Welcome and thank you for taking a bible break to test your knowledge of God's word.
This week's question:

The Lord encourages us to bear good fruit as we walk this earth, "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:16-21). So, we understand that to be able to enter the kingdom of heaven, we must bear righteous fruit by doing the will of our Lord in heaven, "Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts upon them may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock." (Matthew 7:24).

That brings us to our question, "Which tree did Jesus condemn?". As Jesus walked this earth, He ate and drank as any individual, as He did replenish His physical body, as we see when He and His disciples were walking to Jerusalem on a Sabbath, "At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath through the grainfields, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick heads of grain and eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, 'Behold, Your disciples do what is not lawful on the Sabbath.'" (Matthew 12:1-2). Jesus answers their charge by comparing the action to the one of David and His men when they were fleeing from Saul and ate of the loves which were for the priests alone, and yet were innocent, or the work that the priest do on the Sabbath and are still innocent.

Then He confirms that something greater is here as He is "Lord of the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:8). Jesus performed the miracles to instill belief among those whom He came in contact with, as the man with the withered hand as He entered the synagogue of those that just accused Him, and they asked Him, "'Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?' -in order that they might accuse Him. And He said to them 'What man shall their be among you, who will have a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it, and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.' Then HE said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand!' And he stretched it our, and it was restored to normal, like the other. But the Pharisees went out, and counseled together against Him, as to how they might destroy Him." (Matthew 12:10-14). Even the man that was born blind and healed by Jesus understood that the accusers of Jesus did not want to know the truth about Him as he said to them, "'Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. We know God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is Godfearing, and does His will, He hears him. Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.' They answered and said to him, 'You were born entirely in in sins, and you are teaching us?' And they put him out." (John 9:30-34).

And so, to answer our question, we find Jesus again on the way into Jerusalem, "And on the next day, when they had departed from Bethany, He became hungry. And seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when HE came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And He answered and said to it, 'May no one ever eat fruit from you again!' And His disciples were listening." (Mark 11:12-14).

And so there we have the answer to our question, as it was the fig tree that Jesus did condemn! But the question that also arises is why He condemns it since it was not the season for figs! We could rationalize that the figs from the previous year could have still been on and since their was none there, maybe it did not bear the previous season. Or it was just a way of encouraging them to be ready to bear fruit in season or out of season. But let us read on, "And as they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. And being reminded, Peter said to Him, 'Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which you cursed has withered. And Jesus answered saying to them, 'Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it shall be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.'" (Mark 11:20-26). Jesus was just trying to increase their faith in Him as He spoke and the tree responded to His word and command and also in the power of prayer that was at their fingertips if they only believed it could be done, it would be done.

Sometimes we too may belittle our God given talents to do things. Let us remember, "IF God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) and "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13) and finally, "The effectual prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." (James 5:16).