Pentecost and the Fig Tree

I want to echo the thought that Mr. Ewell made earlier about, thank you for the ensemble, for doing that. We really appreciate that. That adds so much to the song service as we praise and worship God. I'd like to ask you a question. It's one thing I like to do, as I begin a message often. I ask you a question as we begin the message this morning. It's maybe a little bit small, so it may be hard for you to see. Can you see what I'm holding in my hand here? It's probably hard to see from where you're sitting there.

It might be difficult to perceive what this is, but it's actually a real treat. What this is, a fig. It's a fig. I'll put it up right here. Get it close here. It should stay up there. Yeah, that's a fig. In fact, I don't know how many of you enjoy figs?

How many of you? Okay, I see a few hands that are up there that like them, and I saw a few faces that's kind of like, eh, you know? That's not something that I like. And I've also got, you may recognize what this is here, too. All right. Fig Newton. All right. How many of you like fig newtons? All right, quite a few. How many that don't like figs like fig newtons?

I'm trying. I'm trying. Okay. All right. Couldn't persuade anybody there. Okay. Well, quite a number of you know what figs are, and quite a number of you have enjoyed them, it sounds like, over the years. Well, some people apparently believe that Jesus Christ hated a fig tree. He didn't like a certain fig tree. So let's turn over in Scriptures over to Mark chapter 11 and verse number 12. You'll turn with me there in the Bible there, because there are some people that believe that Jesus did not like a certain fig tree. So we're going to take a look at that Scripture today.

Some of you understand that you don't like figs. You can understand why he wouldn't like a fig tree. Mark chapter 11 verse 12. It says, now the next day when Jesus had come out from Bethany, so you can picture in a sense Jesus Christ and His disciples on a trip.

They're moving from one city to another. They're going from Bethany to Jerusalem. And they're walking along a road and it says He was hungry. You know, we know that Jesus was tempted in every way that we were, and we also know that He experienced humanity. So He got hungry, just like you and I. Now, I don't know about you, but sometimes when I'm on a trip, and of course for them, when they went on a trip, they had to walk. This took effort. But sometimes we're on a road trip, and I'm hungry. I'm not necessarily the nicest person to be with.

You know, you get a little crabby. And you may have seen the Snickers commercial, where you're not yourself when you're hungry. You know, and there's this person that's really wild, and then they take a bite of a Snickers bar, and all of a sudden they turn back into themselves. I don't know if you've seen that commercial, but anyhow, that's out there. Now, is that what happened to Jesus Christ? He's walking down the road. It's dusty. He's hungry. And the disciples didn't have enough bread, because that was something that would happen from time to time. Is that what's happening to him?

He's just mad. He's angry. He's crabby, because there's no figs on this tree. Well, let's take a look here. At verse number 13, it says, and seeing from afar a fig tree. So he sees this from a distance. He says, hey, there's a fig tree up there. He starts making his way towards it. And he's thinking, I'm going to get something to eat. I've got something there. I'm hungry, and I'm looking for something to eat. So seeing from afar a fig tree, having leaves, he went to see if perhaps he could find something on it.

Now, the time of the year was about April. It was just pre-pass over time. So we're thinking that this is most likely the time of spring here, possibly the very beginning of summer. And he saw leaves on the fig tree. He went to see if perhaps he might be able to find something on it.

Now, what was he looking for? Well, he was looking for figs. He was hungry. We understand that. And it says, and when he came to it, he says he found nothing but leaves. For it was not the season for figs. So in response, Jesus says to it, in a sense, he's talking to the tree here. He says, let no one eat fruit from you ever again.

He cursed the fig tree. He cursed it. He basically sentenced it to death, in a sense. If we look at the original Greek, it can also be translated, he doomed the fig tree. He cursed it. He doomed it, in a sense. It says, let no one eat fruit from you ever again. Now, there are some people who question Christianity, and they feel that, well, this seems a little bit harsh, as to what he's doing.

You come to a tree. It's not really fig season yet. You expect to find figs there. And then when you don't find it, you condemn the tree. You kill the tree. You doom the tree, in other words. In a sense, you condemn it to the wood pile.

And so, let's continue on with verse number 15. So they came to Jerusalem, and Jesus went into the temple. And let's drop down to verse number 19. And when evening had come, He went out of the city. Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw that fig tree. And it was all dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to him, Rabbi, look, the fig tree which you cursed has withered away. So here, the tree was all dried up. The leaves had all dried up. And it says like it's down to the roots, like from the very base of the tree. And they were all amazed that that happened. Now, did Christ dislike this fig tree?

Is that what we're talking about here? Did He curse the fig tree because He was in a bad attitude, that He was hungry, and He was on this journey? You know, what's going on here?

