A fig tree puts forth fruit before its leaves, and in the climate suited to it can bear fruit nearly all year. In Judea figs were ripe as early as Passover. Fruit growers know that a small amount of fruit, called the first ripe fruit or firstfruits, ripens before the main crop. When Jesus approached the leafy fig tree, it was the time of the firstfruits but not yet the main harvest, which explains Mark's comment that it was not the season for figs (Mark 11:13). Leaves on the tree signaled that figs should be present, yet this tree had none at all. It was barren and did not fulfill its purpose. Like a diligent orchardist removing an unproductive tree, Jesus eliminated it, not with an ax or saw but by faith (compare Luke 13:6-9). The fig tree teaches that outward appearance does not count with God. What counts is whether a person produces godly fruit in life (John 15:8, 16; Galatians 5:22-23).

Jesus' cursing of the fig tree on the road from Bethany to Jerusalem was not an angry outburst over missing figs, but an act of God performed as an object lesson. The area of the Mount of Olives was so full of fig trees that it was called Bethpage, "House of Figs." This particular tree was covered with leaves, which signal abundant fruit, yet it bore none, so it was all show. Although Mark says it was not the season for figs, the phrase is better understood as meaning that the time for gathering had not yet come. Figs can be found in the Jerusalem climate throughout the year, especially in March and April, and they are not usually harvested until after Passover, so finding fruit was a reasonable expectation. Ordinary reasons a fig tree fails to fruit, such as immaturity, too much nitrogen, or water stress, are not the point, for the tree was only growing according to the instructions God placed in its DNA. The tree represented the Jewish people, who professed the true religion and claimed to be God's special people but were hypocrites with leaves and no fruit. Its withering warned of the coming ruin of the Jewish state without repentance. It also illustrates Matthew 7:19: every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Christians are to bear the fruit of God's Spirit, which glorifies the Father, and not to be found fruitless at Christ's appearing.