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# There is a story about a fig tree in Matthew where Jesus is cursing the fig tree and it is very confusing. Would you explain the context and significance of this story?
- URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/there-is-a-story-about-a-fig-tree-in-matthew-where-jesus-is-cursing-the-fig-tree-and-it-is-very-confusing-would-you-explain-the-context-and-significance-of-this-story/
- Published: 2026-08-18T10:30:21.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-18T10:30:20.000Z
- Author: Chris Knight
- Tags: Daily Devotionals, Questions of Faith

[A Brief Note About the Questions of Faith SeriesBefore you begin reading the Questions of Faith series, I want to offer a little context about what these posts are and what they are not. I have served as a pastor for many years, but I do not consider myself an academic theologian or biblical scholar. Many faithful men![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/icon/image-245666c0-faad-46e1-af1f-c1b61793e752.png)Chris Knight WritesChris Knight![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_979707686-437bde57-cdae-4b01-a73c-716e107b7b9d.jpeg)](https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/a-brief-note-about-the-questions-of-faith-series/)

The story of Jesus cursing the fig tree can feel strange at first. Jesus is hungry, He sees a fig tree, finds no fruit, curses it and the tree withers. On the surface, it almost sounds like Jesus had a bad morning and took it out on a plant. Thankfully, there is much more going on.

The story appears in Matthew 21:18-22, immediately after Jesus enters Jerusalem and cleanses the temple. That context matters. Jesus is not throwing a divine temper tantrum because breakfast did not work out. The fig tree is serving as a living illustration of something spiritually significant.

Matthew tells us that the tree had leaves but no fruit. From a distance, it looked healthy and productive. Up close, however, there was nothing there. That picture fits perfectly with what Jesus had just encountered in Jerusalem. The temple was busy. Religious activity was everywhere. People were buying, selling, offering sacrifices and participating in all the outward signs of religion. Yet Jesus found corruption and spiritual emptiness where genuine devotion to God should have been. He declared, *“The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”* (Matthew 21:13, NLT).

**The fig tree represented the danger of looking spiritually alive while producing no spiritual fruit.** The Old Testament sometimes used fig trees as pictures of Israel and its spiritual condition. Jeremiah 8:13, for example, describes God looking for fruit among His people and finding none. Jesus was using the fig tree as a prophetic warning. God was not interested merely in religious appearances. He desired repentance, righteousness, faith and lives genuinely devoted to Him.

There is also a personal warning here for us. It is possible to have plenty of spiritual leaves. We can attend church, know Christian vocabulary, listen to Christian music, post Bible verses and own enough study Bibles to require reinforced shelving. None of those things are bad. But Jesus is looking for more than appearances. He is looking for fruit.

Jesus said, *“You can identify them by their fruit”* (Matthew 7:16, NLT). Galatians 5:22-23 describes that fruit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

The question of the fig tree is not simply, “Why did Jesus curse a tree?” The deeper question is, “When Jesus looks beyond the leaves of my life, what fruit does He find?” Following Jesus is not about appearing religious. It is about allowing His grace to genuinely transform us. The warning of the fig tree should lead us not toward fear, but toward honest examination and deeper surrender. Jesus desires more than leaves. He wants our lives to bear the fruit of a heart fully yielded to Him.