In that day, says ADONAI Tzva’ot, each of you will invite your Neighbor to sit with you under your Vine (house of wine) and your Fig tree (the body of Christ that you are).
Zechariah 3:10
They say everyone has a number … a figure. Well, I dare say that everyone is a figure 8. Like a Wine glass or an Hour-glass(Matthew 26:40-41), we are each sculptured by God to serve a function.
Along the same lines, I’ve heard it said that a woman with the figure 8 is inherently fertile and fruitful. I never gave this any thought until now. 🤔 … could there be more to this than meets the eye? Relative to the fig tree (or figure 8) referenced in Mark 11, Jesus’ singular action speaks volumes, one of which is that there should be more than meets the eye – this in part is the gist of the Fig Tree.
I had no idea I’d be writing (let alone publishing) a blog about the figure 8 on a day that also happens to be a day of the figure 8 (August 8). Coincidence? Nah … with the things of God, there’s no such thing as coincidence or happenstance. I believe God orchestrated all of this, including today’s verse of the day (on the You Version bible app), which was where it all started:Mark 11:24👇
For THIS reasonI AM telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that it is granted to you, and you will get it.
Mark 11:24 (AMPC)
For WHAT reason? I asked. WHAT is THIS … WHAT is the reason? WHAT is the SO THAT? This question was my core’s first response to Mark 11:24. Like any studious student, I decided to read all preceding verses (yup, all twenty three of them 🙂). The connecting dots that I saw blessed me greatly – it’s such a joy to find hidden gems (treasures) in scriptures. Even more so joyful is seeing that they were deliberately put there (hidden in plain sight) by God for us to find.
In seeing what I saw, I understood what The Word of God (Jesus) was actually saying in Mark 11:24. This joyful insight is what inspired me to put hands to keyboard. Indeed, all scripture is God-breathed. They are useful for teaching and for guiding our lives in righteousness SO THAT we (the servant of God) may be thoroughly equipped (strengthened) for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17) … SO THAT the serve-ant of God is fit for use, purpose, and service to God …for serving FOOD to God.
In reading Mark 11:1-23, I saw that the donkey (V1-V7), the house of prayer (V17), the fig tree (V12-14,V20), and the mountain (V23) are all connected to Mark 11:24 – I believe each of them was highlighted so that we would truly understand what Mark 11:24 means.Here’s the gist of it…
… it starts off with God being hungry – Mark 11:12.
Wait what?! The MOST HIGH … hungry?! What could He possibly be hungry for? The elaborate (or more in-depth) answer to this question can be found in the direction He was facing – where He was headed in the first place. That said, the short answer is Figs … go figure! I promise, there’s more to it than meets the eye.
THE FIG TREE
Seeing in the distance a fig tree [covered] with leaves, Jesus went to see if He could find anyfruit ON it [BECAUSE IN the fig treethe fruit appears at the same time as the leaves]. BUT when He came up to it, He found nothing but leaves, for the fig season had not yet come.
Mark 11:13 (AMPC)
Seeing that there was nothing but leaves, Jesus addressed the tree, saying: no one is going to eat fruit from you ever again – Mark 11:14 (MSG). In other words, the fig tree was dishonorably discharged – I’m told this is the most severe form of punishment a service member can receive. It’s no different from what The Word of God describes in John 15:2A,6 … any tree designed to bear fruit (to carry fruit IN it) but does not is thrown out and thus withers – this is what happened in Mark 11:20.
BUT WHY? WHY the sentence? It wasn’t even fig season.
Knowing what this “off season” expectation is like, WHY did Jesus expect there to be fruit when the fig tree’s time had not yet come? The answer is the same as the reason Mary expected Jesus to do something about the “out of wine” situation at the wedding in Cana even though His time had not yet come – Mary knew what WHO was with and IN the Son of God. She knew He was The Vine (a Living Winery or House of Wine) … she knew that His Name (His Being, Person, Identity) was a constant – it was NOT seasonal. This perhaps is why Jesus turned water to wine even though His time had not yet come. I’m almost certain it’s why He expected to see fruit even though it wasn’t yet fig season.
