Q & A with McGee

 

A: [This incident from Mark 11:12-14 took place] on Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem during what we call the triumphal entry. He cursed the fig tree because it represented the nation Israel. He came to them to look for fruit, and there was none. The leaves of the fig tree speak of the witness. Go back and read Psalm 1: “His leaf also shall not wither” (Psalm 1:3). That is a permanent testimony. The nation Israel was giving the testimony that they served the living and true God, but they weren’t. And I’m not sure that Jesus wouldn’t do the same thing today to all the shrubbery that’s around some of our churches. If He came He would probably say, “You’ve got the leaves of testimony, but you’re actually not witnessing for Me. There’s no fruit.” So many churches are like that. The only members they take in have been brought in from other churches. Sometimes on one side of town a church will have trouble, and a great number will leave and go over to another church. These churches are building a tremendous membership, but they’re recycling church members. It’s not evangelism. The leaves are there, but there’s no fruit. I use that as an illustration that the Lord Jesus found no fruit when He came to the nation Israel.