Pastor Randy Hoskins
Senior Pastor - First Congregational, Ashland, NE |
March 22, 2024
There is a curious little story in Mark 11 that's always bothered me. Wrapped around Jesus clearing the Temple, we have the story of the cursed fig tree. Jesus was going back into Jerusalem on Monday of Holy Week when he saw a fig tree that was all leafed out, so He went to see if it had any early fruit. When he got closer and inspected it, found that it had none. So he told it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again." The next day they walk by and the tree is dead from the roots. When the disciples mention it, Jesus talks about the power of prayer. This always bothered me because the rest of the time, Jesus is so loving and life-giving. Why curse and kill the poor fig tree? As with so many stories in the Bible (and books in general, as any of my English teachers would tell you), I missed the significance of the event. The prophets Micah and Jeremiah referred to Israel as a fig tree that is producing no fruit. Their lack of fruit resulted in God's judgment against them, resulting in exile from Israel. Jesus cursing the fig tree is a prophetic picture of God's judgment against the Temple in Jerusalem, which would be destroyed in 70 AD. That raises a question for us: Are we producing any fruit? If Jesus came to First Congregational, would he curse us in the same way? We can be all "leafed out" like that fig tree, but is it just show, or is there fruit being produced? The result of spiritual fruitfulness is that God is glorified, we grow, and others come to know Christ. We are called to do this both as a church and individuals. Let's keep that in mind as we go through Holy Week and beyond. Pastor Randy 402-450-4447 |
After serving as part-time pastor, Pastor Randy was called to full-time ministry in February of 2020.
He and Velvet now live in Ashland.
He and Velvet now live in Ashland.