People that question the Bible say, wow, you know, this guy is unreasonable. Jesus Christ is one that you worship. What we're going to do specifically today is we're going to answer some of these questions as we go along. But I'd like to today, what I'd like to do is to share with you a little bit of information about figs and about a fig tree, and about the fruit from the fig tree, which of course is the fig, and relate how this may apply to the coming feast of Pentecost.

And so, the title of the message here today is Pentecost and the Fig Tree. Pentecost and the fig tree. Now, we've been in Mark 11. We're going to come back to that story here in just a little bit. But I'd like to give you a little bit of background on figs and on the fig tree.

So, this is just a little bit of background. Things you may have been aware of or things maybe that you were not aware of. Fig trees take many years to cultivate in order for them to bear fruit. It takes a long time. You'll not get good figs on a fig tree in the first year, or even maybe the second or the third year. You might get some in the fourth year when that sprig gets a few feet tall. But it's usually not until five or maybe even as many as 10 to 12 years before you begin to get some fruit on the fig tree. And when it comes to... let's take a look at a scripture over in Proverbs chapter 27 verse 18. Let's go over there. Proverbs chapter 27 verse 18. It can take a long time to get fruit, you know, until the tree is actually large enough and begins to have a crop of figs that can really be outstanding that you can really enjoy. Let's look at Proverbs chapter 27 and verse number 18. Proverbs chapter 27 and verse 18. It's amazing how many times that the term figs or fig tree are listed in scripture. We're not going to have an opportunity to go through them all, but we're going to look at a few of them here. Now you may be thinking, figs and Pentecost, or fig trees and Pentecost. How do these things relate? Well, hopefully I can tie that in as we go along. Okay, let's pick it up in verse 17 because many of us are probably pretty familiar with verse number 17 in Proverbs 27. It says, as iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. But I would suggest that probably many of us are not as familiar with what we read in the very next verse, verse number 18. Whoever keeps the fig tree will eat its fruit.

What does that mean? You know, whoever keeps the fig tree will eat its fruit. I think it's an indication that the fig tree has to be tended, has to be cared for over a long period of time. And the person that does that caring, the person that does that tending, in a sense, is the one that's going to eat its fruit. So it takes time. It takes tending. It takes care over a long period of time for it to really produce. So what Solomon is saying in this proverb is that if you want good fruit, you have to invest time and care. Time in advance and care over time. Now that fruit doesn't come immediately, but if you make that investment over and over and over again, over maybe five or possibly as many as 10 or 12 years, then the fruit that comes from that will be very good and very rewarding. I didn't know the answer to this, but any idea how large a fig tree can grow?

How tall can they get? Well, of course, there's a lot of different varieties and they all reach different sizes in a sense, but a typical young fig tree will grow up to 10, maybe 15 feet tall, and that's a young tree. Given time, it can go older and older or taller. An older tree can grow up to possibly up to 25 feet tall, and in some exceptional cases, and there are some out there, a fig tree can actually grow up to 50 feet tall. That's pretty significant. That's a big tree.

So they can be huge. They can be big. They have large leaves, large, lobed leaves that are bright green. I don't know if anyone here... I don't think that they don't grow really in our area very well unless you've got a container inside. Has anyone ever tried to grow a fig tree down south?

Oh, here. Okay. In a pot in the house. Did you get any figs from it? Okay. Okay. So you had some success. Yeah. And I know they do really well in the south and also out west. My wife lived out in California for a while, and she was still living at home with her dad and mom and sisters, that they had a fig tree in their yard. And it's hard... You know, they're pretty good if you like figs. I mean, they're delicious. Had a hard time finding these. I had to go to the grocery store. They didn't think they had them, and we had to search high and low, and finally we found some.