Come with me toHosea 14:8… to better understand the WHY (the reason for both His expectation and sentence), it helps to first understand WHERE Jesus looked for the fruit He expected to see. In Hosea 14:8, God describes Himself as a green Fir … a leafy, luxuriant, evergreen Cypress Tree FROM (withIN or out of) Whom our fruit is found. In essence, God was telling us where to look for fruit … He was telling us where fruit is found regardless of season: IN the tree (IN side of it).
Here’s perhaps a more relatable perspective: your friend comes to you saying that he’s found the one. He seems to be over the moon about her (all his moo-moo buttons, bells, and whistles activated 🤭) … to him, she is all that. You finally meet her – to you however there wasn’t much to her, she wasn’t that spectacular. In a later one-on-one conversation with your friend, you ask: what do you see IN her? If you’ve ever asked or thought this question, you likely can relate to and understand where Jesus was looking at and what He was looking for.
Did Jesus expect to see fruit ON the fig tree? I don’t think so … at least not just on the surface. As the creator of all things, including times and seasons, He knew it wasn’t fig season. That said, figuratively speaking, He most certainly did. Per its design, when the fig tree is covered with leaves, fruit appears IN it – this is where Jesus looked. He looked IN the fig tree because having fruitINit inevitably leads to having fruitONit – the former is inherently the latter. Also, with the former in place, the latter is certain. That said, and howbeit connected, there’s a difference between the fig tree having fruitINit and having fruitONit – spotting this nuance reveals
1️⃣ WHY the fig tree got a seemingly harsh but appropriately righteous sentence. God The SON (like The FATHER) looks at and judges by what is within. Case in point: God’s choice of David over Eliab(1 Samuel 16:1-7,11-13) OR His choice of the food served by Abel over that served by Cain (Genesis 4:2A-7).
2️⃣ WHAT Jesus was really hungry for … it reveals WHAT He was really looking for. We now know that it wasn’t some superficial fruit ON the fig tree – that’s not what the fuss (His extra attention) was about. In stead, it was about (and more so for) something deeper. Earlier, I mentioned that the in-depth answer to this can be found where Jesus was headed in the first place – in the direction He was facing: the only place God has eyes for … where the eyes of His heart were (and are always) set on.
My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to PRAYER offered in this place. For I have chosen and sanctified this HOUSE, that My Name may be here forever, My eyes and My heart will be here perpetually.
2 Chronicles 7:14-15
WHERE was Jesus facing, headed, or going? Where is this first place?
THE HOUSE OF PRAYER
Haven’t you read what David did when he and those with him were hungry and needed food? How he went to the House of God and ate the Bread of the PRESENCE … and even gave some to his companions.
Mark 2:25-26
Where do you go when you’re hungry? The kitchen, a restaurant, the Uber Eats or double D (Door Dash) app on your phone? Some place else? No matter your answer, the reason for going there is why Jesus was going to the temple (the House of Prayer): He was hungry. I actually think He was hungry even before He felt hungry. If what they say is true: that the brain signals hunger well ahead of when we actually feel it, then perhaps Jesus was hungry just before leaving Bethany and this (His hunger) was likely why He was headed to the temple – I’m not able to prove this theory BUT of this I’m sure: Jesus comes to and knocks at the door of the temple (the FIG Tree or FIGure 8) that we are in order to sup with us –1 Corinthians 6:19, Revelation 3:20.
Anyone coming over to sup (eat) expects there to be food (fruit) … nourishment. What does this mean in relation to Jesus? What is His food? What does He hunger for? What does He thirst for? What is He looking to find? To better understand the ultimate answer to this question let’s go to John 4 – another instance of Jesus being hungry … tired … thirsty … in need of nourishment.
It was necessary for Jesus to go through Samaria to Galilee (a place of fresh water). Upon getting to a place in Samaria, He was tired. While He waited for His disciples who had gone to get food, He sat by a well (Jacob’s well). Shortly thereafter, a Samaritan woman came by. Jesus said to her: give Me a drink.
