Barren Fig Trees and Fallen Stars
Holy Week, Days 3 and 4
Day 3 - Tuesday
It’s on Tuesday of Holy Week that Jesus curses the fig tree with no fruit (Matt. 21:18-22). By this he creates a living parable of Israel, who though they appear to be alive, are fruitless and under the curse of death. This is yet another connection back to the creation week. On the third day God caused the earth to bring forth trees and foliage. The point is that God is causing the old creation to pass away, and - soon enough - a new creation and a new humanity will dawn.
Day 4 - Wednesday
On Wednesday Jesus preaches on the Mount of Olives (Matthew 24-25). He vividly describes cataclysmic events to come:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Matt. 24:29
Once again the events correspond to the creation week, where on the fourth day God puts the stars in the heavens. But now they fall, only to be replaced by others that shine (Daniel 12:3).
God is doing more than we can see in the resurrection. He is shaking everything - every level of reality - that which we can see and what we cannot see. But he is doing it all so that what cannot be shaken will remain forever (Heb. 12:26-27). He is bringing a kingdom that will not pass away, and that will not fail to bring flourishing to all who reside in it, by faith. Or to put it better, in the words of J.R.R. Tolkien:
“The birth, death and resurrection of Jesus means that one day everything sad will come untrue.”