But they're actually quite tasty. But anyhow, so they can be big, and they can be grown, I guess, in Minnesota or Wisconsin, if you have a container. But if you get one of these very mature trees that are as high as 50 feet tall, they can produce thousands of figs on one tree. Just an incredible amount of fruit. Let's turn over to Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 7. We talked about the fact that figs and fig trees are mentioned throughout the Scripture. In Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 7, this is one of those places, and this is the second time in Scripture that the word figs or fig trees is mentioned. Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 7. We won't turn there, but the first time it's ever mentioned is Genesis chapter 3 and verse 6. But this is the second time. We're going to focus on this one here. Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 7. It says, For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks, of water, of fountains, and springs that flow out of the valleys and the hills, a land of wheat and barley. You can cultivate this land. It's going to grow wheat and barley. He goes on to say, And it's got vines and fig trees and pomegranates. It's a land of olive oil and honey, a land in which you can eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing. Wow! This is the promised land that we're talking about. A tremendous amount of blessings here. He says, A land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. God paints an incredible picture here, doesn't He, of the promised land? It's almost perfect, where you lack nothing. And you know, one of the aspects of this almost perfect promised land is that you have fig trees, and that you have fig trees to cultivate and to eat from. Now, some, if not most of us will remember, kind of a millennial phrase that is used in Scripture, that every man will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, right? In this context of, in a sense, the kingdom of God. And in a sense, also in the promised land, which is kind of a type of the future kingdom of God. And so that's something that maybe we are familiar with, that every man will sit under his vine and fig tree. Well, let's turn over to 1 Kings chapter 4 and verse 24. 1 Kings chapter 4 and verse 24. From the fig tree came to symbolize long periods of time of peace and prosperity. You know, there should be, when we think of a fig tree, a calmness that comes over us. Because it means that there has been peace for a long time, that someone has taken the time to cultivate this fig tree or this orchard of fig trees over a long period of time, and that there has not been any war that has taken place. That someone had enough time away from war to be able to care for these trees or this tree and make it produce the very best fruit that it can. Now, we're going to talk about here, as we begin reading the moment, about the reign of Solomon. In a sense, the nation of Israel reached its zenith, its peak of peace and power and influence in the world. In a sense, Solomon was, in a sense, kind of a type of a future of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who was the king of the coming kingdom of God.

So, the reign of Solomon was unprecedented among the nation of Israel, peace on every side for many years, and it's been likened to the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Let's notice here in 1 Kings 4, verse 24, Solomon's wealth, the safety, the security of the nation at that time, and everyone was benefiting from this. It was just awesome. And notice the benefits that are described here. It says, "...for he had dominion over all the region on this side of the river, from Tifsah even to Gaza, namely over all the kings on this side of the river, and he had peace on every side all around him." Brethren, this is a very unusual situation among the human beings.

This is almost unprecedented here. To have this peace, this condition, that these human beings found themselves in for a very long time, having peace all around them. Verse number 25, "...and Judah and Israel dwelt safely..." They didn't have to be afraid.

"...they dwelt safely..." Notice, "...each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon." Wow! Notice, "...each person had their vine and fig tree, and that they dwelt safely." You know, the fig tree produces a lot of lush greenery. It's these huge, big leaves. And you know, so often, even until this day, it's a place to go for rest.

Because it has this incredible shade, these huge leaves just give you the shade there. In fact, under the shade of a fig tree, because it blocks out the sun, the temperature can be significantly different than if you're standing out in the sun. It can be anywhere from 10 to 18 degrees cooler underneath a fig tree, the shade of a fig tree, than it would be out in the sunshine. It reminds me of the story when Jesus said to Nathaniel, when he was calling, I saw you under the fig tree. You know, because he was there, because it was peaceful, it was restful, there's a calm, there's a refreshment that happens with those cooler temperatures.

Because a fig tree takes so many years to cultivate, until the fruit is produced, until it can get large enough for you to be able to lounge under it and to enjoy its shade, the fig tree became symbolic of long peace and prosperity, hence the millennial phrase, sitting under the vine, your vine, our fig tree. Vines are very much the same. It takes a long time to cultivate a vine, a vineyard. We have one that's just down the road from us, and they started about four years ago, and Jelene and I refer to it as our vineyard, just because we take walks by it, and we see how it's developed, and we watch the workers work on it, and you've probably seen some vineyards popping up a little bit more in this part of the country as they have great varieties that can now stand the winters that we have here in Wisconsin and in Minnesota.

And it's fascinating to watch what they do. And the first year after the first growing season, they planted these little seedlings in the ground, and they grew pretty good. And then after that first winter, before the growth started in the spring, they cut them way back.

And Jelene said, oh, they just almost cut it back to where they started. Why would they want to do that? Because it helps it to grow faster, to bear more fruit. But vines are very much the same. It takes a long time. It's taken years. I think the fourth growing season now, they finally got some grapes. So it takes time. And you know, it means that there was a lot of years of peace, because it does take time. You know, the first thing a conquering army would do is they go in there and they torch the vineyards. And then they go up to the fig trees and rather than cut them down, they would just debark them. They would just, you know, peel the ring around the tree to take the barks. And then that would be too much work to cut a tree down. It was much easier just to debark it, and then it would die. And so those are some of the things that conquering armies would do, just to devastate the nation that they were trying to conquer. So we see during Solomon's time that they had rest from their enemies. They had time to cultivate and care for. They actually had time to sit in the shade of the fig tree. Let's notice verse 25, and Judah and Israel dwelt safely each man under his spine and fig tree from Dan as far as Beersheba all the days of Solomon. So quite a bit, if not most of his reign. So that leads us over to Micah chapter 4 and verse 1. Let's go ahead and take a look at that. Micah here is near the end of the Old Testament. We'll see how this same phrase, every man sitting under his vine and fig tree is symbolic of this peace, the safety, this rest, this contentment. And again, many of you may be saying, well how did figs tie him with Pentecost, and how does a fig tree tie him with Pentecost? Okay, well, maybe you're not getting it yet, but hopefully in time this will make sense. Micah chapter 4 and verse number 1.

