by Michael E. Brooks

[Editor's note: This article was written exclusively for Forthright. Mike is teaching at the Khulna Bible College in Bangladesh. He'll be there until December 17. He also makes trips into Nepal. His good wife Brenda will join him in a few weeks and remain for a month. Please pray for these two wonderful people.]

"Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, 'Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.' And His disciples heard it. . . . When evening had come, He went out of the city. Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, 'Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.' So Jesus answered and said to them, 'Have faith in God'" (Mark 11:12-14; 19-22).

Our discussion of Jesus' cursing of the fig tree usually focuses on one or both of two areas of emphasis. We ask, "Why did He curse a tree that was doing nothing wrong"? Or we focus on the statement following these verses concerning the power of faith and His promise of such power to the Apostles.

Both are legitimate and important concerns. But by limiting our reading to the verses above, we notice another possible emphasis of Mark’s. That is the suddenness of the miracle. Was Peter amazed at the fact that the tree died, or by the quickness of its demise?

We have all seen trees and other plants wither and die. Even when cut down or uprooted it usually takes days, or even weeks for the leaves to completely wither and turn brown. This tree showed total withering overnight. Amazing!

It is no coincidence that this miracle occurred less than one week before Jesus would be taken by an angry mob, tried, condemned, and executed. This in spite of the "triumphal entry" of just days before, and the great success of his public teaching in Jerusalem all during the week. With great abruptness the apostles' world will be torn apart.

So it often happens to us. Life is good. We live normally, keeping our schedules. Suddenly, with no warning, tragedy occurs. A regular doctor’s visit reveals life-threatening illness. An accident takes a loved one. We are "down-sized" and lose our jobs. Suddenly! No warning! Life is like that.

Now Jesus’ answer becomes relevant. "Have faith in God." This is not about trying to acquire power to match that of Christ. It is about responding to the unexpected. Dealing with the tragic. Understanding the bizarre. How could "it" happen? We don’t have to know. Because God is in charge, we can just accept whatever circumstance brings us, knowing that "all things work together for good to them that love God" (Rom. 8:28).

Peter, get ready. More stunning things than a dead tree are about to happen. You are going to need help to deal with them. But that help is there, abundantly. Have faith in God!