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TOPIC: Spurgeon - C.H. - Sermons from Matthew (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 41 MAT 21:17-20 The Withered Fig Tree
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The Withered Fig Tree
September 29th, 1889
by
C. H. SPURGEON
(1834-1892)
"And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany;
and he lodged there. Now in the morning as he returned
into the city, he hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in
the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but
leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee
henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree
withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they
marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered
away!"-- Mat_21:17-20.
This is a miracle and a parable. We have books upon the
miracles, we have an equal number of volumes upon the
parables: into which of these volumes shall we place this
story? I would answer, put it in both. It is a singular
miracle, and it is a striking parable. It is an acted
parable, in which our Lord gives us an object-lesson. He
gets truth before men's eyes, in this instance, that the
lesson may make a deeper impression upon the mind and heart.
I would lay great stress upon the remark that this is a
parable; for, if you do not look upon it in that light, you
may misunderstand it. We are not of those who come to the
Word of God with the cool impertinence of the critic,
thinking ourselves wiser than the Book, and therefore able
to judge it. We believe that the Holy Spirit is greater than
man's spirit, and that our Lord and Master was a better
judge of what is right and good than any of us can be. Our
place is at his feet: we are not cavillers, but followers.
Whatever Jesus does and says, we regard with deepest
reverence; our chief desire is to learn as much as we can
from it. We see great mysteries in his simplest actions, and
profound teaching about his plainest words. When he speaks
or acts, we are like Moses at the bush, and feel that we
stand on holy ground.
Flippant persons have spoken of the story before us in a
very foolish manner. They have represented it as though our
Lord, being hungered, thought only of his necessity, and,
expecting to be refreshed by a few green figs went up to the
tree in error. Finding no fruit upon the tree, it being a
season when he had no right to expect that there would be
any, he was vexed, and uttered a malediction against a tree,
as though it had been a responsible agent. This view of the
case results from the folly of the observer: it is not the
truth. Our Lord desired to teach his disciples concerning
the doom of Jerusalem. The reception given him in Jerusalem
was full of promise, but it would come to nothing. Their
loud hosannas would change to, "Crucify Him!"
When Jerusalem was to be destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar a
former time, the prophets had not only spoken, but they had
used instructive signs. If you turn to the Book of Ezekiel,
you will there see the record of many signs and symbols
which set forth the coming woe. These tokens excited
curiosity, secured consideration, and brought home the
prophetic warnings to the homes and hearts of the common
people. Again, the judgments of God were at the gates of the
guilty city. Words--the words of Jesus--had been wasted; and
even tears--tears of the Saviour--had been spilt in vain; it
was time that the sign should be given--the sign of
condemnation. Ezekiel had said, "All the trees of the field
shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree,
and have dried up the green tree"; and herein was suggested
the very image which was employed by our Lord. He saw a fig
tree, by a freak of nature, covered with leaves at a time
when, in the ordinary course of things, it should not have
been so. Our Lord saw that this was a fine object lesson for
him, and therefore he took his disciples to see if there
were figs as well as leaves. When he found none, he bade the
fig tree remain for ever fruitless, and immediately it began
to wither. Our Lord would have used the fig tree to
excellent purpose had he ordered it to be used a fuel to
warm cold hands, but he did better when he used it to warm
cold hearts. No wrong was done to any man; it was a tree on
the waste, and utterly worthless. No pain was inflicted; no
anger was felt. In the object-lesson, the Lord simply said
to the fig tree, "Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for
ever"; and it withered away. In this our Lord taught a great
lesson to all ages at a small expense. The withering of a
tree has been the quickening of many a soul; and if it had
not been so, it was no loss to any that a tree should wither
when it had proved itself barren. A great teacher may do far
more than destroy a tree, if he can thereby give
demonstrations of truth, and scatter seeds of virtue. It is
the veriest idleness of criticism to find fault with our
Lord Jesus for a piece of fine poetic instruction, for
which, had it been spoken by any other teacher, the most
lavish praise would have been awarded by these very critics.
The blighted fig tree was a singularly apt simile of the
Jewish state. The nation had promised great things to God.
