly cut down? This isn’t clear, I say. But it’s very important for us to see this, that is, that Divine threats aren’t just idle words. For our flesh and blood love to deceive and lull our spirit to sleep with, among other things, the false hope that the Lord is merciful and therefore He won’t carry out His threats against us. The present cursing of the fig tree overthrows this deception of sensuality, showing decisively that just as there’s a time for mercy and long-suffering, so there’s a time for judgment and condemnation; that the very fullness of love with which God appeared on earth in the Person of the God-Man, serving as a refuge for repentance, is no protection for the unrepentant, and that the same love knows not only how to ascend the Cross for the redemption of the penitent, but also how to pronounce condemnation upon the unrepentant. This is the meaning of the symbol of the fig tree. This is the purpose of its cursing.

The fate that befell the barren fig tree expressed above all the fate of the Jewish people. Yesterday was the most decisive day for it: The long-awaited Messiah appeared before it in the form of the meek King foretold by the Prophets; it was necessary to recognize and acknowledge Him in this capacity; everything depended on this. Therefore, the Savior tearfully said at His entrance into Jerusalem: If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which make for thy peace (Lk. 19:42). Jerusalem didn’t understand this, save for the exclamations of the innocent children: Hosanna to the Son of David! (Mt. 21:15). All the others, whether great or small, old or young, remained indifferent and unmoved: They closed their eyes so as not to see; they shut their ears so as not to hear. Therefore, tomorrow, at the conclusion of His final speech to the people in the Temple, the Lord will say: Behold, your house is left unto you desolate! (Mt. 23:38). That is, He will say to the whole nation something similar to what is now said to the fig tree: Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward!

But by depicting the fate of the Jewish people, the cursed fig tree also expresses the fate of every sinful and unrepentant soul. All of us, brethren, are like trees that are planted by the Heavenly Gardener, that are watered, pruned, and dug around that they might blossom and bear fruit in time. Virtuous souls correspond to this holy purpose, which is why the word of God itself likens them to trees standing by streams of water, which almost always remain green and are very fruitful; and sinful and unrepentant souls are barren trees that by their abundance of leaves only give an appearance of life, but in reality don’t reward the labors spent on them.

What is the Heavenly Gardener to do with such trees? Like an earthly gardener, He employs various means to improve them. But when these means, cares, and labors remain without effect on an unrepentant sinner, Heavenly justice finally pronounces a threatening decree—to cut down the barren tree and throw it into the fire! The angel of death carries out this decree upon the poor sinner sometimes with such suddenness and zeal that even the unwilling one recalls the words of David: But I passed by, and lo, he was not; and I sought him, and place was not to be found (Ps. 36:36). And sometimes a sinner marked by Heavenly rejection remains alive for some time (just as the cursed and withered fig tree undoubtedly still occupied its place for some time). But this life is more terrible than death itself. For those who have eyes to see, there’s nothing more pitiable than the sight of these living dead. Despite the luxury and magnificence often surrounding them, they visibly bear the seal of judgment and rejection; around them is coldness and deadness; with them is despondency and secret fear.

Therefore, brethren, fearing the punishment of the withered fig tree for its barrenness, let us bring forth fruit worthy of repentance to Christ, Who grants us great mercy.

Amen.