Micah chapter 4 and verse number 1. It says, Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and people shall flow to it. So we're talking about education, people wanting to know the truth of God, and they're flowing to it, just like crowds used to throng and flow to Jesus Christ as the King of that kingdom when He was on the earth. It says, they'll flow to it. Verse 2, And many nations shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths. For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations from far off. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spheres into pruning hooks. And nations shall not lift up sword against nation, and neither shall they learn war anymore. And notice verse number 4, But everyone, that's all inclusive. We're talking about everyone, the entire population shall sit under His vine and under His fig tree. Now for those of you that don't like figs, I hope you like the shade of the fig tree. All right. Isn't this amazing? This is a prophecy.

And so, and notice, and it goes on to say, And no one shall make them afraid.

Wow! It's going to be a whole different feeling, you know? No one's going to make them afraid.

You don't have to worry about warfare, about someone starving you to death, cutting down your, or debarking your fig trees, or whatever. And then everyone shall sit under His vine and under His fig tree is a key phrase, and so is, no one shall make them afraid.

So we begin to see that the fig tree is symbolic, in a sense, represents peace of mind, not just peace around, but peace within. Peace of mind, not afraid in any way, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. Let's go over to 2 Kings chapter 20 and verse number one, another place where figs are mentioned. 2 Kings chapter 20 and verse one, a few more things, and then we'll begin to tie a few of these things together, about how this can tie into the Feast of Pentecost or the Feast of First Fruits. 2 Kings chapter 20, we see another use of figs here. And this has to do with the story of Hezekiah. He's gotten sick, and it looks like he's close to death. And God sends a prophet, Isaiah, to speak to Hezekiah here in this context. 2 Kings chapter 20 and verse number one, it says, In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death, so we know that he was very close to death, and he was headed in that direction. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amos, went to him and said, Thus says the Lord God, set your house in order, because you shall die and not live.

And Hezekiah then turned his face towards the wall, so Isaiah left, and Hezekiah turns his face to the wall, and he prays to God. And he says, Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before you in truth and with a loyal heart, and I have done what was good in your sight.

And it says, Hezekiah wept bitterly. So this was something he was moved about when he heard this news, and he prayed to God immediately after Isaiah delivered this message. He felt he wanted more time. So he begged God for more time. It says in verse 4, and it happened before Isaiah had gone into the middle court that the Word of the Lord came to him. He said, Return. Return back to Hezekiah.

And tell Hezekiah the leader of my people. Thus says the Lord, the God of David, your father, I have heard your prayer, and I have seen your tears, and surely I will heal you. And on the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. And by three days he says he's going to be well. Well enough that after three days he can go up to the house of the Lord, possibly to give some type of an offering, a thank offering for the healing that God had given to him. Verse number 6, And I will add to your days fifteen years, I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake, and for the sake of my servant David.

And then Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. Now it doesn't say here whether this is something that God told Isaiah to tell Hezekiah or whether this is Isaiah's thought here. It doesn't give us really the indication of whether God told him to do this or whether Isaiah told him to do it. But take a lump of figs. So they took and they laid it on the boil, on the boil, and he recovered.

And so we see here that figs also, in a sense, can act as a healing agent.

Let's go back now to the book of Mark where we started. Let's go back to Mark chapter 11.

It's where we began to talk about the fig tree and figs, and we talked about Jesus Christ cursing the fig tree. And is it because Christ disliked the fig tree or because He was hungry and was upset that there was nothing there? That there were no figs there? You know, I've touched on the fact that it's interesting that there are some people that use this Scripture actually as a way to say that you can't trust Christianity or the Messiah that is the leader of it, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, which Christianity is named after Christ. Because you've got a person here that says, you worship this type of person, a Messiah who gets angry and then kills a tree, you know, in a time when it wasn't even the season for figs. So this Messiah, this Son of God that you worship, you know, He goes looking for figs in the off season, and then He kills the tree because there's not anything that's there. You know, is this the type of person that you worship? You know, there's some really some people that have had this type of comment on this particular section of Scripture. So let's understand the Scripture here a little bit more perfectly. What was Jesus looking for when He came? Let's look at verse number 12. Now the next day when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry, and seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves. Now that's actually important. The fact that this He looked, He saw this tree from afar off, and that it had leaves. Now that's significant for a reason, as we're going to read through here in a moment. Now what appears right along with new leaves? Well, what appears on a healthy fig tree are figs. Small little green figs.

