The Dissatisfaction of Christ (Part A)

The fig tree that promised to deliver fruit, but produced none, his cursing of that tree was a prophetic parallel. It was a parable, but it was a prophetic parable.

It was real. The nation promised holiness to the Lord, but at this point in their history, they were not producing it, bringing on themselves the withdrawal from his blessings which is a curse. This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Mark.

Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now let's join Pastor Rick in Mark chapter 11 as he begins his message, The Dissatisfaction of Christ. Welcome to the house of the Lord. Those of you listening and joining us online from hell's perspective, I have a bad attitude and I don't know why. Amen. Yeah.

Well I do a little bit. God's been speaking to me a little bit. Just he's been ministering to me and so I've got my Jesus muscles on in a big way. Mark's gospel chapter 11 verses 12 through 23 and I'm not kind of breaking up the paragraph at the end and so it should really stop at verse 24 but we're not. We're going to do verse 23.

I know you were wondering about that. The problem is when when you feel the surge of the Spirit is this very easy to get in the flesh and so please secretly pray for me so if anything goes wrong it's your fault. Verse 12, Now the next day when they had come out of Bethany he was hungry and seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves he went to see if perhaps he would find something on it. When he came to it he found nothing but leaves for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, Let no one eat fruit from you ever again and his disciples heard it. So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves and he would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. Then he taught saying to them, Is it not written my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations but you have made it a den of thieves and the scribes and the chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy him for they feared him because all the people were astonished at his teaching.

When evening had come he went out of the city. Now in the morning as they passed by they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots and Peter remembering said to him, Rabbi look the fig tree which you cursed has withered away. So Jesus answered and said to them, Have faith in God for surely I say to you whoever says to this mountain be removed and cast into the sea and does not doubt in his heart but believes that those things he says will be done he will have whatever he says. Flipping over the table somebody else felt a surge from the Lord that day. The dissatisfaction of Christ that is the emphasis behind this consideration and knowing who Jesus is, his dissatisfaction is no laughing matter.

It is a big deal. He made his dissatisfaction clear concerning the lack of faith according to God that he found in the nation. Let's say that in a different way. He made it clear that God was dissatisfied with what was happening amongst the people who claimed to be the people of God and were not behaving that way and his cursing the fig tree the fig tree that promised to deliver fruit but produced none his cursing of that tree was a prophetic parallel. It was a parable but it was a prophetic parable it was real. The nation promised holiness to the Lord but at this point in their history they were not producing it bringing on themselves the withdrawal from his blessings which is a curse. All God has to do is withdraw his blessings for it to become a curse.

That is what the fig tree illustrates for us in the whole story. At the very temple of God from top to bottom cheaters of the people went unchallenged. They were cheating the people they were cheating the gentiles it is on purpose that he said my house should be called a house of prayer for all nations.

Reason behind that they were cheating the people and and in an unchallenged way till he arrived. We look now at verse 12 now the next day when they had come out of Bethany he was hungry. Now it's Monday and evidently he had no appetite when at breakfast the disciples seemed to have gorged. They weren't hungry he's the hungry one. Well what we know of him in the morning is he would rise up early before everyone else and he would pray his devotional time with his father. We know that because there are other passages where they were searching for him and they told him we've been looking all over for you where have you been and essentially is saying I had to get away from all of you so I could get to my father.

They were not offended by that they learned. Well they caught breakfast he was hungry. That's his humanity sometimes the Lord chose to ask questions for example to get information. It was a demonstration of his humanity that he is God in the flesh of a human being that he has imposed upon himself limitations but he overcomes those limitations through his relationship in the spirit to his father.

And so sometimes he demonstrated perfect knowledge of people and events. It was a demonstration of his deity. So we have in Christ this perfect incarnation and sometimes it's impossible to tell whether humanity stops and the deity begins but it's all there and it's all indisputable. We should not try to figure out where his humanity starts and his deity begins.

We receive it from him. It is all part of the mystery of godliness. Paul said it this way without controversy great is the mystery of godliness and then he says right after that God was manifested in the flesh. That is anyone to say well the Bible doesn't say Jesus Christ is God. Well then you've never read that verse. It says God was manifested in the flesh and is not the only verse justified in the spirit seen by angels preached among the Gentiles believed in the world received up in glory.

Now Paul wasn't there to see him received up in glory but he believed it when the 11 told him it happened because it was too much information being validated swirling around for him to dismiss it. Verse 13 and seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves he went to see if perhaps he would find something on it when he came to it he found nothing but leaves for it was not the season for figs. Now there's a lot that the commentators spend time on concerning fig trees. I suggest you go fig gear it out on your own.

There's really not much to say about it. We can say well it's March and April that's about the time it is it's the time we celebrate resurrection Sunday. It's not the fig season but there are some little twists and turns to that. If this species of the fig tree has leaves on it it means it also has fruit or at least edible buds and that's what he went there looking for it promised him figs by having those large fig leaves and yet none.