A parallel can be drawn here … wells have water IN them, so do fruits. With this in mind, it’s safe to say that Jesus was actually looking for the Water IN the Fruit (Fig) that should have been IN the tree. Along this same (parallel) lines, what Jesus said to the Samarian woman can be translated as: give Me Fruit – give Me the knowledge of the true God, have Faith in Me –Isaiah 27:6
As He did with His disciples in Mark 11:22-24, Jesus had a revealing conversation with the Samaritan woman – He taught her the truth. He essentially gave her what He told His disciples to constantly have: the Knowledge of God in God (Faith in God) – the knowledge of God that God has … as in to HAVE as well as to EAT.
I HAVE food (nourishment) to EAT of which you know nothing and have no idea … My nourishment is to do the Will (pleasure) of Him Who sent Me and to accomplish and completely finish His Work (on earth as it is in Heaven)
John 4:32,34 (Psalm 40:7-11)
When His disciples came back with food, Jesus would have none of it – He had been nourished. How? He didn’t even drink the water from the well – the woman never gave it to him YET Jesus was nourished. That’s because His food – the nourishment He needed – did NOT come from the well water that He didn’t drink (nor from the fig that wasn’t on the tree). His nourishment came (and comes) from doing the Will of The FATHER … His refreshment comes from accomplishing the good works (righteousness) of the One Who sent Him (in this case, to pass through Samaria).
When God visits or comes through (the Door) … when He comes down to earth (on a done-key donkey and not on some high horse), He comes to sup … He comes to be nourished … He comes to teach (us to pray) … He comes to do God’s Will. This is WHY God’s Will is done (on earth as it is in heaven) WHEN God’s Kingdom (the HolySpirit) comes. WHERE does God’s Kingdom come to? HOW does this Heaven on earth happen? Matthew 18:18 tells us the HOW:PRAYER. Romans 12:1-2 and 1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us the WHERE: the temple of the HolySpirit, each person’s FIGure 8. Hence,THE HOUSE OF PRAYER (Mark 11:17) … the place of prayer – where Jesus was headed: the place God sups … the place where God’s Will is done.
[Vividly she pictured it] The Voice of my Beloved Shepherd! Behold, He comes, leaping upon the mountains …
SOS 2:8 … 10 (AMPC, MSG)
Look at Him there, on tiptoe at the gate, all ears, all eyes (2 Chronicles 7:14-15)– ready! My Lover has arrived and He is speaking to me!
God always comes – He is unstoppable (nothing stands in His way). The question is are we ready to welcome, receive, or host Him. Are we ready to sup with Him? Are we ready to share a meal with God? We share a meal with God when we pray … when we tell the truth by echoing the Will of God and calling upon His Name according to the knowledge of God. When we pray, we break bread with God … we share the knowledge of God with God … we give God Fruit, we give God Water. When this happens, God’s Name is hallowed, His Kingdom comes, thus His Will is done … we are satisfied, God is glorified. Ultimately, God is nourished, so are we.
What stands in the way of this happening? What stands in the way of us praying (asking/receiving)? What stands in the way of God’s Will being done for us? Mark 11:24 says it will be so or done for us when we pray and ask believing that we will receive it, what stands in the way of Mark 11:24 being our reality and testimony?
THE MOUNTAIN
What are you, O big mountain? Nothing, not even a mighty mountain will stand in Zerubbabel’s way; it will become a plain (a mere, insignificant mole hill). When Zerubbabel sets the final stone of the Temple in place, it will be accompanied with cheerful shouts: Grace! Grace! Beautiful! Beautiful! God Bless it! God Bless it!
Zechariah 4:7
The mountain referenced in Zechariah 4:7 and in Mark 11:23 are a representation of anything contrary to (or any lofty thing that raises itself up against) the Will of God being done in our lives and for us – essentially sin (or that which is born of sin). The example of the mountain in Mark 11:23 was NOT a random, neither was it a “ask for anything you like and you’ll get it” illustration of Mark 11:24.
Rivers in the Desert 