Christians, please answer this fig tree question?

Question

Matthew 21:18

18Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered.

20When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked.

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Mark 11:12

12The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it.

20In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!"

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Ok, so how do you explain this one? Some people say the tree died immediately like matthew said, but the disciples found this the next morning. This claim sounds very absurd to me.

Let me put it to you this way. You and your friend are taking a chemistry class. Your hear your professor saying "Ok, I'm going to put a drop of this chemical substance into the water." The water changes its color immediately. So your friend says "Wow, professor! How did the water change its color so quickly!" And in his lab journal, he writes "As soon as the chemical dropped into the water, the water changed its color."

The very next morning, you come to the class and see the water has changed its color. You tell your professor "Professor, Look! The water you used for experiment yesterday has changed its color!" and wrote "This morning, I came to the class and found the water in which the chemical was dropped had changed its color."

Ok, like Mark said, the disciples heard Jesus cursing the fig tree. And they weren't looking at the tree dying immediately while Jesus was speaking? Then how do they know the tree died immediately or overnight? I just find this too absurd. What do you think?

Answer 1

I think that men have tampered with the Bible, but that there still is some Truth in it.

Answer 2

One day the tree has green lush leaves, but no fruit.

The very next day it's brown, shriveled, and the leaves are gown.

I don't think it would take a genius to figure that one out.

Answer 3

The entire story is an allegory for the demise of Israel at the hands of the Romans. If the event actually happened, it was probably not nearly as dramatic as the Gospels portray. The disciples saw significance in the event some 40 years later, and each author worked the story in as he saw fit.  

Answer 4

The Fig tree represents Israel . They had the messiah right in their country and they still didn't believed in him. What fruit( gospel ) will it bear if the country doesn't believe

Answer 5

Seriously!  It is two different peoples account of the same thing. They both said Jesus cursed the tree and it withered. Whether it happened immediately or the next morning it still withered on it's command. Not to mention this was a prophecy about Israel, Israel was called the fig tree a lot. Israel was producing no fruit, so it withered. Jesus also mentions that when the fig tree blooms again, Israel, that the end was at hand.

BTW  They could have seen the tree start to wither and when they returned the next morning saw that the tree was completely shriveled up. Then in fact they would both be correct:)

Answer 6

Jesus started yelling curses at a fig tree, so what's the big deal.  

Somebody later came up with the story that the tree withered, so that his curses wouldn't be futile.

Answer 7

In Matthew, a possible explanation presents itself by going to the Interlinear Bible and looking at the Greek word translated as "immediately": Strong's NT 3916 parachrema: immediately, presently, straightway, soon. With a slightly different translation, there is no discrepancy.

As far as Israel being likened to the fig tree:

There is no reference to Israel within the Bible where the fig tree is compared as being Israel. An olive tree, the vine, some of the people as bad figs maybe, but not fig tree.

In fact, if Israel was the fig tree, Jesus cursed the fig tree and it withered from the root: where does that line of thought lead us? What is the root of Israel? God began with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Out of the root, we have (among others) David, and his descendants. We have Jesus, and if Christians are "grafted in", we have all Christians. Remember, withered from the root, the tree cannot support anything, all are cursed.

A more probable explanation is 1) some fig trees held figs through the year, and in a mild year, more common figs also did. (The Land of Israel: A Journal of Travel in Palestine (1865) By Henry Baker Tristram). 2) The people were to leave gleanings from their crops for the poor and the stranger traveling. [Lev 19:9-2; Deut 15:7-11] To those who had much, God said to give to those who are in need, and He would bless them.

If the owner of the fig tree had not left gleanings, he was stealing from God, who gives the increase in the first place and said to leave the portion, and he was stealing from the poor and the traveler. And Jesus punished the owner of the fig tree by removing that by which the owner stole from those in need.

Answer 8

Uhm....both "Mark" and "Matthew" were writing a while after the fact, by years.  Working from oral tradition and possibly an as of yet unidentified "q" document or tradition.  Little finicky differences like that make more sense when you think about how diverse early Christianity was, and how long it took for the different groups to write everything down.  

Recall, the Bible wasn't compiled, or doctrine solidified until way after Jesus' death, and what's more, after both Matthew and Mark were written.

Answer 9

withering comes first, then dead

the statement was intended to be prophectic in nature

but one has to be remember when people are

writing their version, they are telling what they saw,

when they saw it. One may have seen it wither quickly

and one may have saw it in a worse state. It does

not mean either were lying. In fact, it means that the

story is fact by different accounts at different times.

Answer 10

Not sure what you are saying

mark says Jesus and the disciples were coming to jerusalem from Bethany and jesus cursed the tree the disciples heard it.

They go to jerusalem and Jesus teaches there.

They stay at Jerusalem over night.

In the morning they pass by the fig tree dried up from the roots that Jesus cursed.

They were surprised and said it is the tree you cursed.

They passed by the tree on the way there and saw it healthy

On the way backed it was withered from the roots up.

I do not understand the problem you are asking.

The disciples saw the tree from a far as Jesus did.

They did not go up close as jesus did. They were close enough to have heard jesus curse it.