When all the other nations were like trees without leaves,
making no profession of allegiance to the true God, the
Jewish nation was covered with the leafage of abundant
religious profession. Scribes, pharisees, priests and elders
of the people were all sticklers for the letter of the law,
and boaster of being worshippers of the one God, and strict
observers of all his laws. Their constant cry was, "The
temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of
the Lord, are these." "We have Abraham to our Father" was
frequently on their lips. They were a fig tree in full leaf.
But there was no fruit upon them; for the people were
neither holy, nor just, nor true, nor faithful towards God,
nor loving to their neighbor. The Jewish church was a mass
of glittering profession, unsupported by spiritual life. Our
Lord had looked into the temple, and had found the house of
prayer to be a den of thieves. He condemned the Jewish
church to remain a lifeless, fruitless thing; and it was so.
The synagogue remained open; but its teaching became a dead
form. Israel had no influence upon the age. The Jewish race
became, for centuries, a withered tree: it had nothing but
profession when Christ came, and that profession proved
powerless to save even the holy city. Christ did not destroy
the religious organization of the Jews: he left them as they
were; but they withered away from the root, till the Roman
came, and with the axes of his legions cleared away the
fruitless trunk.
What a lesson is this to nations! Nations may make a
profession, a loud profession, of religion, and yet may fail
to exhibit that righteousness which exalteth a nation.
Nations may be adorned with all the leafage of civilization,
and art, and progress, and religion; but if there be no
inner life of godliness, and no fruit unto righteousness,
they will stand for a while, and then wither away.
What a lesson this is to churches! There have been churches
which have stood prominent in numbers and in influence; but
faith, and love, and holiness have not been maintained, and
the Holy Ghost has left them to the vain show of a fruitless
profession; and there stand those churches, with the trunk
of organization, and widely-extended branches, but they are
dead, and every year they become more and more decayed.
Brethren, such churches we have even among Nonconformists at
this hour. May it never be so with this church! We may have
numbers of people coming to hear the Word, and a
considerable body of men and women professing to be
converted; but unless vital godliness is in their midst,
what are congregations and churches? We might have a valued
ministry, but what would this be without the Spirit of God?
We might have large subscriptions, and many outward efforts;
but what of these without the spirit of prayer, the spirit
of faith, the spirit of grace and consecration? I dread lest
we should ever come to be like a tree, precocious with a
superlative profession, but yet worthless in the sight of
the Lord, because the secret life of piety, and vital union
to Christ, are gone. Better that the axe clear away every
vestige of the tree than that it stand out against the sky
an open lie, a mockery, a delusion.
This is the lesson of the text; but I do not want you to
consider it only in the gross, in its relation to nations
and churches; but my heart's desire is that we may learn the
lesson in detail, and take it home each one to his own
heart. May the Lord himself speak to each one of us this
morning personally! In preparing the sermon, I have had
great searchings of heart, and I pray that the hearing of it
may produce the same results. May we tremble, lest, having a
profession of godliness, we should wear it conspicuously,
and yet should lack the fruitbearing which alone can warrant
such a profession. The name of saintship, if it be not
justified by sanctity, is an offence to honest men, and much
more to a holy God. A pronounced and forward avowal of
Christianity without a Christian life at the back of it is a
lie, abhorrent to God and man, an offence against truth, a
dishonour to religion, and the forerunner of a withering
curse.
May the Holy Spirit help me to preach very solemnly and
powerfully at this time!
Our first observation is this--There are in the world cases
of forward, but fruitless, profession; our second
observation will be this--These will be inspected by King
Jesus; and our third remark will be--The result of that
inspection will be very terrible. Help us, O Holy Spirit!
I. First, then, THERE ARE IN THE WORLD CASES OF FORWARD, BUT
FRUITLESS, PROFESSION.
The cases to which we refer are not so very rare. They far
excel their fellow-men. Their promise is very loud, and
their exterior very impressive. They look like fruitful
trees; you expect many baskets of the best figs from them.
