St Matthew Chapter XXI : Verses 18-22
Contents
- Matt. xxi. 18-22. Douay-Rheims text & Latin text (Vulgate).
- Notes on the text.
- Additional Notes: May no fruit grow on thee thenceforward for ever. symbol and signification.
Matt. xxi. 18-22
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| The accursed fig tree. J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
Mane autem revertens in civitatem, esuriit.
19 And seeing a certain fig tree by the way side, he came to it, and found nothing on it but leaves only, and he saith to it: May no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away.
Et videns fici arborem unam secus viam, venit ad eam : et nihil invenit in ea nisi folia tantum, et ait illi : Numquam ex te fructus nascatur in sempiternum. Et arefacta est continuo ficulnea.
20 And the disciples seeing it wondered, saying: How is it presently withered away?
Et videntes discipuli, mirati sunt, dicentes : Quomodo continuo aruit?
21 And Jesus answering, said to them: Amen, I say to you, if you shall have faith, and stagger not, not only this of the fig tree shall you do, but also if you shall say to this mountain, Take up and cast thyself into the sea, it shall be done.
Respondens autem Jesus, ait eis : Amen dico vobis, si habueritis fidem, et non haesitaveritis, non solum de ficulnea facietis, sed et si monti huic dixeritis : Tolle, et jacta te in mare, fiet.
22 And in all things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.
Et omnia quæcumque petieritis in oratione credentes, accipietis.
Notes
Note. — In relating this miracle, St Matthew groups together two separate incidents. From St Mark’s fuller record we see that the fig tree was cursed on the Monday morning in Holy Week, and that the disciples called attention on the following morning to its having withered.
18. in the morning, — i.e. of the day after the Triumphal Entry. Jesus went into the city “ very early ” (πρωΐας).
he was hungry. The words are to be taken literally ; possibly Jesus had spent the night in prayer, as He often did, for had He come direct from the house of Lazarus, He would not have lacked food ; or it was very early, before the usual hour for taking food. These words shew our Lord’s perfect humanity ; He hungered and thirsted like an ordinary human being. Our Lord did not feign hunger, nor excite it preternaturally ; His hunger was a real craving for food, due to His fasting or great temperance in the use of food.
19. seeing a certain fig-tree. The tree stood alone (ἰδὼν συκῆν μίαν). St Mark’s account is fuller : And when he had seen afar off a fig-tree having leaves, he came if perhaps he might find anything on it. And when he was come to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the time for figs. He saw the tree in the distance as He descended the slope of Olivet.
Figs were largely cultivated in Palestine. They also grew wild, and formed a staple article of the Jews’ fare. The Jews planted fig-trees by the wayside, since the dust of the road was supposed, by checking the growth of foliage, to favour the production of the fruit.
he came to it. Jesus went up close to the tree, which stood alone by the wayside. He knew well there were no figs, but as the leaves had attained their full size, there should have been figs on the tree, since blossoms and fruit precede the leaves in the case of the fig-tree. In spite of His omniscience, Jesus commonly acted as prudent men would act, so that this seeming disappointment cannot astonish us. Jesus was teaching His disciples by a parable in action, for the fruitless fig-tree with its abundant foliage was a figure of the Jewish nation, which, with all its profession of godliness, lacked the essential virtues of mercy, truth, charity, humility, etc.
Note. — Figs were ripe in Palestine at two different seasons, the early ones about June, the later about October, but Josephus tells us that near the Lake of Galilee figs were to be found ten months out of the twelve. The winter figs only ripened after the fall of the leaves. This passage has greatly puzzled some commentators, who ask, “ How could our Lord expect to find fruit if it was not the season? ” To this others reply, that although early in April the figs were not ordinarily ripe, yet if a tree stood in a particularly favourable soil or had a good position, fruit would be found earlier, and the extraordinary luxuriance of the growth of the leaves in this particular case justified our Lord in expecting to find fruit.
May no fruit, etc. Our Lord having pronounced this curse, immediately the fig-tree withered away. This typified the rejection and destruction of Israel. St Mark adds, his disciples heard it. Hence when they saw the fig-tree withered away the following morning, they knew what had produced this phenomenon. The sudden withering was miraculous, for a tree, even when cut down, does not at once dry up, and the topmost branches will even continue to bud for a time.
This cursing of the fig-tree was a miracle, a parable in action, and a prophecy. “As Jesus went to the fig-tree seeking fruit and found none, so now He comes to our soul in the hope of being comforted and refreshed by finding some good fruit. His people are the fig-tree ; each one created to His image and redeemed by His Sacred Blood is the fig tree. Our poor souls are each His fig-tree ” (Gallwey, S.J.).
20. the disciples seeing it. On the following day. Cf. And when they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig-tree dried up from the roots (St Mark). The withering was the immediate result of our Lord’s malediction, and consequently a proof of His divine power.
Additional Notes
The cursing of the barren fig-tree is an example of a miracle of punishment. “Jesus, after miracles of love, performs just one miracle which should demonstrate His power to punish and ruin, as it belongs to the Judge of all flesh. He did not, however, perform this on man, whom He has not come to destroy, but on an inanimate object ” (Heubner).
19. May no fruit grow on thee thenceforward for ever. These words on the lips of an ordinary human being might seem like an expression of disappointment and vexation, but coming from Him “ who knew no sin,” they take the character of a solemn judgment, passed, not so much on the tree, as on that of which it became the representative. The Jews, in their show of the “ leaves ” of devotion, in the absence of the “ fruits ” of righteousness, were as that barren tree. Only a few weeks previously our Lord had spoken a parable of a certain man who had “ a fig-tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none ” (St Luke xiii. 6). Then, when the dresser of the vineyard had begged that the execution of the sentence “ cut it down ” should be deferred, the owner of the fig-tree had granted his petition.
Since Jesus had thus spoken, the Jews had had still clearer proofs that He was the Messias, but, in their pride and obstinacy, they still hardened their hearts and refused to accept Him. Now by this parable in action, Jesus warns them that their final rejection is near at hand — the Synagogue and Jerusalem are doomed for their unbelief.
This cursing of the barren fig-tree may be regarded as a prophetic parable ; as such we notice —
The Symbol. Signification.
(а) The fig-tree. The Jewish Synagogue.
(b) The curse pronounced. The malediction pronounced against the Synagogue on account of its sterility.
(c) The leaves. The external worship of the Synagogue ; its sacrifices and ceremonies.
(d) The withering of the tree. The rejection of the Jews.
(Adapted from MacEvilly.)
Some non-Catholic writers have objected that when our Lord cursed the tree —
(a) It was an act of useless destruction.
(b) The owner thereby was deprived of his tree (as the Gadarens were of their swine).
To these futile objections the following answers can be given —
(a) The fig-tree thus withered was useful in conveying a solemn truth both to the Jews and to our Lord’s disciples, and tliis was a nobler use than the mere nourishing of the body. By its medium, they learnt that retribution follows impenitence, that hypocrisy will be punished, and that faith can work miracles.
(b) There is not a shadow of evidence that the tree was private property.
(c) “ When the hail beats down the tendrils of the vine, when the lightning scathes the olive, .... do any but the utterly ignorant and brutal begin at once to blaspheme against God ? ”
(d) “ Is it a crime under any circumstance to destroy a useless tree ? If not, is it more a crime to do so by miracle? Jesus hastened the withering of the barren fig-tree, and founded, on the destruction of its uselessness, three eternal lessons : a symbol of the destruction of impenitence, a warning of the peril of hypocrisy, an illustration of the power of faith” (Farrar).
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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