When the leaves come out, they start to develop at the same time that the leaves begin to develop. You'll see these small little cherry-sized green little green figs. Now oftentimes these small immature figs fall off. The wind blows, and virtually sometimes on varieties they all fall off. And these are figs that grew on the on the wood from the previous year, on the old wood. These small little ones are growing on the wood from the previous year. And then later on you get these bigger figs that come from the new wood, the new growth, in a sense. But you get these small ones from the old wood, in a sense. So what was Jesus looking for when he came? Because it had leaves, and that's when these little green figs, they develop at the same time that the leaves do, from the old growth of the old wood. And so that's what he was looking for. And they're edible.

You can eat them. You can eat them. In fact, in the Middle East, the Arabs in the Middle East, they gather them, they eat them, they take them to the market, they sell them. Let me read a little bit here from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on this topic. It says, there are many varieties of figs in Palestine differing in sweetness and color and consistency. In Palestine and other warm climates, a fig tree yields two crops annually, an earlier one right about June, as these little green figs that we're talking about, growing from the old wood, in other words, again, the summer sprouts from the previous year's wood, and a second more important crop, right about August, which grows upon the new wood. By December, the fig trees in Palestine have shed all of their leaves, and they remain bare until about the end of March, when they commence putting forth their tender leaf buds, at the same time that the leaf appears, also appear, these tiny green figs, and they belong to the earliest signs of spring. So when Jesus went to this fig tree, he saw full-size leaves. All over that tree, there should have been small green figs. These tiny figs develop with the leaves up to a certain point about the size of a small cherry. That's pretty close to what I've got there in front of me, and in front of you. These tiny figs develop with the leaves up to a certain point about the size of a small cherry. Then the great majority of them fall to the ground, carried down by every gust of wind. These are the unripe figs, or the untimely figs, described in Revelation 6 and verse 13. These immature figs are known to the local Arabs as tikash, by whom they are eaten as they fall. They may even sometimes be lined up for sale in the markets in Jerusalem. In the case of many trees, the whole of this first crop made thus abort, so that by May no figs are to be found at all. But here's the key. If a fig tree has no small green figs in its earliest development in a year, it will not produce any figs later. So if it doesn't have these small cherry-type figs, these small, which are green figs, when the leaves develop, then it's not going to have any figs at all later on. And that's a key. So Jesus, in a sense, had every white when He went this tree to find fruit. When He saw these big, broad, green leaves, He expected to find fruit there. That was these small green figs, which are edible, but that's what He was expecting to find, these small cherry-sized figs that could stave off the hunger of Him and His disciples on their journey along the way.

So what can we learn from figs? How do we relate this to this coming feast of firstfruits or feast of Pentecost? Well, going back to Mark 11, I guess we're here, verse number 13, why did Jesus curse this fig tree? He cursed the tree because it did not produce fruit. Think of that in relation to my responsibility and to your responsibility as a Christian. Christ cursed the tree because it did not produce fruit. Let's look at verse 13 again. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. He's looking for these small figs, these green figs. And when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves. For it was not the season for figs. So the big fall harvest certainly wasn't there. Even the early ripe ones, these green ones weren't there. So He knew that it wasn't going to be the big ones that came later on in the growing season because it didn't have the small green ones. Again, if a fig tree has no small green figs in its early development of the year, it won't have any figs at all later on. If there's none of the first crop, there'll be none of the second crop. A fig tree that does not produce is using up ground. It's taking up space that something else more productive could be put in.

Verse 14. In response, Jesus says to the tree, let no one eat fruit from you ever again, and His disciples heard it. So Jesus cursed the tree because it wasn't producing fruit.

And now He also used this event to teach His disciples about faith. In a sense, a second topic here, how could a man by talking to a tree kill it? How could a person talk to a tree and kill it? Jesus used this also as an example of faith as we go on to verse 15. So they came to Jerusalem and they're coming from Bethany. Then Jesus went into the temple and He began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And as we drop down to verse 19, when evening had come, He went out of the city, and now in the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. Dried up from the roots. So it's not that kind of withered a little bit.

It was completely dead. Deadder than a doornail. And it looked dead. Verse 21. And Peter, remembering, he recognized that was the tree that Jesus had spoke to on the way into town the prior day. He said, Rabbi, look, the fig tree which you cursed has withered away. And then Jesus goes on to use this example of faith in verse 22. And Jesus answered and He said of them, have faith in God. So there was another lesson as well. But did Jesus kill this tree just to teach us about faith?