They impress us by their talk, they overpower us by their
manners. We envy them, and lash ourselves. This last might
not harm us; but to envy hypocrites can never be otherwise
than injurious in the long run; for, when their hypocrisy is
discovered, we are apt to despise religion as well as the
pretenders to it. Do you not know persons who are in
appearance everything and in reality nothing? O dark
thought! may we not ourselves be such persons? See the man,
he is strong in faith, even to presumption; he is joyous in
hope, even to levity; he is loving in spirit, even to utter
indifference about truth! How very glib he is in talk! How
deep he is in theological speculation! Yet he has never
entered the kingdom by the new birth. He has never been
taught of God. The gospel has come to him in word only. He
is a stranger to the work of the Holy Ghost. Are there not
such persons? Are there not persons who are defenders of
orthodoxy and yet are heterodox in their own conduct? Do we
not know men and women whose lives deny what their lips
profess? We are sure it is so. All vineyards have had in
them fig trees covered with leaves, which have been
conspicuous from the foliage of their profession, and yet
have brought forth no fruit unto the Lord.
Such persons seem to defy the seasons. It was not the time
of figs, yet was this fig tree covered with those leaves
which usually betokened ripe figs. I suppose you all know
what I have often seen for myself--the fig tree puts forth
its fruit before its leaves. Early in the year you see green
knobs put forth at the end and points of the branches, and
these, as they swell, turn out to be green figs. The leaves
come forward afterwards, and by the time the tree is fully
covered with leaves, the figs are ready for eating. When a
fig tree is in full leaf, you expect to find figs upon it;
and if you do not, it will bear no figs for that season.
This tree put forth leaves abundantly before its season, and
therein excelled all other fig trees. Yes, but it was a
freak of nature, and not a healthy result of true growth.
Such freaks of nature occur in forests and in vineyards; and
their like may be met with in the moral and spiritual world.
Certain men and women seem far in advance of those round
about them, and astonish us by their special virtues. They
are better than the best; more excellent than the most
excellent--at least in appearance. They are so zealous that
they are not chilled by the surrounding world: their great
souls create a summer for themselves. The backwardness of
saints, and the wickedness of sinners, do not hinder them;
they are too vigorous to be affected by their surroundings.
They are very superior persons, covered with virtues, as
this fig tree with leaves.
Observe, that they overleap the ordinary rule of growth. As
I have told you, the rule is, first the fig, and afterwards
the fig leaves; but we have seen persons who make a
profession before they have produced the slightest fruit to
justify it. I like to see our young friends, when they
believe in Christ, proving their faith by holiness at home,
by godliness abroad, and then coming forward and confessing
their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That looks to be the
sober and normal way of proceeding, for a man first to be,
and then to profess to be; first to be lighted, and then to
shine; first to repent and believe, and then to confess his
repentance and his faith in the Scriptural way, by baptism
into Christ. But these people think it unnecessary to attend
to the trifle of heart-work--they dare to omit the most
vital part of the matter. They attend a revival meeting, and
they declare themselves saved, though they have not been
renewed in heart, and possess neither repentance nor faith.
They come forward to avow a mere emotion. They have nothing
better than a resolve; but they flourish it as if it were
the deed itself. Quick as thought, the convert sets up to be
a teacher. Without test or trial of his brand-new virtues,
he holds himself forth as an example to others. Now, I do
not object to the rapidity of the conversion; on the
contrary, I admire it, if it be true; but I cannot judge
till I see the fruit and evidence in the life. If the change
of conduct is distinct and true, I care not how quickly the
work is done; but we must see the change. There is a heat
which leads to fermentation, and a fermentation which breeds
sourness and corruption. O dear friends, never think you may
skip the fruit and come at once to the leaf. Be not like a
builder who should say, "It is all nonsense to spend labor
and material on works underground. Foundations are never
seen; I can run up a house in no time; four walls and a roof
will not take long." Yes; but how long will such a house
last? Is it worthwhile building a house without foundations?
