That cursed Fig Tree!
Carla posted re words the other day and mentions a little something about what she calls the ‘fig tree atonement’. (We are currently bouncing ideas of one another it seems). As I read her post which says that she is soooo sick of all the re words like, re-imagine, re-invent, re-visit and many, many other re-words, she makes a point about these words just re-defining things and takes us back to the fig tree covering of good works that was tried in the garden and didn’t work.
These words are all just part of the fig leaf atonement.
Ways to get to God on their own.
Because they don’t want the animals skins or the sacrifice or the blood, it’s just so NOT green…so messy and cruel, so environmentally unfriendly, so politically incorrect. What’s with the blood, they say? So they sew together their own coverings.
When I read that I was instantly reminded of the cursed fig tree, you remember, the one that Jesus cursed because it would not bring forth fruit…
Mar 11:11-14 And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple. And having looked around at all things, the hour already being late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve. And on the morrow, they going out from Bethany, He hungered. And seeing afar off a fig tree having leaves, He went toward it, if perhaps He would find anything on it. And coming on it, He found nothing except leaves, for it was not the season of figs. And answering, Jesus said to it, Let no one eat fruit of you any more to the age. And His disciples heard.
Mar 11:20-21 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”
That’s kind of interesting…I’ve never connected the two. So I read up in my commentary about that passage and it said this:
“Although the primary interpretations of this passage relates to the nation of Israel, it has application to people of all ages who combine high talk and low walk.”
Reminds me of the high talk of those who are questioning the atonement. All talk, no fruit?
[...] Trying to skirt around the horrid nature of atonement and obviously the disagreeable reality of the blood that is needed to bring back man and reconcile him with his creator, is a failure to see ones fallen nature and ones sin in all its horridness, brutal, barbaric and diagreeable reality. One needs to clean it up so one does not see the truth of the matter! Clean it up, make it not so brutal, happily look away from that nasty mess, put on the biggest rose coloured glasses imaginable and think of happy thoughts. (See ‘re words‘ and ‘That cursed Fig Tree‘
[...]
[...] That cursed Fig Tree! [...]
[...] That cursed Fig Tree! [...]