Verse 17 says, “And leaving them, He went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.” In His last visit to Jerusalem, the Lord remained there only during the day for His ministry. Every evening He departed to lodge in Bethany, on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives (Mark 11:19; Luke 21:37), where the house of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus and the house of Simon were (John 11:1; Matt. 26:6). In Jerusalem He was rejected by the leaders of Judaism, but in Bethany He was welcomed by His lovers.
After the Lord Jesus comes into us and cleanses our spirit, we may sense that He leaves us, just as He left Jerusalem for Bethany after cleansing the temple. The Lord may come into you, cleanse your spirit, which is the temple of God, and leave for another place. Perhaps you will say, “This is not my experience. My experience is that after the Lord Jesus has cleansed my spirit, He stays with me.” If this is your experience, then you must be one of the lovers of Jesus like Mary, Martha, Lazarus, or Simon. However, after many Christians receive Christ into them and experience His cleansing of their spirit, they do not love Him. Thus, in their experience the Lord leaves them to lodge in another place, a place called Bethany.
According to the New Testament, Bethany is the place of the Lord’s lovers. In the New Testament we read of two houses in Bethany: the house of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus and the house of Simon the leper. All these dear ones were lovers of the Lord Jesus. During the last week of His life on earth, He went every day into Jerusalem, but every night He went out of Jerusalem and lodged in Bethany. Jerusalem was the place where He was examined, tested, and slaughtered; but Bethany was His lodging place.
In a very definite sense, today’s religion is a Jerusalem to the Lord Jesus; it is not His lodging place. The lovers of Christ are not in Jerusalem, but in Bethany. Are you in Jerusalem or in Bethany? We should not be the Jerusalem people, but the Bethany lovers. If you are among the Jerusalem people, Jesus will come to be tested and examined by you. But if you are among His lovers in Bethany, He will come to lodge with you. If the Lord Jesus comes into you and cleanses your spirit, yet you still do not love Him, it means that you remain among the Jerusalem people. You are not one of the Bethany lovers. Although He cleanses the temple in Jerusalem, He does not lodge there. Rather, He goes out of the city to lodge in Bethany. How meaningful this is!
Verse 18 says, “Now in the morning as He returned into the city, He was hungry.” This signified that the Lord was hungry for fruit from the children of Israel that God might be satisfied.
Verse 19 says, “And seeing one fig tree on the way, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves only.” Just as the eagle is a symbol of the United States, so the fig tree here is a symbol of the nation of Israel (Jer. 24:2, 5, 8). The fig tree the Lord saw was full of leaves but fruitless, signifying that at that time the nation of Israel was full of outward show, but had nothing that could satisfy God. According to the Bible, leaves are an outward show, but the fruit is something real and solid to satisfy God and man. At that time, the Lord Jesus came from God to Israel hungry for some fruit to satisfy God’s hunger. However, instead of fruit. He found only leaves.
Verse 19 also says, “And He says to it, Let there no longer be fruit from you forever. And the fig tree was instantly dried up.” This signifies the curse on the nation of Israel. From that time, the nation of Israel was truly dried up. According to history, from the last few days the Lord Jesus was on earth, there has been a curse upon the nation of Israel. As we shall see, the fig tree is mentioned again in chapter twenty-four, where the fig tree signifies the restoration of Israel, which took place in 1948.
According to our experience, we can testify that first the meek King comes into us, and we welcome Him. However, He comes in not to be enthroned, but to cleanse the temple of God, because He cares for God’s house. Caring also for God’s satisfaction, He desires fruit from God’s people. But most of His people cannot afford Him any fruit. As a result, they are dried up. Many of us have experienced this. The meek King came into us, we welcomed Him, and He cleansed the temple of God. But because we did not bear fruit, we were dried up. Perhaps you will say, “Isn’t the Lord merciful and gracious? Since He is merciful and gracious, how could He curse us in such a way?” Nevertheless, when we do not bear fruit, we are dried up.
Most Christians today have become dried up. Although they have welcomed the heavenly King and He has cleansed their temple, they have no fruit for God’s satisfaction, and thus they are dried up. How many Christians today are living and bearing fruit? Very few. Whenever someone is dried up, his spirit does not function. Hence, there is no temple and no fruit, no proper worship and no satisfaction to God.
The concern of the meek King is for God’s house and God’s satisfaction. He cleanses us that we may offer proper worship to God, and He deals with us that we may bear fruit for God’s satisfaction. In the practical kingdom life in the church today, Christ must be welcomed as the King. Then He must cleanse God’s temple, that is, He must purify our spirit. Then we, as the kingdom people, shall bear fruit for God’s satisfaction. Otherwise, we shall be cursed until the day of restoration. This was the situation with the nation of Israel when the Lord was on earth, and it is the situation among Christians today. Because the nation of Israel was dried up, the kingdom was taken away from them and given to another people. If we are not cleansed in our spirit to offer God the proper worship and to bear fruit for His satisfaction, the kingdom will also be taken away from us and given to others.
Verses 20 through 22 indicate that the Lord cursed the fig tree by faith. Faith can move the frustrating mountain through believing prayer.