If you omit the foundation, why not omit the house
altogether? Is there not a tendency, especially in these
days, when men are either skeptical or fanatical, to
cultivate a mushroom godliness, which comes up in a night
and perishes in a night? Will it not be ruinous if
conviction of sin is slighted, repentance slurred, faith
imitated, the new birth counterfeited, and godliness
feigned? Beloved, this will never do. We must have figs
before leaves, acts before declarations, faith before
baptism, union to Christ before union with the church. You
cannot leap over the processes of nature, neither may you
omit the processes of grace, lest haply your foliage without
fruit become a curse without cure.
These people usually catch the eye of others. According to
Mark, our Lord saw this tree "afar off." The other trees
were not in leaf, and consequently, when he began to go up
the hill toward Jerusalem, he saw this one tree quite a long
way before he reached it. A fig tree dressed in its vesture
of lovely green would be a striking object, and would be
observable at a distance. It stood, also, near the track
from Bethany to the city gate. It stood where every wayfarer
would observe it, and probably speak with wonder of its
singular leafage for the season. Persons whose religion is
false are frequently prominent, because they have not grace
enough to be modest and retiring. They seek the highest
room, aspire to office, and push themselves into leadership.
They do not walk in secret with God, they have little
concern about private godliness, and so they are all the
more eager to be seen of men. this is both their weakness
and their peril. Though least of all able to bear the wear
and tear of publicity, they are covetous for it, and are,
therefore, all the more watched. This is the evil of the
whole matter; for it makes their spiritual failure to be
known by so many, and their sin brings all the greater
dishonor upon the name of the Lord, whom they profess to
serve. Better far to be fruitless in a corner of a wood than
on the public way which leads to the temple.
Such people not only catch the eye, but they often attract
the company of good men. Who blames us for drawing near to a
tree which is in leaf long before its fellows? Is it not
right to cultivate the acquaintance of the eminently good?
Our Saviour and his disciples went up to the leafy fig tree:
not merely did it win their eye, but it drew them to itself.
Have we not been fascinated by the charming conduct of one
who seemed to be a brother in the Lord, more devout than
usual, fearing God above many? Like Jehu, he has said,
"Come, see my zeal for the Lord;" and we have been glad
enough to ride in the chariot with him: he seemed so godly,
so generous, so humble, so useful, that we looked up to him,
and wished that we were more worthy to be associated with
him. Young converts and seekers are naturally apt to do
this; and hence it is a sad calamity when their confidence
turns out to have been misplaced.
Whenever we see any standing out prominently, and making a
bold profession, what should be our thoughts about them? I
answer, do not judge them; do not fall into habitual
mistrust. Your Lord did not stand at a distance and say,
"That tree is worthless." No, he went up to it, with his
disciples, and carefully inspected it. These prominent
persons may be wonders of divine grace: let us hope and pray
that they may be. Let the Lord and his love be magnified in
them! God has his fig trees that bear figs in winter; God
has his saints who are filled with good works when the love
of others has waxed cold. The Lord raises some up to be as
standards for the truth, rallying points in the battle. The
Lord can make young men mature, and new converts useful. It
has been said, by way of proverbial expression, that "some
men are born with beards." The Lord can give great grace, so
as to make spiritual growth rapid and yet solid. He does
this so often that we have no right to doubt but what the
prominent brother before us is one of these growths of
grace. Unless we are forced to see with bitter regret that
there are no marks of grace, no evidences of faith, let us
hope for the best, and be glad at the sight of God's grace.
If we are inclined to be suspicious, let us turn the point
of that sword towards our own bosoms. Self-suspicion will be
healthy; suspicion of others may be cruel. We are not
judges; and even if we are, we had better keep to our own
court, and sit on our own judgment-seat, dispensing the law
within the little kingdom of our own selves.
Where those who are prominent turn out to be all they
profess to be, they are a great blessing. It would have been
well if that morning there had been figs upon that fig tree.
It would have been a great refreshment to the Saviour if he
had been fed by the green fruit. When the Lord makes the
first in position to be first in holiness, it is a blessing
to the church, to the family, and to the neighborhood;
indeed, it may prove to ba a blessing to the whole world. We
ought, therefore, to pray the Lord to water with his own
hand those trees which he has planted; or, in other words,
to uphold by his grace those men of his right hand whom he
has made strong for himself.
