This is part 2 of our Road to the Cross series. Read part 1 here.
Have you ever bought something online and when it arrived, it was nothing like what you expected? Maybe you ordered what looked like a great deal — 600 dice for $20 — only to receive dice the size of rice grains. Or perhaps you've had that moment of grabbing what you thought was a refreshing Coke, only to discover it was someone's spittoon (true story from my childhood that scarred me for life!).
These experiences of deception, when something appears one way on the outside but is entirely different on the inside, mirror exactly what Jesus confronted on His road to Jerusalem.
Understanding Jesus' Frustration with the Fig Tree
"The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, 'May no one ever eat fruit from you again.' And his disciples heard him say it." — Mark 11:12-14
In Mark 11, we find a fascinating story that at first glance seems out of character for Jesus. He's walking with His disciples, feeling hungry, when He spots a fig tree in the distance. When He approaches it looking for fruit, He finds only leaves. His response? He curses the tree, saying "May no one ever eat fruit from you again."
"When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city. In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, 'Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!'" — Mark 11:19-21
What makes this story even more puzzling is that Mark explicitly tells us "it was not the season for figs." Why would Jesus curse a tree for not having fruit when it wasn't even supposed to be bearing fruit?
This is where understanding fig trees becomes important. With fig trees, the presence of leaves indicates the presence of fruit. When a fig tree is "in leaf," you should find fruit underneath those leaves. So when Jesus saw the leafy fig tree from a distance, He had every reason to expect fruit, regardless of the season.
But the leaves were liars.
The Human Problem of Pretense in Our Lives
This story cuts to the heart of a universal human problem: pretense. We're all guilty of putting on a show, managing our image, performing, and showing off our "leaves" when we don't have the fruit to back it up.
We live in a culture obsessed with image control. Just open social media — everybody's pretending. We post our egg white omelet and kale smoothie but not the Fruit Loops we had the day before. We share our 15,000-step day but not the day we spent on the couch. We're showing leaves, but there's no fruit.
The same happens in our marriages:
"How are you guys doing?" "We're good! So good! We had dinner, saw a movie. We're so happy!"
But the only reason things feel somewhat okay is because you're avoiding each other. You're not even talking. What you think is peace in your home is really just quiet. Both of you were on your phones during that movie and dinner, and if you actually got honest with each other, you'd discover deep issues that need addressing.
Most of us would rather look good than be good.
The Power of Shame
What drives this behavior? Shame. This trick, this trap of the enemy, this lie that we've fallen too far, that we're not good enough, that we're irreparable. The belief that if people saw the real us, they wouldn't love us.
The enemy uses just two strategies: temptation and shame. He lures us in with temptation, then crushes us with shame after we fall. "How dare you? You're filthy, broken. I thought you were a Christian. You went to church on Sunday and now you did that on Monday?"
When we partner with the lie of shame, we use pretense as a defense, living a life where we hope no one discovers who we really are.
The Fig Tree and the Temple
This fig tree story is actually part of what biblical scholars call a "Markan sandwich," where one idea is split in two parts (like bread) with the central message in the middle. After cursing the fig tree, Jesus immediately goes to the temple in Jerusalem and begins driving out the money changers and those selling doves.
"On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, 'Is it not written: "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations"? But you have made it "a den of robbers."'" — Mark 11:15-17
Why was Jesus so upset? Because the temple represented the place where God's people went to find forgiveness. The sacrificial system required people to bring animals they had raised (lambs or doves) and sacrifice them in hopes of God's mercy and forgiveness.
But over time, savvy businesspeople realized they could sell these animals at the temple door. Now instead of raising an animal all year, thinking about what you'd done and how you needed God's forgiveness, you could just buy one at the "gift shop." You went through the motions but your heart wasn't in it.
Leaves, but no fruit.
Jesus Uproots Religion to Establish Relationship
After disrupting the temple, Jesus and His disciples pass the fig tree again the next day, now withered from the roots up. When Peter points this out, Jesus doesn't even acknowledge the tree. Instead, He says something shocking:
"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." — Mark 11:22-24
Standing on the road to Jerusalem, there was only one mountain in sight, which was the temple mount, the seat of religion that all Israel revered. Jesus was saying something revolutionary here: If you have faith, this religious system can be cast into the sea because it's all fulfilled in Him.
Jesus was uprooting religion to welcome us into relationship. "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations," He declared, infuriating those who believed the temple was exclusively for Jewish people. In Jesus, the door was being opened to everyone.
Breaking Free from Religious Performance into Authentic Faith
If we're not careful, we can fall into the same trap today, where we treat church as a religious performance. We come with our shameful leaves covering our unlovable parts, thinking that by checking the box of church attendance we've found our forgiveness.
But church is not what saves you. Jesus saves you. Church is not what forgives you. Jesus forgives you.
We don't come to church to find forgiveness; we come because of forgiveness. It's Jesus who made a way. We gather to celebrate, to testify, and to know Him more, but church is never our gateway to Jesus. Jesus is our gateway to the Father.
How to Move from Leaves to Fruit in Your Spiritual Life
So what's the path forward if you've been stuck in religious performance? Jesus gives us the answer right in the text:
Believe - If you want forgiveness, stand and believe that it is done. No sacrifices, no religious processes. Jesus did it all.
Forgive others - "When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive your sins."
If you've been forgiven, you forgive others. If you're forgiving others, you've been forgiven. It's a simultaneous relationship.
Overcoming Shame and Stepping into Freedom
Maybe you're thinking, "You don't know what I've done." If you believe your sin, shame, addiction, or broken parts disqualify you from God's love and forgiveness, it's time to recognize what Jesus actually did.
There is no sin too great, no fall too far that He can't reach you. He's done it for generations, and He'll keep doing it. Shame is keeping you from seeing the truth of the gospel, that the door is open to you.
So stop hiding and start stepping into the fullness of who He is.
When the enemy accuses you, saying things like, "You're an addict, a liar, a cheater," you have the right to plead the blood of Jesus. Yes, those things may be true, but the blood of Jesus covers your sin the same way it covered the houses when the angel of death passed over. It covers your life completely.
The leaves are liars, but the fruit of a relationship with Jesus is real and available to all who come to Him in faith.