Now again I can keep going on about the fig tree but that's enough for me. When he came to it he found nothing but leaves so again the promise without fulfillment which is what a parallel with the nation. Look how holy we are we've got the temple of God here we have the law of God. They promised spiritual light delivered none claims without reality something all of us have always all of we who believe have to be out watching for in our own hearts. 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power and from such people turn away they're pretending at their Christianity at religion they have a form of godliness but there's no power there's no evidence that God is in their lives they're not adhering to his word not even making an effort and there are some that are struggling they're not talking about them he's talking about the ones that have no intention of conforming to the kingdom of heaven but they don't mind manipulating you by using that Christian language that we hold so dear. Titus says it this way well Paul says it to Titus.

Titus chapter 1 verse 16 they profess to know God but in deeds they deny him then he adds being abominable disobedient disqualified for every good work they say they're Christians but when you see how they roll they're not rolling in the way of the Lord they're rolling in the way of the devil and even in the early church this was taking place remember all of the letters in your New Testament deal with God being dissatisfied with the flesh in the church in the local church in people that were coming to church in church goers some of those church goers were very honorable and good they still had to struggle though and there were others that were absolute frauds nothing has changed in all these years he continues and he says for let me pause there I say that because we need to be reminded so we're not so shocked when things don't go as we expected them and then become disillusioned and fall into the hands of Satan because that's what he does he gets you to be dissatisfied with some little pebble in your shoes so much so that you're ready to throw the whole shoe away and that's not even the problem for it was not the season of figs again I've commented on this the absence of figs indicated that the tree was not going to have fruit later just like the nation just like when he came down the night before he came into Jerusalem he looked around at all things that was Hosanna they were crying out blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord and he comes into the city he wept over the city first and it was that his weeping over the city heaves of his chest was heaving it was no mistake that he was crying you know you can watch a movie with somebody and you know they're over there trying to hide that they're crying at some touching scene and you look over you crying well with him there was no mistake there was no asking are you crying it was out in the open well then he goes into the city he looks around at all things he's taking note he says I'll be back here tomorrow to deal with this when there are more people present so there is a difference between growth and fruit that is for it was not the season of figs but it had the leaves the tree was growing it wasn't producing it can grow enough leaves to feed enough hungry bugs but not grow the fruit to feed the hungry soul 1st Corinthians Paul says it this way and though I have the gift of Bible teaching prophecy the gift of speaking God's Word and that tenses to prophecy predictive property we tell the future there's just singing songs praises to the Lord is classified as a form of prophecy just reading the Word of God is a form of prophetic word the priest would speak from the people to God the prophet would speak from God to the people and that's the basic rule of prophecy and the priesthood when we say priesthood we don't have Roman Catholic priest in mind we have the Jewish priesthood in mind which has been enhanced into a royal priesthood kings and queens of the of the king of kings who are also priests well back to Paul he says though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and though I have faith so that I could remove mountains but have not love I am Paducas I am nothing that is pretty intense it's supposed to be he didn't care about your self-esteem he's talking about how do you serve the Lord the Bible never cares about our self-esteem it but it does care about us it's greater because if I have God ministering to me I have all the esteem I need I can't self-esteem myself I don't want the Bible says humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and he will exalt you in time and so I don't want to be as a Christian a big tree with big leaves and no fruit verse 14 in response Jesus said to it let no one eat fruit from you ever again and his disciples heard it he's talking to the tree you might as well be talking to the tree well I am talking to the tree he could say this is his only recorded judgment miracle and it is a miracle it demonstrates his sovereignty over creation it was lost on the disciples only for the moment they'll get it back we'll come to that in a bit what happens with us sometimes a verse a meaning a leading of the Lord is lost on us we're not keeping up with him and then he gets us to catch up Israel is frequently compared to a fruitless tree in the Old Testament Jeremiah chapter 8 Micah the prophet 7 two passages of sections of scripture where these things were made clear but the fig tree symbolizes the nation of Israel as others and I'll get into that a little bit and so here he comes looking for the promised spiritual fruit of the nation just as he had come looking for the physical fruit the nation was alive politically it was alive socially religiously it was alive even economically all of those things were active all the leaves were there just nothing that would provide spiritual nourishment and not even enough to recognize the Messiah when he stood right in front of them and did miracles for three years it had nothing to give Jesus except a shameful death on the cross like a root plucked from the dry ground said the prophet Isaiah owing nothing to its surroundings he had given a parable on fruitlessness in the past remember he said there was a once a you know the the vine dresser he was out in the field and the the owner comes up with a vineyard he said this big tree is dead cut it down he says well give me a year he didn't say it was dead it wasn't producing fruit he says give me a year I'll dig around it I'll fertilize