But when we take the text and lay it home to our own hearts,
we need not be so gentle with it as in the cases of others.
We have, many of us, for long years been like this fig-tree,
as to prominence and profession. And in this matter, so far,
there is nothing of which to be ashamed. Yet it is evidently
to ourselves that the parable speaks; for we have stood in
open avowal and distinct service by the wayside, and we have
been seen "afar off." Certain of us have made a very bold
profession, and we are not ashamed to repeat that profession
before men and angels. Hence the enquiry: Are we truthful in
it? What if we should turn out to be contending for a faith
in which we have no share? What if in us there should be
none of the life of love, and consequently our profession
should be "as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal"? What if
there should be talk, and no work; doctrine, and no
practice? What if we are without holiness? Then we shall
never see the Lord. Whatever terrible aspect this parable-
miracle may have, it bears upon many of us. I, the preacher,
feel how much it bears upon me. In that spirit have I
thought it over, anxiously trusting that every deacon and
every elder of this church, and every member and every
worker among you, may have great searchings of heart. May
every minister of Christ who may have dropped in here this
morning, say to himself, "Yes, I have been like that fig
tree in prominence and in profession; God grant that I be
not like it in being devoid of fruit!"
II. It is time that we remembered the solemn truth of our
second head: THESE WILL BE INSPECTED BY KING JESUS.
He will draw nigh to them, and when he comes up to them he
will look for fruit. The first Adam came to the fig tree for
leaves, but the Second Adam looks for figs. He searches our
character through and through, to see whether there is any
real faith, any true love, any living hope, any joy which is
the fruit of the Spirit, any patience, any self-denial, any
fervour in prayer, any walking with God, any indwelling of
the Holy Spirit; and if he does not see these things, he is
not satisfied with chapel-going, church-going, prayer
meetings, communions, sermons, Bible readings; for all these
may be no more than leafage. If our Lord does not see the
fruit of the Spirit upon us, he is not satisfied with us,
and his inspection will lead to severe measures. Notice that
what Jesus looks for is not your words, not your resolves,
not your avowals, but your sincerity, your inward faith,
your being indeed wrought upon by the Spirit of God to bring
forth fruits meet for his kingdom.
Our Lord has a right to expect fruit when he looks for it.
When he went up to that fig tree he had a right to expect
fruit; because the fruit, according to nature, comes before
the leaf. If, then, the leaf has come, there should be
fruit. True, it was not the time of figs; but then, if it
was not the time of figs, it certainly was not the season
for leaves, for the figs are first. This tree, by putting
forth leaves, which are the signs and tokens of ripe figs,
virtually advertised itself as bearing fruit. So, however
bad the times may be, some of us profess that we will not
follow the times, but will follow the one immutable truth.
As Christians, we confess that we are redeemed from among
men, and have been delivered from this perverse generation.
Christ may not expect fruit of men who acknowledge the world
and its changing ages as their supreme guide; but he may
well look for it from the believer in his own Word. He looks
for fruit from the preacher, from the Sunday-school teacher,
from the church- officer, from the sister who conducts a
Bible class, from that brother who has a band of young men
around him, to whom he is a guide in the gospel. He does
expect it of all who submit to his gospel rule. As Christ
had a right to expect fruit of a leaf- bearing fig tree, so
he has a right to expect great things from those who avow
themselves his trustful followers. Ah me! how this fact
should move the preacher with trembling! Should it not
affect full many of you in the same manner?
Fruit is what the Lord earnestly desires. The Saviour, when
he came under the fig tree, did not desire leaves; for we
read that he hungered, and human hunger cannot be removed by
leaves of a fig tree. He desired to eat a fig or two; and he
longs to have fruit from us also. He hungers for our
holiness: he longs that his joy may be in us, that our joy
may be full. He comes up to each of you who are members of
his church, and especially to each of you who are leaders of
his people, and he looks to see in you the things in which
his soul is well pleased. He would see in us love to
himself, love to our fellow-men, strong faith in revelation,
earnest contention for the once delivered faith, importunate
pleading in prayer, and careful living in every part of our
course. He expects from us actions such as are according to
the law of God and the mind of the Spirit of God; and if he
does not see these, he does not receive his due. What did he
die for but to make his people holy? What did he give
himself for but that he might sanctify unto himself a people
zealous of good works? What is the reward of the bloody
sweat and the five wounds and the death agony, but that by
all these we should be bought with a price? We rob him of
his reward if we do not glorify him, and therefore the
Spirit of God is grieved at our conduct if we do not show
forth his praises by our godly and zealous lives.
