John the Baptist: a guy who was simple in a lot of ways and yet had a big job. Scripture describes him as a man who “wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.” (Matthew 3:4) To us, it might sound a little crazy and alternative between the clothes, the diet, and the wilderness lifestyle, but in a lot of ways, John the Baptist was a real-time example of God’s provision over a man that walked by faith and in his calling. Seriously. This guy lived out in the wilderness– not a desert, but not in a comfortable town either– and lived off of what God gave him. He didn’t worry or strive or beg his followers to provide for him. Scripture doesn’t say that he led a revival, baptized people, and then shook down the crowds of people for a paycheck afterwards. John lived and breathed his ministry: to prepare the way for Jesus’ coming and calling the world to repentance ahead of Christ’s ministry. It wasn’t a side hustle or a mere passion project. It was his whole life.

Well, friends, we’ve been in this place for five weeks now, and I think I’ve just about covered all the amazing little reminders this funny passage of scripture has revealed to me as of late. But I don’t think I could move on and call this series closed without covering the last two verses in this section of Mark 11,which is one last little point Jesus teaches us about prayer.

So now that we’ve seen how Jesus’ Kingdom-minded reaction with the fig tree was illustrated in the real-life cleansing of the Temple, let’s return back to the fig tree. In fact, scripture takes this same journey; it doesn’t leave any loose end open. After Jesus travelled to the temple and called out the manipulation that was allowed to take root in His Father’s house, they went back out of the city to where they were staying. The next morning, Jesus and His disciples travelled back to Jerusalem. Along the way, Peter and the disciples saw the same fig tree that enraged Jesus the day before. Except today, this tree no longer gave the appearance of a healthy plant. A mere 24 hours later, this same tree was not just leaf-less or fruit-less– the Bible says it was completely withered– it was dry, shriveled, and completely devoid of life.

I hope the theme of last week’s devotion is still ringing in your mind. It sure is in mine, and it’s the lens I’m beginning to read and see everything through: God is so intentional. He wastes nothing. Everything has an eternal, Kingdom-situated meaning. So let’s revisit the fig tree and dig deeper. Jesus was hungry after spending the night in Bethany, and saw a fig tree in leaf. He gets to the tree, sees no fruit, and curses the tree to never bear fruit again. Maybe, to you, it seems irrational. “Wow, Jesus, I get that you were hungry, but did you have to curse the whole tree just because it didn’t have a snack?” Or maybe you’re thinking, “If it wasn’t the season for figs, then why didn’t He curb His enthusiasm? After all, if He knew figs weren’t in season– being God and all– then why didn’t He keep his expectations low?”