What does Mark 11:12-14 mean?

¹² And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: ¹³ And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. ¹⁴ And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it. (Mark 11:12-14 KJV)

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

Here is Christ’s cursing of the fruitless fig tree. He had a convenient resting place at Bethany, and therefore went there to rest; but his work was in Jerusalem, so he returned there in the morning, at working time. He was so focused on his mission that he left Bethany without breakfast, and before he had gone far, he was hungry (Mark 11:12), for he shared in all the sinless weaknesses of our nature.

Finding himself in need of food, he approached a fig tree that he saw from a distance. It had many green leaves, and he hoped to find fruit on it. But he found nothing but leaves. He had hoped to find fruit because, although the time for gathering figs was near, it had not yet arrived. So it couldn’t be claimed that the tree had borne fruit and it was already picked—no, the season wasn’t there yet. Or, he found none because it was simply not a good fig year.

But this tree was worse than others—it didn’t even have a single fig, though it was full of leaves. Christ used it as an example—not for trees but for people of that generation—and cursed it with the opposite of the first blessing, “Be fruitful.” He said, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again” (Mark 11:14). In Jotham’s parable, sweetness and good fruit are the fig tree’s honor (Judges 9:11), and its usefulness is better than being exalted among trees. To be deprived of that is a harsh curse.

This was meant to symbolize the judgment on the Jewish church. He came seeking fruit and found none (Luke 13:6-7). And though it wasn’t immediately cut down, blindness and hardness fell upon them (Romans 11:8, 25), so they were no longer useful. The disciples heard Christ pronounce this sentence and took note. Warnings from Christ should be remembered just as much as blessings.

Mark Chapter 11

1. The Triumphal Entry, Mark 11:1-11
2. Jesus Curses the Fig Tree, Mark 11:12-14
3. Jesus Cleanses the Temple, Mark 11:15-19
4. The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree, Mark 11:20-26
5. The Authority of Jesus Challenged, Mark 11:27-33