Peter remembered [the fig tree] and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”

— Mark 11:21

There’s a small tree in our yard that needs to be removed because of its inconvenient location. It seems a shame to chop it down, though. When Peter noticed a tree that was withered because Jesus had cursed it, he expressed his surprise.

Peter’s surprise is not surprising. Why, indeed, would Jesus—who cares for children, feeds the hungry, and heals the sick—kill a poor little fig tree? The key to understanding this puzzle has to do with what happens after Jesus first sees the tree and when he sees it again.

After cursing the tree, Jesus and the disciples enter Jerusalem and go into the temple courts. There, to his dismay, Jesus finds a bustling market filled with merchants hawking sacrificial animals for profit. With some of the harshest words that he ever says, Jesus drives out the merchants and money changers for turning God’s temple into “a den of robbers.” And the withered tree that they see the next day illustrates Jesus’ point: Fruitless faith is no faith at all.

Through the sacrifice of Jesus’ death and resurrection, all who turn to Jesus are made right with God. And with this new life God wants us to do the good works he has already prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). If we fail to do them, we will be acting like that fig tree, withered and producing no fruit.

Jesus, you have made us to be like trees planted beside the waters of eternal life. Make us fruitful, producing the fruit of righteousness for your glory. Amen.