Jesus allowed the tree to die. He put it to death. He doomed it in a sense because it wasn't producing fruit. And as we think about the coming feasts of Pentecost and first fruits, we ask ourselves, I ask myself, am I producing fruit? Am I producing fruit? Do I have the right to take up ground in the Church of God if I'm not producing fruit? You see, this fig tree was planted in the Promised Land and likewise we've been planted in the congregation of God. And there are those that God has assigned to tend the Church to care for it, to help it to produce fruit. And that's our individual responsibility. Mine and yours is to produce fruit. Jesus doesn't want trees in the Church of God that are not producing. So we all have the personal responsibility to be producing fruit. You know, a lot of times figs were grown in orchards and many trees were near one another. But if that tree in that group wasn't producing, you know, is it worthwhile for it to continue to take up the ground? In a sense, Jesus is saying, if this tree is simply taking up space, then let's get rid of it. That seems pretty direct, doesn't it? Seems pretty harsh, doesn't it?

Now Christ uses other analogies elsewhere. He talks about the vine and that we're the branches. And what does he say about nonproductive branches? It's pretty direct, isn't it? Do you remember what he says? He says they get cut off and they get thrown into the fire.

Please turn with me to Matthew 7 and verse 18. Matthew 7 and verse 18. Brethren, we, you and I, all of us, are currently being evaluated on our production of fruit.

And the coming of this feast of first fruits or Pentecost can be sometimes a sobering thing to think about. I mean, God wants to get us attention. He wants us to be sober. He talks about Passover and his plan, where we look at ourselves. We're very sober. We're very humble. We look at ourselves. We begin to see areas of our lives that need to change, where we do need to bear fruit.

That's part of his plan. And then, of course, we go on to, as we examine ourselves prior to Passover, then we try to begin to remove the unfruitful things from our lives, the sin in our lives, through the days of 11 bread and what they picture, how 11 works in our lives.

The Feast of Pentecost is part of this plan as well, in helping us to understand.

So the Feast of Pentecost or first fruits can be sobering, but maybe that's not a bad thing to be sober from time to time. Matthew 7 and verse 18. A good tree! It's interesting that Jesus draws an analogy between human beings and trees. He says, a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So I guess there's only one more use of a bad tree, and I suppose that's for firewood to keep you warm for a while. But he's trying to get our attention on some things here. Verse 20, Therefore by their fruits you will know them. So Jesus and the Father tell us that that is how we'll be known, is by the fruit that we produce. We might be in the orchard of the church, but if we're not producing fruit, if this doesn't become personal for us, if this doesn't become an individual thing for us, if we're not personally pursuing God's way of life, looking to the Scriptures, laboring in the Word, pursuing personal righteousness, we may be in the orchard, but we may not be producing fruit. Verse 21, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven. It's interesting that this is all in this context of bearing fruit. Brethren, not everyone shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father.

And what's God's will for you and me? Well, John 15, verse 8, talks about that it's God's will that we bear much fruit, that we produce much fruit, and that we are currently being evaluated on our production of fruit. What type of fruit is God looking for in you and in me? What's he looking for?

Let's turn over to Galatians chapter 5 and verse number 22. Galatians chapter 5 and verse 22.

And many of us, regardless of our age, may be very familiar with this particular section of Scripture, where it talks about the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians chapter 5 verse number 22 defines the kind of fruit I think that God wants to see produced in our lives.

Galatians chapter 5 and verse number 22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, it's joy, it's peace. And it goes on to say it includes long suffering, and kindness, and goodness, and faithfulness, and gentleness, and self-control.

Wow! Each one of those is a sermon in themselves, isn't it? So I'm not going to have time to go into too much detail on some of the fruit that God's looking for in you and in me. But those are some of the things that are listed there. You know, the apostle Paul here explains that these qualities are the fruit of God's Holy Spirit in you and in me. They are what can be produced by God through us. You know, if we humble ourselves, we repent, we believe the Gospel message of the coming Kingdom, surrender ourselves to Him, and allow our lives to be led by that Spirit which is producing that fruit in us. Instead of not having the time really to go through each of these different fruits of the Spirit, in the time that I've got left, I'd like to approach it a little bit from a different perspective. Let's ask this question from the perspective of the results of the fruit. The results of the fruit. In other words, let's look at what you or me as a spiritual fig tree should provide. As a converted Christian, as a spiritual fig tree, what should we provide? What should be the results of what we do? As we compare our life in a sense and how we're doing, let's make a short list. A spiritual fig tree, in other words, what should it be able to do? A converted Christian. Let's liken ourselves to this tree. Jesus said we're known by our fruits, and that unproductive trees are cut down and thrown in the fire, so he draws this analogy, not me.

