The Cure for the Curse

January 18, 2008

 

Matthew 21
18 In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again!" And the fig tree withered at once.

It's funny that this particular illustration involves a fig tree.  Where was the fig tree first mentioned in the Bible? Well, it wasn't actually the tree, but the leaves. Adam and Eve used fig tree leaves to cover their nakedness due to their sin.
We know these coverings were insufficient, because the Lord provided animal skins for coverings for Adam and Eve.

I guess this passage reminds me that Jesus is the only way that our sins can be covered. Everything we do to clean ourselves up is insufficient. And like the fig tree that Jesus cursed, those efforts are fruitless and will just wither away.

Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ and the work He did in His life and on the cross and now in our lives.