Pronouncing Judgment When There Is No Harvest

On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see whether perhaps he would find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again” (Mark:11:12-14a)

In Mark 11, Jesus enters Jerusalem one last time. He will spend the next several days needling the religious authorities to within an inch of their patience. The people come out to greet him as he enters the city. No doubt the people are reminded of another triumphal entry many decades before—the entry of Judas Maccabeus, who had liberated Jerusalem and cleansed the Temple. But Jesus has something else in mind for the Temple. His first stop upon his arrival is the Temple itself, but it is too late in the day, so Jesus leaves for Bethany with his disciples to stay with friends.

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