What does Mark 11:14 mean?
On His morning walk to Jerusalem, Jesus has approached a fig tree to see if it has any fruit available to eat. When it doesn't, He declares that no one will eat from it again. That declaration will turn the tree into a withered mess (Mark 11:20).Jesus' proclamation isn't the result of low blood sugar-fueled vindication. It is a prophetic illustration. Several prophets in the Old Testament record God comparing a fig tree to Israel, usually when threatening judgment on the nation (Jeremiah 8:13; Hosea 9:10; Micah 7:1–7). Israel's purpose is to show the world a people that worships God alone and is blessed for it. God chose Israel to bring knowledge of Him and salvation to the Gentiles (Genesis 12:1–3).
Instead, the Jewish religious leaders reject both the Gentiles and God's method of salvation. They have allowed money changers, merchants, and people taking a shortcut through town to clog the outer courtyard around the temple (Mark 11:15–16), a space which should be set aside for Gentiles to worship. And they reject Jesus, the one through whom the world will be saved. Israel, like the fig tree, bears no fruit in this season, when fruit is needed, so it will be destroyed.
In AD 70, when the Romans lay siege to and destroy Jerusalem, it will be the end of that Israel and that Judaism, but God will give Israel favor again. The recreation of Israel in 1948 shows that God is on the move—in His own timing, of course. During the tribulation, Israel will be at the center of world conflict. It appears 144,000 Jews will be separated and protected from the Antichrist to evangelize to the world. After the tribulation, in the millennial kingdom, Jesus will reign from Jerusalem (Isaiah 42:1).
