"And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there. Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."
The first portion of this lesson demonstrates how Jesus continued to perform miracles inside the temple as He healed the lame and blind. It also tells us how the Jewish high priests hated the praise that was heaped on Jesus by the children.
The intent of the second part of this lesson is very subtle and is easily missed by the casual reader. Jesus' interaction with the fig tree has a far deeper meaning than that which appears on the surface.
The fig tree, in this lesson, represents the Jewish race. By cursing it, killing it, and barring it from ever again bearing fruit, Jesus symbolized that His coming would take away the chosen status of the Jewish race, and would disallow them from ever again holding the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
In the last part of the lesson, when the Apostles were amazed at how quickly the tree had died, Jesus assured them, as well as all of us, of the awesome power that will be granted to those who place all their faith in Him.
NOTE: The vast majority of "Christians" believe that we are to defend the Jewish people at all costs because they are, and always have been, the "chosen" people of God. That belief, as the New Testament clearly demonstrates, is unfounded.
As these lessons continue, there will be much further discussion of how Jesus took away the "chosen" status from the Jewish race and gave it to His Church which would include the Gentiles.
"And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." (Matt. 3:9-10)~
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