And I'm not sure he's talking about fig trees necessarily. He may be talking about olive trees or fig trees or pomegranates, I suppose, but fig trees were very common when he talks about being fruitful. So let's ask a few questions. A spiritual fig tree should provide... provide what? What should it do? What fruit should we be providing? What should be the results of our life?

Well, I've got a few things. You may have a few other things that come to your mind, but let's just jot down a few things here. Maybe pray about them and think about them later on.

A spiritual fig tree should provide, number one, fruit for others to enjoy.

A spiritual fig tree should provide fruit for others to enjoy.

How many fig trees grow figs and then eat them themselves?

No, they don't do that. Of course not. A fig tree produces fruit for others. We've been taught that Christianity is a way of give, haven't we? We've been taught that. It's the way of give. And so maybe we can ask ourselves the question, does my life matter to anybody else?

You know, if something were to suddenly happen to me, what difference have I made?

You know, would somebody out there mourn and cry for the loss of what you or I provided?

Does the fruit of God's Spirit being manifest in our lives, does it affect anybody else?

Something to think about. It should provide fruit for others. A second thing that comes to mind, second point, a spiritual fig tree should provide shade for others to enjoy.

Shade for others to enjoy. Now you can think about ways that people can rest under your shade.

Can others find protection and comfort under the thick spiritual foliage that your branches and my branches provide? Do they feel safe? Do they feel relaxed in that environment? Do you and I shade others? Is there someone you know that we can provide shade for that's struggling? You know, again, you can think about that in your life and how that might apply with people that you know, that you know that you rub shoulders with, folks you deal with on a regular basis.

So a spiritual fig tree should provide shade for others to enjoy.

A third point of a spiritual fig tree is peace for others to enjoy. Peace.

The fig tree is a representation from Scripture of peace because of the time which we mentioned before that it takes to cultivate the trees and eventually get the fruit from it. So to get a good crop of figs required long sessions of peace year after year after year. Does my presence bring peace to others? Or does it bring tension and upset and confusion? Do people come into your presence or mind and do they then calm down and find rest and peace because of the effect that we have on others through God's Holy Spirit? You know, we had a funeral yesterday and I know some of you know Bob Boomgard and it was just remarkable, really remarkable man. After I had a chance not only to talk to Bob's wife Delora and also talk to his son Greg and his grandson Brandon, you know, I kept getting and friends, people who knew him in church members, I kept getting this consistent consistent behavior that Bob was an incredible optimist. I don't know how many of you knew Bob?

Okay, quite a few of you. Incredible optimist. He dwelt on the positive. He had no time for the negative. He dwelt on the positive. His grandson said when he came into a room, the whole room brightened up. Remember some of his phrases? You know, Bob, how are you doing? How would he answer almost without exception? Fantastic! Remember that? And you know, if you look in his eyes, you perceive that he meant it and he felt it and this is what he was. His son Greg told me, he said every time that my dad would, when I was young, my dad would go into a room and he'd talk to people and they'd inevitably ask my dad, how are you doing?

And he'd say, fantastic!

And Greg said, you know, sometimes when I was young, I was embarrassed because nobody other dads answered that way. And it wasn't until later that he began to appreciate that special quality that his father had and that a lot of us eventually came to see.

But his grandson said he was always consistent. His wife, I mean, what a remarkable thing for your grandson to say about you, that you brightened up a room every time you went into it.

And so people felt safe in his presence. I had somebody tell me yesterday at the funeral, out at the cemetery, they said, here is an example of a deacon of God. Now, we've not always had, we've had some, in the past, we've had some history with people that have been pretty hard-nosed and pretty tough to work with. Superdeacons, I think, was the phrase that he used. But not Bob. Not Bob. What a wonderful, I've never given a funeral service about somebody that I couldn't find anything wrong about.

I'm sure he had his flaws because we all do. But unbelievable, a lot of people that were there.

There were several, several Lion Club members and Lioness Club members that were there. Over a hundred people that were there on a Friday that were there. There were three people that came from the Hormel Nature Center because they knew Bob. They loved Bob. And he, of course, dealt with him for many years for a venue for us to have church services. He dealt with these people. There was a lady there from a hardware store that was crying because Bob came in regularly to buy woodworking materials. And he brightened up the store. You know, he had those expressions. You know, if you asked him how he was, he was either fantastic or he was just great. Of course, he had that phrase, how are you kids doing? It didn't matter what your age was. And he was, oh, he called me a kid, you know. He was a good example. And the reason I'm thinking about it is because of the way we just had the funeral yesterday. It's been on my mind. But peace for others to enjoy. People calm down in our presence. Do they feel refreshed in our presence because of the effect that we have on others through God's Spirit? And just one more that I'll mention here. Number four, a spiritual fig tree should provide healing for others to enjoy. Healing for others to enjoy. Just like the figs for Hezekiah. They drew out the poisons in the boil. And Hezekiah was healed. Does your presence, does my presence contribute to the healing of others? You know, I'm not talking about practicing medicine here. I'm talking about in a spiritual sense. Does our presence help people to heal? Are we able to talk with them in a way that they are able to work through some of their trials, some of the things that we struggle with because we all do.

