Sometimes Scripture passages cause us to scratch our heads in bewilderment.  One such is Mark 11:12-14 when Jesus curses a fig tree. Sounds like a bit of temper, or maybe there is more to it. And why does he curse the tree for having no figs even though  Mark says “it was not the season for figs”.
Mark 11:13-15  “On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry.  And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.  And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

I thoroughly enjoy diving into such conundrums. I ask myself “How would the original readers have understood the passage? What are the details of the fig tree and figs? Is there a deeper spiritual meaning and lesson? So I ask a thousand questions and look for answers.

I enjoyed studying the fig tree and Jesus’ actions. This is obviously not just a tempestuous action on Jesus’ part. It was certainly a “parable in action” with the cleansing of the Temple sandwiched in between. First, he curses the tree representing an unfruitful Israel, then cleanses the Temple (disgusted with the Jews’ outward showiness but no real fruit of righteousness. The text then immediately has Peter noticing and commenting on the tree saying, “Hey Lord, look, the tree you cursed is withered” (v. 20-21).

It is certainly done as a form of parable and prediction. With Jesus’ anger at the failure of Israel to bear fruit, it seems this is a statement about Israel which is often likened to a fig tree in the Old Testament (Isa 34:4; Jer 24:1–8; Hos 9:10; Lk 13:6–9). Symbolically and prophetically it means that Israel, represented by the fig tree, had a show of leaves (outer superfluous righteousness) but no real fruit of inner and actual righteousness.

So yes, it is a parable in action about the fruitlessness of the Jewish nation, but why would Jesus expect figs before the season for figs and curse the tree for not yet having figs?

When Mark says “before the time of figs”, it seems he meant “before the time of the fully ripe figs” which a resident of Israel would have known (cultural literacy). One book I have on biblical botany says, “Figs have an unusual habit of producing fruit buds before the leaves have emerged from the dormant period. Perhaps this is one explanation of the story in St. Matthew concerning the coming of the summer season. When new leaves are fully out, the fig fruit should normally be ripe. In this respect, figs produce their fruit in reverse of the pattern of most fruit trees. (Plants of the Bible, pg. 126)

Using my Verbum Bible and Catholic program I found between 30-40 excellent explanations of this passage and there was a constant theme — fig trees have a precursor fruit, an early edible fruit called taqsh that appears with the leaves, before the actual full fig. If a tree has new leaves but no taqsh then it will not bear the figs later in the year. If you are really hungry (as it says Jesus was) the peasants ate the taqsh like Jesus expected to do. Since it had no taqsh to eat, it also meant there would be no figs at the time ripe figs should appear. Jesus saw the tree was fruitless now, and when the season for the full figs would arrive. The tree was all leaves (all show) but no fruit. It is a “parable in action” of Israel with all the showy leaves but no fruit of righteousness. 

“The problem is most satisfactorily cleared up in a discussion called “The Barren Fig Tree” published many years ago by W. M. Christie, a Church of Scotland minister in Palestine under the British mandatory regime. He pointed out first the time of year at which the incident is said to have occurred (if, as is probable, Jesus was crucified on April 6th, a.d. 30, the incident occurred during the first days of April). “Now,” wrote Christie, “the facts connected with the fig tree are these. Toward the end of March the leaves begin to appear, and in about a week the foliage coating is complete. Coincident with [this], and sometimes even before, there appears quite a crop of small knobs, not the real figs, but a kind of early forerunner. They grow to the size of green almonds, in which condition they are eaten by peasants and others when hungry. When they come to their own indefinite maturity they drop off.”

“These precursors of the true fig are called taqsh in Palestinian Arabic. Their appearance is a harbinger of the fully formed appearance of the true fig some six weeks later. So, as Mark says, the time for figs had not yet come. But if the leaves appear without any taqsh, that is a sign that there will be no figs. Since Jesus found “nothing but leaves”—leaves without any taqsh—he knew that “it was an absolutely hopeless, fruitless fig tree” and said as much. (Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, Volume 4: New Testament Objections).

So, if you find a conundrum or a seeming problem with Scripture, or a curiosity, dive in and ask questions. Then look for the answer. Bingo, not only do you start to see things from a first-century reader’s point of view, but the Bible and the Catholic Faith come alive.

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