Why curse the fig tree? (Jesus, crucified, hell, church)

[Heneni]

Hello. Jesus at one point walked past a fig tree and cursed it. Not long after it shrivelled up and died. Why do you think he did this?

[Charlotte,NC Humanist]

... consider that as a man he might have been just havin a bad day, as humans are prone to do, and not having a can to kick just cursed the poor fig tree out of pure angst.

If cursing is sinning, in the scheme of what you religiously believe in, then Jesus had to have sinned. No?

[Jayhawker Soule]

The following is from F. F. Bruce is somewhat interesting:

Was it not unreasonable to curse the tree for being fruitless when, as Mark expressly says, "it was not the season for figs"? The problem is most satisfactorily cleared up in a discussion called "The Barren Fig Tree" published many years ago by W. M. Christie, a Church of Scotland minister in Palestine under the British mandatory regime. He pointed out first the time of year at which the incident is said to have occurred (if, as is probable, Jesus was crucified on April 6th, A.D. 30, the incident occurred during the first days of April). "Now," wrote Christie, "the facts connected with the fig tree are these. Toward the end of March the leaves begin to appear, and in about a week the foliage coating is complete. Coincident with [this], and sometimes even before, there appears quite a crop of small knobs, not the real figs, but a kind of early forerunner. They grown to the size of green almonds, in which condition they are eaten by peasants and others when hungry. When they come to their own indefinite maturity they drop off." These precursors of the true fig are called taqsh in Palestinian Arabic. Their appearance is a harbinger of the fully formed appearance of the true fig some six weeks later. So, as Mark says, the time for figs had not yet come. But if the leaves appear without any taqsh, that is a sign that there will be no figs. Since Jesus found "nothing but leaves" - leaves without any taqsh- he knew that "it was an absolutely hopeless, fruitless fig tree" and said as much.

[source]

[Jayhawker Soule]

Originally Posted by Charlotte,NC Humanist

... consider that as a man he might have been just havin a bad day, as humans are prone to do, ...

Much as some humans are prone to adolescent replies.

[Heneni]

Originally Posted by Jayhawker Soule

The following is from F. F. Bruce is somewhat interesting:

What would cause the fig tree to not have 'taqsh'?

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Originally Posted by Jayhawker Soule

The following is from F. F. Bruce is somewhat interesting:

... but doesn't work with the "because" in Mark 11:12:

When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.

If outside the "season for figs", a person would expect to find both leaves and taqsh on a fig tree, then the bolded part of the quote above makes no sense.

However, if "because it was not the season for figs" was a later interpretation, then the verse would work... but this would also make any speculation about taqsh unnecessary.

[Heneni]

It seems like Jesus was hungry. Shouldnt he have known the fig tree would not have figs on it since it wasnt fig season?

[Jayhawker Soule]

Originally Posted by 9-10ths_Penguin

... but doesn't work with the "because" in Mark 11:12: ...

Nicely done!

[Jayhawker Soule]

Originally Posted by Heneni

Shouldnt he have known the fig tree would not have figs on it since it wasnt fig season?

Gee golly - maybe Mark got it wrong ...

[Heneni]

Its not like Jesus wasnt willing to calm storms and walk on water and perform miracles. Once when others were hungry he changed a few fishes and bread into a LOT of fishes and a LOT of bread...yet this fig tree was not having any miracle done to it, it was cursed. (not that the shrivelling up of it can not be considered miraculous) Jesus must have done such a thing to drive through an important point. It is the only miracle where he took something of nature and destroyed it.

I think the lesson of the fig tree would be nice to understand.