Dangers of Having a Misleading Appearance

Mark 11: 13
AMP:And seeing in the distance a fig tree [covered] with leaves, He went to see if He could find any [fruit] on it [for in the fig tree the fruit appears at the same time as the leaves]. But when He came up to it, He found nothing but leaves, for the fig season had not yet come.
14 AMP:And He said to it, No one ever again shall eat fruit from you. And His disciples were listening [to what He said].

One would wonder why Jesus cursed the fig tree because it was not actually the season of figs but figs don't also bring out leaves without fruits because the fruits appear the same time as the leaves. So why would this one have leaves without fruits? This makes it very clear that Jesus hates hypocrisy and pretentious life. The fig tree had a misleading appearance. God hates such lifestyle. We must live what we preach or else we could be treated like the fig tree.

Could we say that vs.12 had an effect on Jesus' reaction in vs. 15-17?
15 AMP:And they came to Jerusalem. And He went into the temple [area, the porches and courts] and began to drive out those who sold and bought in the temple area, and He overturned the [four-footed] tables of the money changers and the seats of those who dealt in doves;
16:And He would not permit anyone to carry any household equipment through the temple enclosure [thus making the temple area a short-cut traffic lane].
17:And He taught and said to them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? But you have turned it into a den of robbers.
Yes, He did the right thing but could He have done it differently if He wasn't hungry and also haven't seen the misleading fig? (Just pondering 🤔)

There are also sometimes when you experience so many terrible things in a day as a Christian? You just met one rubbish, then another rubbish and another rubbish. It could really be exasperating at such times but we can learn from our Lord Jesus on how to deal with different rubbish at different times. 

When it comes to honouring God, we must not compromise but be firm in our decisions

It must be done God's way or it wouldn't be done at all.
That's Jesus' way of doing things
Sometimes you will need to find yourself in somewhat corrupt environment to know if you are actually standing for God or not. It is easy to live a righteous life when nothing is competing with your godly life but true children of God shine and are identified in difficult and corrupt environment, your ability to stand out, is what makes you a Christian.

Verse 20-21 of Mark 11: 20 AMP:In the morning, when they were passing along, they noticed that the fig tree was withered [completely] away to its roots. 21AMP:And Peter remembered and said to Him, Master, look! The fig tree which You doomed has withered away!


The fig tree withered immediately, it is terrible to live a misleading life and having misleading appearances.  The Lord Jesus is completely discontent with such life. A fruitless life is not a kingdom minded life. There is no need to living a pretentious life especially when it comes to the things of God. You might think you are deceiving your pastor or God but God cannot be deceived and we cannot deceive our pastors because doing so is at our own detriment.
unfruitfulness.  

"It is not enough to look good, it is not enough to appear good, it is not enough to speak eloquently, it is not enough to drive flashy cars, it is not enough to be born again if God cannot find any fruit in you. 
Live a fruitful life in the kingdom". Pastor Gbenga Oladipo 

I hope you have learnt something from this fig tree today.

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2 Comments

Anonymous said…
This really got me thinking 🤔🤔
Thanks for sharing it's powerful
Peaceable Peace said…
All thanks to God. You are welcome!