And mark here, that when Christ comes to a soul he surveys
it with keen discernment. He is not mocked. It is not
possible to deceive him. I have thought that to be a fig
which turned out to be only a leaf was a mistake; but our
Lord makes no such mistake. Neither will he overlook the
little figs, just breaking forth. He knows the fruit of the
Spirit in whatever stage it may be. He never mistakes fluent
expression for hearty possession, nor real grace for mere
emotion. Beloved, you are in good hands as to the trial of
your condition when the Lord Jesus comes to deal with you.
Your fellow-men are quick in their judgments, and they may
be either censorious, or partial; but the King gives forth a
righteous sentence. He knows just where we are, and what we
are; and he judges not after the appearance, but according
to truth. Oh, that our prayer might this morning rise to
heaven: "Jesus, Master, come and cast thy searching eyes
upon me, and judge whether I am living unto thee or not!
Give me to see myself as thou seest me, that I may have my
errors corrected, and my graces nourished. Lord, make me to
be indeed what I profess to be; and if I am not so already,
convince me of my false state, and begin a true work in my
soul. If I am thine, and am right in thy sight, grant ma a
kind, assuring word to sink my fears again, and I will
gladly rejoice in thee as the God of my salvation."
III. I come, thirdly, by the help of the Spirit of God, to
consider the truth, that THE RESULT OF THE COMING OF CHRIST
TO THE FORWARD, BUT FRUITLESS, PROFESSOR WILL BE VERY
TERRIBLE.
The searcher finds nothing but leaves where fruit might have
been expected. Nothing but leaves means nothing but lies. Is
that a harsh expression? If I profess faith, and have no
faith, is not that a lie? If I profess repentance, and have
not repented, is not that a lie? If I unite with the people
of the living God, and yet have no fear of God in my heart,
is not that a lie? If I come to the communion-table, and
partake of the bread and wine, and yet never discern the
Lord's body, is not that a lie? If I profess to defend the
doctrines of grace, and yet am not assured of the truth of
them, is not that a lie? If I have never felt my depravity;
if I have never been effectually called, never known my
election of God, never rested in the redeeming blood, and
have never been renewed by the Spirit, is not my defense of
the doctrines of grace a lie? If there is nothing but
leaves, there is nothing but lies, and the Saviour sees that
it is so. All the verdure of green leaf to him without fruit
is but so much deceit. Profession without grace is the
funeral pageantry of a dead soul. Religion without holiness
is the light which comes from rotten wood--the
phosphorescence of decay: I speak dread words, but how can I
speak less dreadfully than I do? If you and I have but a
name to live, and are dead, what a state we are in! Ours is
something worse than corruption: it is the corruption of
corruption. To profess religion and live in sin, is to
sprinkle rose-water upon a dunghill, and leave it a dunghill
still. To give a spirit an angel's name when it bears the
devil's character, is almost to sin against the Holy Ghost.
If we remain unconverted, of what use can it be to have our
name written among the godly?
Our Lord discovered that there was no fruit, and that was a
dreadful thing; but, next, he condemned the tree. Was it not
right that he should condemn it? Did he curse it? It was
already a curse. It was calculated to tantalize the hungry,
and take them out of their way to deceive them. God will not
have the poor and needy made a jest of. An empty profession
is a practical curse; and should it not receive the censure
of the Lord of truth? The tree was of no use where it was:
it ministered to no man's refreshment. So, the barren
professor occupies a position in which he ought to be a
blessing, but, in truth, an evil influence streams forth
from him. If he has not the grace of God in him, he is
utterly useless, and in all probability he is a curse: he is
an Achan in the camp, grieving the Lord, and causing him to
refuse success to his people.
