v. 20-21

In Mark's account, Jesus' visit to the temple (v. 15-19) is placed between the cursing of the fig tree (v. 12-14) and the withering of the fig tree (v. 20-21), or more precisely, the disciples' realization that the fig tree has withered. The order is chronological, so it does not demand an explanation; nevertheless, it naturally produces an effect that we must not ignore.

Imagine that you are watching a movie. As a new scene begins, the camera closes in on a tiny yellow flower growing out of the cracks at the edge of the pavement. Suddenly, you hear loud tire screeches…the camera backs away from the flower…a car speeds into sight and breaks hard by the pavement. Several men rushes out of the car, and at the same time, the camera focuses on the face of a young man, perhaps the protagonist. His expression exhibits fear and resolve at the same time. Someone behind him pushes him out of the car and says, "Let's get to it."

What is happening? The young man has never known crime before, but through various circumstances and decisions, he has joined up with the wrong crowd. Now they burst into a grocery store by the road, pull out their weapons, and yell, "Give me all your money!" Seconds later, the leader emerges from the store and looks around, then runs toward the car, followed by the rest.

The camera closes in on the flower again. Have we forgotten all about it? How beautiful it is. Look at the bright color, and the shape of the leaves. You marvel that it manages to thrive on even such a rough terrain. Just then, one of the escaping robbers steps on the flower as he is running toward the car. When he picks up his foot, you notice that the flower has been crushed, and its stem ripped from the base.

The flower's significance is obvious, and the more context that you have been given, the more obvious it would be to you. It represents the young man, the protagonist of the story. It's life and beauty is like his hope and innocence. By sandwiching the robbery between the life and death of the flower, the man becomes identified with the flower, and what happens to the flower is what happens to the man. In fact, in this case the flower "acts out" something that is happening in the heart of the man, something that, despite the robbery, remains less obvious on the outside.

Likewise, by placing the temple episode between the cursing and the withering of the fig tree, Mark identifies the temple – or by implication, the temple system of worship and the Jews' unique privilege of having the temple of God in their midst – with the tree. What happens to the fig tree is what happens to the temple. That the fig tree has been repeatedly used to represent Israel in the Old Testament makes the symbolism even more obvious and unmistakable (Hosea 9:10; Joel 1:7; Zechariah 3:10).

(to be continued)

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