And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.” So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:21–23)
Like many believers, you may have heard the teaching on mountain-moving faith based on Mark 11:22–23. I don’t know about you, but it always intrigued me: Why did Jesus curse the fig tree before He taught on mountain-moving faith?
One day, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes. The first time fig leaves are mentioned in the Bible, they speak of self-righteousness—after Adam sinned, he covered himself with fig leaves. Adam’s covering was a bloodless one, and without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22). That’s why God had to clothe him with animal skin instead, which meant the shedding of innocent blood. One speaks of righteousness by works, while the other speaks of righteousness by the shed blood of the Lamb.
So the fig tree here is a picture of self-righteousness. And what Jesus was saying is that before your faith can flow like a river, you have to curse (or get rid of) self-righteousness in your life and embrace His gift of righteousness!
Beloved, keep believing, meditating on and declaring that you are righteous in Christ apart from your works. This revelation is what causes faith for every breakthrough you need to rise effortlessly in your heart, and the mountains in your life to move!
Joseph Prince