What do a fig tree and a temple have in common?
At first glance, not much. But in the final week of Jesus’ earthly ministry, He performs two dramatic, symbolic acts that are deeply connected: He curses a fruitless fig tree, and He drives money changers out of the Jerusalem temple. These aren’t random moments of anger or impulse—they are deliberate, prophetic signs revealing that a major shift is underway.
Jesus is announcing the end of the old covenant system and inaugurating the new covenant—one centered not on rituals and buildings, but on Himself. And He’s making a powerful point: the time for outward religion is over. The time for internal transformation has come.
The Fig Tree: A Living Parable of Judgment
“Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit… he said to the tree, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’” – (Mark 11:13–14)
This moment, which may feel jarring at first, is not about a grumpy Jesus who skipped breakfast. The fig tree is a symbol of Israel—particularly the religious leadership centered in Jerusalem. In the Old Testament, the fig tree often represented the nation’s spiritual vitality (cf. Jeremiah 8:13; Hosea 9:10).
Here’s the issue: the tree has leaves but no fruit. It looks alive, but it’s barren. It represents a religious system that has all the signs of life—rituals, sacrifices, festivals—but lacks the true fruit of righteousness. Jesus curses the fig tree as a prophetic act: judgment is coming on a system that has failed to bear the fruit God desires.
The Temple Cleansing: Judgment and Fulfillment
Right after cursing the fig tree, Jesus enters the temple and cleanses it:
“He entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there… ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. But you have made it a den of robbers.’” — (Mark 11:15–17)
This isn’t merely a protest against corruption. It’s a symbolic act of judgment against the entire temple system. Jesus is declaring that the center of religious life in Israel—the place where God’s presence once dwelled—is no longer fulfilling its purpose. Like the fig tree, it’s full of leaves but no fruit.
But Jesus doesn’t just pronounce judgment. He fulfills what the temple represented.
The End of the Old, the Birth of the New
In these two acts, Jesus signals the end of the old covenant system of sacrifices, priests, and temples. He is now the true and greater Temple (John 2:19–21). God’s presence is no longer located in a building—but in the person of Jesus Christ. And through Christ, it will be in His people, the Church, who are now the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16–17).
This transition marks the shift from external cleansing to internal transformation.
Under the old covenant, the sacrificial system offered outward, ceremonial cleansing—a form of justification that covered sin but didn’t transform the heart. But Jesus comes to bring regeneration—the new birth—and sanctification, by indwelling us with His own Spirit. The cleansing He offers is not skin-deep. It’s soul-deep.
“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean… And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.” —(Ezekiel 36:25–26)
Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise.
Fruitfulness, Not Formality
The fig tree had leaves, but no fruit. The temple had rituals, but no righteousness.
Jesus is not interested in appearances. He came to bring a new kind of worship—in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23). And this kind of worship is no longer tied to Jerusalem or a temple, but to Jesus Himself, and to those who have been born again by the Spirit.
As the Church, we are now called to bear the fruit that Israel failed to produce—justice, mercy, humility, holiness, and love. Not as an external show, but as the natural overflow of hearts indwelt by the Spirit of Christ.
Conclusion: The Temple Is Gone, But God Is Closer Than Ever
When Jesus cursed the fig tree and cleansed the temple, He wasn’t just angry. He was announcing that the old way was over. The new covenant was here—He was here.
And through His death and resurrection, Jesus established a new temple: the people of God, purified by His blood, filled with His Spirit, and sent out to bear fruit that lasts.
So the question for us is simple: Are we leafy or fruitful?
Have we settled for outward signs of faith—church attendance, Bible knowledge, moral behavior—without the inward reality of life in the Spirit?
Or are we living as the new temple, bearing witness to the presence of God in us, and bearing the fruit of a life rooted in Christ?
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?”
(1 Corinthians 6:19)
The temple is no longer on a mountain. It’s in your heart. Let Jesus cleanse it—and fill it.
