Mark 11: 11-14 (KJV)

¹¹And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.

 ¹²And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:

 ¹³And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.

 ¹⁴And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.

What's going on here?  On the surface we have a story where Jesus happens upon a fig tree, and hopeful for fruit he walks closer.  Of course the tree has no fruit, because it's not the right season.   The next thing Jesus does is that he CURSES the fig tree; saying to it, "No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever."

As we know (or should know) all of Jesus' teachings hid some profound truth, and this one is no different.   What's the lesson that is to be gained from this?  Let us look at a few factors here.

The fig tree has only leaves on it, because it's not the fruit bearing season.  Despite this, Jesus still curses the fig tree, and tells it that no fruit will grow on it; that no man will eat any fruit from it.  To some people, this is Jesus throwing a 'tantrum' while to others this is Jesus on some sort of power trip.   I buy into neither of those, because this was one of Jesus' teachings.

Now, in the Bible, people especially Christians are described as fruit bearing trees.  The good trees bear only good fruit, and the bad trees bear only bad fruit.  These two types of trees are symbolic for the true sons and daughter of God, and the false Christians.  There is another type of tree, and another type of person.  A tree that is not yet in season, and the unbelievers.   The unseasonal tree represents the unbeliever.  Neither one can bear any fruit, because it's not yet there time.  A tree has no say when it will bear fruit, just as an unbeliever has no say when God will save them.

In the next part, instead of causing the tree to bear fruit, or just leaving it alone, Jesus tells the tree that it will NOT bear any fruit.  The implication of this should be obvious, but to some it won't be.  There are unbelievers that will NEVER be saved in this age, because God has not allowed it to happen.

There is though, a second part to this lesson; one that teaches that not all is hopeless.

Mark 11: 20-24 ²⁰And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.

 ²¹And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.

 ²²And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

 ²³For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

 ²⁴Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

So they come across the same fig tree, and Peter makes the obvious statement that it's withered away.  What Jesus says next could be confusing to many people, but he says, "Have faith in God."  Faith in God for what?  Faith that I can go around cursing trees?  Faith that I can walk up to an apple tree during the winter, and curse it because it won't grow apples out of season?

No, I don't think so.  What this is telling us is that through faith in God, ALL things are possible; even the things that seem impossible.  Many mainstream Christians state that once a person dies, and they didn't accept Christ as their savior; it will be impossible for God/Jesus to save them.  If this is true then NOT ALL things are possible through faith in God, but only some.  Obviously, the scriptures never state this.  Just as God/Jesus can curse a fig tree, and later revive it; so too can the Godhead keep a person blind, and later on save them.