it and if it doesn't produce after that okay fine we'll remove it how about that I have referred to that in my own life many times going through times where just there was no fruit but Lord give me time I'll dig around it I'll fertilize it so this tree was more than a parable it is prophetic he is telling the future about the nation by what he is doing in the present to this tree and there's a lot more to this I'm just scratching the surface and so his disapproval he deals it out but he only does it to this tree doesn't do the forest to every single tree he doesn't curse every fig tree this one because it is this generation that he's dealing with these Jews that are alive and rejecting him and not every single one the ones that are rejecting him yes it did not go well for that generation of Jews it does not go well to this day for those who reject him no laughing matter the dissatisfaction of Christ is nothing to shrug off and yet most do it and we are to help them not do that through preaching and through lifestyle through the leading of the spirit and so there it stood in its outward glory he probably peeped the tree on the way out of the city or into the city the day before probably on the way out he's too preoccupied with the whole Xanax coming in but going home that night there's a fig tree and in the morning you know he had his eyes his heart set on that you know though you've had your heart set on maybe fish and then they serve you beef or the other way around well my taste buds were lined up over here for this and you just swapped it on me and I can't make the adjustment none unless some of you may be goat-like in the sense you eat anything it doesn't matter but some of us are a little bit more okay a lot more picky but that's okay it's a gift and a curse anyway there it stood unable to nourish anybody and the Lord withdraws his blessing it withered and died it was not vindictive again it's prophetic his ministry taking place here he's making points he's teaching because they never forgot this and that's a part of the proof that this had a purpose to it a lasting purpose to this very day I mean the planet can spare fig tree in those days if you shopped and you went to the store after you were finished they were so concerned about the trees they would ask paper or plastic and people would say what's plastic well you weren't there you don't know actually Lebanon had you know was known for their trees and and well we won't go because trees can be very beautiful so not vindictive announcing the soon to come judgment on national life of the Jew in Israel within 40 years the curse begins to show up the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and then in 135 AD at the Barakah rebellion Hadrian and the Romans they put an end to Jewish now they are almost genocide and they wiped out whole village I mean how many Jews were killed Hadrian just took the Temple Mount and flatten the thing put a temple of Jupiter there with two images of Jupiter and one to himself I mean they just outlawed Jews coming into Jerusalem except once a year even the Christian Jews were banned from going into Jerusalem it was very intense they lost their land and they were dispersed at a greater rate than ever before even in the days of the Assyrians and then the Babylonians and of course in 1948 they were brought back into their land which is miraculous never happened ever nothing even close as a people been displaced from their homeland for 2,000 years retained their heritage their language their traditions and then brought back in the land and resumed their heritage their language in their traditions in the face of hell and earth and that they don't know how much God is involved is irrelevant what is relevant is God knows how much he is involved and his people know how much he is involved next time your faith takes a nosedive remember Israel it is miraculous well very soon afterward the Lord is going to give a lesson on the end times and he's going to bake into that lesson that Israel's not done it's going to be here to the end Mark chapter 13 now learn this parable from the fig tree he's talking about Israel when its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves you know that summer is near and then he goes on to develop the end time scenario the great tribulation period the millennial reign of Christ his withdrawal from the nation would not be permanent now we come back to those Old Testament images the grapevine for example which represents Israel's history throughout its Old Testament days not only but there is that in context a lot of it it anticipates the day well it talks about the day that has already passed the olive anticipates Psalms 80 verse 8 you have brought the vine out of Egypt you have cast out the nations and planted it all that vine is the nation of Israel now there's a difference between the nation of Israel and the Jewish person that comes to Christ because that Jewish person that comes to Christ is see I think they still a Jew but no longer a Jew nor a Gentile but a Christian there is no longer Jew nor Gentile Greek Scythian slave nor free in God's eyes you become his child then there's the olive tree in the Old Testament that one anticipates a day that has not yet come a day when the Jews will love their Messiah will love Jesus Christ Hosea chapter 14 verse 4 I will heal their backsliding I will love them freely for my anger has turned away from him God had already expressed his dissatisfaction with the Jews through the prophet Hosea in their day and now he's Hosea saying but the day is going to come he continues I will be like the dew to Israel he shall grow like a lily and lengthen his roots in Lebanon his branches shall spread his beauty shall be like an olive tree fragrance like Lebanon the fragrance that Paul talked about in Corinthians Thanks for tuning in to Cross Reference Radio for this study in the Book of Mark. Cross Reference Radio is the teaching ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia. To learn more information about this ministry visit our website crossreferenceradio.com. Once you're there you'll find additional teachings from Pastor Rick. We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast. When you subscribe you'll be notified of each new edition of Cross Reference Radio. You can search for Cross Reference Radio on your favorite podcast app. That's all we have time for today but we hope you'll join us next time as Pastor Rick continues to teach through the Book of Mark right here on Cross Reference Radio.