“Repentance is the key that unlocks the door to the kingdom of God.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – May 16, 2024
Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away. Matthew 21:18-19, NKJV
In the ancient world, fig trees were symbols of both prosperity and peace. Thus, to find a barren fig tree in the season of harvest was a failure for it to be the thing it was created to be. In a similar way, if we hear the words of Christ yet fail to bear the fruit of peace and abundant life, we are no different than this cursed fig tree.
When read in context, Jesus is directing these words at the Jewish people who had received the promises of God, heard their fulfillment in the teaching of Jesus, and seen the truth displayed in power through his ministry of healing, yet still refused to acclaim him as the Christ. In our own day, there are countless parallels to this situation. Especially in the Western world, we are the inheritors of centuries of Christian faith, with countless examples of men and women who have embodied and proclaimed the love of God in Jesus. If you were to stop someone on a city street and ask them to summarize the basic Christian teaching about Jesus, I imagine more people than not could do an adequate job.
Yet, as Jesus reminds us today in Matthew 21, knowledge alone is not a sign of faithfulness. Similarly, the ability to bear fruit and actually bearing fruit are two very different things! Like a fig tree, the Lord has made each of us creators who are capable of bearing fruit in his name. Yet the only way this ability is actualized is by passing through the gates of repentance. As we are told elsewhere in Matthew’s gospel, “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8).
Repentance is the key that unlocks the door to the kingdom of God. It is the way that we progress from knowledge about God to a lived encounter with God. It is the fuel that animates our journey into an abiding life with God, as we seek to become not only hearers but doers of the word (James 1:22).
“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” (John 15:8, NKJV)
Prayer
Father, give us humble and repentant hearts that are quick to see our own needs and set free from judging our brothers and sisters, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
Reflect today upon this image of the fruitless fig tree, and consider the ways you have been made to bear fruit, and the sin or hardness of heart that stands in the way.
Related Reading
Matthew 23:23; John 15:5; Romans 12:1
Worship Resource
Will Reagan & United Pursuit: Set a Fire
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