And if we aren't right now, we will in the future. Does our presence, does our behavior, does our manner of life bring healing to others? Now, if you're like me, we might be stopping here at this moment and realize that this is kind of a heavy responsibility that God is giving to us. You know, I have a responsibility as the first fruit, one who is awaiting the first resurrection and the coming of Jesus Christ. And if we examine ourselves, if you're like me, you realize I don't think I measure up. I don't think I measure up. Let's look at Luke 13 in verse 6. I want to encourage you as we close here. Because I suppose if every one of us were completely honest, we'd say, you know what, I don't think I'm producing enough of the right kind of fruit to be known by Jesus Christ because a tree is known by its fruit. You know, that can change, rather, and that can change and get better. We can be more productive. I believe there's a parable here in Luke chapter 13. We're going to pick it up in verse 6 that can be applied or might reasonably apply to us if we have not been producing enough fruit. Because time is short. That isn't to say, though, that there isn't enough time, brethren, because it, you know, it does take years sometimes to produce a good fig crop. There is plenty of time left for us if we begin to focus on the message that God is giving to us. He gives us enough time. He gives us a warning, and He tells us what to do to produce fruit. So let's look at Luke chapter 13, verse 6. It says, He also spoke this parable, A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and he found none.

Remember what Jesus did at this point? You know, he cursed it, you know.

May as well burn the thing. It's only taking up ground using the nutrients. We do something else with this ground. But this man of the vineyard, he has a similar reaction, but the keeper has a different reaction. Verse 7, then he said to the keeper of the vineyard, look for three years. I've come seeking fruit on this tree, and I'm not finding any. Cut it down.

Why does it have to use up the ground? In other words, get rid of it. But he, the keeper of the vineyard, answered and said, Well, sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it, and until I fertilize it. In other words, don't cut it down just yet.

You know, there are times, brethren, when I, and maybe you two, come to God in prayer and said, Please don't give up on me. Please don't cut me down.

For a tough time in life, we're not bearing much fruit. We're having a difficult time. Maybe you've been in those shoes.

And we say, God, please be patient with me.

And we ask for another round of fertilizer to dig up the ground so that we can produce the fruit that God would be pleased with. Verse number eight, but the keeper of the vineyard just said, Sir, let it alone this year also, I'll dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well, great! And if not after that, you can cut it down.

Well, there are another ways, I suppose, that we can apply this parable.

But the question I think we need to ask individually, and I include myself as this, is can we apply it to ourselves? Can we apply it to ourselves? If your life or my life is not producing the kind of fruit that it should, then now is the time it can change.

If you and I are looking at this scripture and it's speaking to us, then now is the time that we can change. Then we can change.

You know, we see these parables of these unproductive fruit trees, or fig trees.

And what do they have to do with us? What do they have to do with our life?

The answer is quite a bit.

There's a reason why it's here.

You know, the parable of the barren fig trees offers, I think, both good news and bad news.

The good news is that God's willing to forgive. He's willing and merciful. He wants to forgive.

And the bad news is that even God's patient mercy eventually has its limits.

I don't think either one of us want to be on the receiving end of God's mercy and patience when it runs out.

And so we have an opportunity, in a sense, to repent and to begin to slowly but surely turn things around and to bear fruit.

Now I think at the time that this scripture speaks to us is to rededicate ourselves as the firstfruits of God to be used by Him to bear fruit for Him now.

And later, of course, in the family of God.

We've rehearsed so far the Passover, where we examine ourselves.

And we talked about the fact that God is merciful to forgive upon our repentance.

And I mentioned the fact that I suggested that we take a look and examine ourselves as part of the Days of Unleavened Bread and maybe find two or three areas that really need to change.

Maybe talk to a spouse, talk to a good friend, talk to a parent, and to try to identify something in our lives that needs to change. It's keeping us probably from bearing fruit or more fruit.

Two or three areas of our lives and then have an action plan.

It's not the only way to address this, but it was one area that I suggested to try to take a look at. Brethren, as we approach the Feast of First Fruits, this coming Feast of Pentecost, as we review the meaning of this coming Feast, let's be about the business of bearing fruit.

So that rather than being cursed, we might hear something a lot different. The important and heartfelt and desired words that we really want to hear. Well done. Good and faithful servant.

You've been faithful over a few things. I'm going to make you a ruler over many things and then to enter into the joy of your Lord.