Our Lord did, however, use the fig tree for a good purpose
when he caused it to wither away; for it became, henceforth,
a beacon and a warning to all others who put forth vain
pretenses. So, when the ungodly man, who has exhibited a
flourishing profession, is allowed to fade away in his ways,
some moral effect is produced upon others: they are
compelled to see the peril of an unsound profession; and if
they are wise, they will no longer be guilty of it. Would
God it might be so in every case whenever a notable
religionist withers away!
After that, when the Saviour had condemned it, he pronounced
sentence upon it; and what was the sentence? It was simply,
"As you were." It was nothing more than a confirmation of
its state. This tree has borne no fruit, it shall never bear
fruit. If a man chooses to be without the grace of God, and
yet to make a profession of having it, it is only just that
the great Judge should say, "Continue without grace." When
the great Judge at last shall speak to those who depart from
God, he will simply say to them, "Depart!" Throughout life
they always were departing, and after death their character
is stamped with perpetuity. If you choose to be graceless,
to be graceless shall be your doom. "He that is filthy, let
him be filthy still." May the Lord Jesus never have to
sentence any of you in this way; but may he turn us, that we
may be turned, and work in us eternal life to his praise and
glory!
Then there came a change over the tree. It began at once to
wither. I do not know whether the disciples saw a quiver run
through it at once; but on the next morning when they passed
that way, according to Mark, it had dried up from the roots.
Not only did the leaves hang down, like streamers when there
is no wind; not only did the bark seem to have lost every
token of vitality; but the whole fabric was blighted
fatally. Have you ever seen a fig tree with its strange,
weird branches? It is a very extraordinary sight when bare
of leaves. In this case I see its skeleton arms! It is twice
dead, dead from the very roots. Thus have I seen the fair
professor undergo a blight. He has looked like a thing that
has felt the breath of a furnace, and has had its moisture
dried up. The man is no longer himself: his glory and his
beauty are hopelessly gone. No axe was lifted; no fire was
kindled; a word did it, and the tree withered from the root.
So, without thunderbolt or pestilence, the once brave
professor is stricken as with the judgment of Cain. It is an
awful fate. Better far to have the vine-dresser come to you
with the axe in his hand, and strike you with the head of
it, and say to you, "Tree, thou must bear fruit, or be hewn
down." Such a warning would be terrible, but it would be
infinitely better than to be left in one's place untouched,
quietly to wither to destruction.
Now I have delivered my heavy burden, laying it far more
upon myself than upon any one of you; for I stand more
prominent than you; I have made a louder profession than
most of you; and if I have not his grace in me, then I shall
stand before the multitude that have seen me in my
greenness, and shall wither away to the very roots, a
terrible example of what God doth with those who bear no
fruit to his glory.
But now I desire to conclude with tenderer words. Let no man
say, "This is very hard." Brother, it is not hard, is it,
that if we profess a thing we should be expected to be true
to it? Besides, I pray you not to think that anything my
Lord can do is hard. He is all gentleness and tenderness.
The only thing he ever did destroy was this fig tree. He
destroyed no men, as Elias did when he brought fire from
heaven upon them; nor as Elisha did when the bears came out
of the wood. It is only a barren tree that he causes to
wither away. He is all love and tenderness: he does not want
to wither you, nor will he, if you be but true. The very
least he may expect is that you be true to what you profess.
Are you rebellious because he asks you not to play the
hypocrite? If you begin to kick against his admonition, it
will look as if you were yourself untrue at heart. Instead
of that, come and bow humbly at his feet, and say, "Lord, if
anything in this solemn truth bears upon me, I beseech thee
so to apply it to my conscience that I may feel its power,
and flee to thee for salvation." Many men are converted in
this way--these hard but honest things drive them from false
refuges, and bring them to be true to Christ and to their
own souls.
