Plants and Foods of the Bible · The Garden · Fruit tree

The Fig Tree

The tree with wide leaves and sweet fruit, in whose shade the people of the Bible dreamed of peace

Key verse
Mark 11:13-14
Where we find it
The gardens and vineyards of the land of Israel, near houses and along the roadsides
What it reminds us of
Peace, rest at home and a life that bears fruit
Illustration: The Fig Tree

Stories from Scripture

The Fig Tree in the stories of the Bible

  1. Adam and Eve

    Fig leaves in the Garden of Eden

    After Adam and Eve disobeyed God, their eyes were opened and they knew that they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. The leaves could not really cover their wrong, but God kept caring for them and made them clothes of skin.

    Genesis 3:7

  2. Nathanael

    Nathanael, seen under the fig tree

    When Nathanael came to Jesus, he was amazed: Jesus had seen him under the fig tree before Philip called him. Nathanael understood that he was standing before Someone who knows him completely, and he said, “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.”

    John 1:47-50

  3. Jesus and His disciples

    The fig tree that got one more year

    Jesus told the parable of a man who came looking for fruit on a fig tree for three years and found none. The owner wanted to cut it down, but the gardener asked him to leave it one more year: he would dig around it and put manure at its roots. The parable shows how patient God is with us.

    Luke 13:6-9

From the world of the Bible

Did you know?

  • The fig tree can bear fruit twice a year: a few early figs in spring and the main harvest toward the end of summer.

  • Its leaves are big and wide, with three to five lobes, so they give a thick shade, good for resting on hot days.

  • Figs could be dried and kept for a long time. Abigail brought David and his men two hundred cakes of pressed figs, good food for the road.

From the Holy Scriptures

What do we read in the Bible about the fig tree?

13 And 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.

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

In kids’ words: Beautiful leaves were not enough: Jesus was looking for fruit. God is glad when our faith shows in good deeds.

4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.

In kids’ words: Sitting quietly under your own vine and fig tree was the picture of the peace that God gives His people.

Verses are quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Read each passage in the context of its chapter in the Bible.

What the fig tree teaches us

Fruit that can be seen

A fig tree full of leaves looks beautiful from far away, but its real value is its fruit. In the same way, God does not look only at what shows on the outside. He wants a listening heart from which good deeds grow: kindness, patience, help and love.

How we can live this out today

Choose one “fruit” to show today: help someone at home without being asked, or say a kind word to a friend.

Mini-Quiz

What did you learn about the fig tree?

What lesson did Jesus give through the fig tree without fruit?

For parents and children

At home and in Sunday school

A question for parents and children

What good “fruit” do you see in each other in the family? How does God help us grow in kindness, like a tree that a gardener tends with patience?

My prayer
“Lord, thank You for being patient with me, like the gardener with the fig tree. Help me not to be beautiful only on the outside, but to bear good fruit in everything I do. Amen.”

Activity at home

A snack of figs

Put a few fresh or dried figs on the table. While you taste them, say together: “God looks for real fruit in our hearts.”