"But," saith one, "I know what I will do; I will never make
any profession; I will bear no leaves." My friend, that also
is a sullen, rebellious spirit. Instead of talking so, you
should say, Lord, I do not ask thee to take away my leaves,
but let me have fruit. The fruit is not likely to ripen well
without leaves; leaves are essential to the health of the
tree, and the health of the tree is essential to the
ripening of the fruit. Open confession of faith is good, and
must not be refused. Lord, I would not drop a leaf.
"I'm not ashamed to own my Lord,
Or to defend his cause;
Maintain the honour of his word,
The glory of his cross."
Lord, I do not want to be set away in a corner; I am
satisfied to stand where men may see my good works, and
glorify my Father who is in heaven. I do not ask to be
observed; but I am not ashamed to be observed; only, Lord,
make me fit for observation. If a commander said to a
soldier, "Stand firm, but mind you have your cartridges
ready, so that you may not lift an empty gun;" suppose that
soldier answered, "I cannot be so particular. I would rather
run to the rear." Would that be a fit reply? Coward! because
your captain warns you that you must not be a sham, you
would therefore, run off altogether! Surely, you are of an
evil sort. You are not truly one of the Lord's, if you
cannot bear his rebuke. Let not these solemn truths drive us
away, but let them draw us on to say, "Lord, I pray thee,
help me to make my calling and election sure. I beseech
thee, help me to bring forth the expected fruit. Thy grace
can do it."
I would suggest to everyone here to cry to the Lord to make
us conscious of our natural barrenness. Gracious ones, may
the Lord make us mourn our comparative barrenness, even if
we do bear some fruit. To feel quite satisfied with yourself
is perilous: to feel that you are holy, and indeed that you
are perfect, is to be on the brink of the pit of pride. If
you hold your head so high, I am afraid you will strike it
against the top of the doorway. If you walk on stilts, I
fear you will fall. It is a safer thing to feel, "Lord, I do
serve thee, and I am no deceiver. I do love thee; thou hast
wrought the works of the Spirit in me. But alas! I am not
what I want to be, I am not what I ought to be. I aspire to
holiness: help me to attain it. Lord, I would lie in the
very dust before thee to think that after being digged about
and dunged, as I have been, I should bear such little fruit.
I feel myself less than nothing. My cry is, 'God be merciful
to me.' If I had done all, I should still have been an
unprofitable servant; but having done so little, Lord, where
shall I hide my guilty head?"
Lastly, when you have made this confession, and the good
Lord has heard you, there is one emblem in Scripture I
should like you to copy. Suppose this morning you feel so
dry and dead and barren, that you cannot serve God as you
would, nor even pray for more grace, as you wish to do. Then
you are something like these twelve rods. They are very dead
and dry, for they have been held in the hands of twelve
chiefs, who have used them as their official staves. These
twelve rods are to be laid before the Lord. This one is
Aaron's rod; but it is quite as dead and dry as any of the
rest. The whole twelve are laid in the place where the Lord
dwelleth. We see them next morning. Eleven are dry rods
still; but see this rod of Aaron! What has happened? It was
dry as death. See, it has budded! This is wonderful! But
look, it has blossomed! There are almond flowers upon it.
You know they are rosy pink and white. This is marvelous!
But look again, it has brought forth almonds! Here, you have
them! See these green fruits, which look like peaches. Take
off the flesh, and here is an almond whose shell you may
break and find the kernel. The heavenly power has come upon
the dry stick, and it has budded and blossomed, and even
brought forth almonds. Fruit-bearing is the proof of life
and favour. Lord, take these poor sticks this morning, and
make them bud. Lord, here we are, in a bundle, perform that
ancient miracle in a thousand of us. Make us bud and
blossom, and bear fruit! Come with divine power, and turn
this congregation from a fagot into a grove. Oh, that our
blessed Lord may get a fig from some dry stick this morning!
at least, such a fig as this, "God be merciful to me a
sinner;" there is sweetness in that fig as this, "Lord, I
believe, help thou my unbelief." Here is another, "Though he
slay me, yet will I trust in him"--that is a whole basketful
of the first ripe figs, and the Lord rejoices in their
sweetness. Come Holy Spirit, produce fruit in us this day,
through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen, and Amen.
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