Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 21:17-22

"And he left them, and went forth out of the city to Bethany, and lodged there. Now in the morning as he returned to the city, he hungered. And seeing a fig tree by the way side, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only; and he saith unto it, Let there be no fruit from thee henceforward for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How did the fig tree immediately wither away? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do what is done to the fig tree, but even if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea, it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." — Matthew 21:17-22 (ASV)

Pseudo-Chrysostom: A wicked person is better overcome by yielding to him than by arguing with him, for wickedness is not instructed but stimulated by reproof. The Lord accordingly sought to restrain those whom His words could not by withdrawing Himself, which is why it is said, And He left them, and went out of the city into Bethany.

St. Jerome: From this it is to be understood that the Lord was in such great poverty, and so far from seeking favor from anyone, that in all that city He had found neither a host nor a place to stay. Instead, He made His home in a little village, in the house of Lazarus and his sisters, for their village was Bethany. And it follows, and He lodged there.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Surely, He sought to lodge in the body where His spirit also rested. For this is the way with all holy people: they love to be not where there are sumptuous banquets, but where holiness flourishes.

St. Jerome: When the darkness of night had lifted and He was returning to the city, the Lord was hungry, thus showing the reality of His human body.

Glossa Ordinaria: By permitting His flesh to suffer what properly belongs to the flesh, He foreshadows His passion. Mark the earnest zeal of the active laborer, who is said to have gone early into the city to preach and to win some for His Father.¹

St. Jerome: As the Lord was about to suffer among the nations and take upon Himself the offense of the Cross, He sought to strengthen the minds of His disciples with a preceding miracle. This is why it follows, And seeing a fig-tree by the wayside, He came to it, and found nothing thereon but leaves only.

St. John Chrysostom: He came not because He was hungry, but for His disciples' sake. Because He always did good and inflicted suffering on no one, it was fitting that He should demonstrate His power to punish; and this He would not use on a person, but on a plant.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: In this we also find proof of the Lord's goodness. When He intended to show an example of the salvation secured through Him, He used His mighty power on people by healing their present sicknesses and encouraging them to hope for the future and to look for the healing of their souls. But now, when He wanted to exhibit a type of His judgment on the rebellious, He represents the future by the destruction of a tree: Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever.

St. Jerome: The phrase "for ever" (in sempiternum), or "to the end of the world" (in saeculum), for the Greek word for "age" signifies both.

St. John Chrysostom: It was only the disciples' assumption that the tree was cursed because it had no fruit, for another Gospel writer says that it was not yet the season. Why then was it cursed? For the disciples' sake, so that they might learn that He had the power to wither those who crucified Him. He worked this miracle on the most succulent of all plants, so that the greatness of the miracle might be more apparent.

When anything of this kind is done to animals or plants, do not ask whether the fig tree was justly withered, since it was not the season for its fruit. To inquire in this way would be extreme madness, for in such creatures there can be neither fault nor punishment. Instead, consider the miracle and admire the One who worked it.

Glossa Ordinaria: The Creator does no wrong to the owner; rather, His creature, at His will, is used for the benefit of others.²

St. John Chrysostom: And so that you may learn that this was done for their sake—namely, to arouse them to confidence—hear what is said next. Jesus answered and said to them, Verily I say unto you, if ye shall have faith.

St. Jerome: The Gentile dogs bark against us, claiming that the Apostles did not have faith because they were not able to remove mountains. To them we answer that many wonders were done by the Lord that are not written. We believe the Apostles also performed unwritten miracles, and these were not recorded so that unbelievers would not have more room for caviling. For let us ask them: Do they believe the miracles that are written, or not? When they look disbelieving, we can establish that those who do not believe the lesser miracles would not have believed the greater ones.

St. John Chrysostom: What the Lord speaks of here He ascribes to prayer and faith, which is why He continues, And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer believing, ye shall receive.

Origen of Alexandria: For Christ's disciples pray for nothing that they should not, and, trusting in their Master, they pray only for great and heavenly things.

Rabanus Maurus: But whenever we are not heard when we pray, it is either because we ask for something contrary to our salvation; or because the perversity of those for whom we ask prevents it from being granted to them; or because the fulfillment of our request is postponed to a future time, so that our desires may grow stronger and thus have a more perfect capacity for the joys they seek.

St. Augustine of Hippo: We must consider that Mark records the disciples' amazement at the withering of the tree, and the Lord's answer concerning faith, as happening not on the day after the tree was cursed, but on the third day. On the second day, Mark relates the casting of the merchants out of the Temple, which he had omitted on the first day. Mark then says that on the second day He went out of the city in the evening, and that as they passed by in the morning, the disciples saw that the fig tree was withered.³

Matthew, however, speaks as though all this happened on the following day. This must be understood to mean that when Matthew, after relating that the fig tree had dried up, immediately adds—omitting all the events of the second day—And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, he still meant that they were amazed on a different day. For the tree must be supposed to have withered at the moment it was cursed, not at the time they saw it. They did not see it in the process of withering, but only after it was already withered. From this, they understood that it had withered immediately upon the Lord's words.

Origen of Alexandria: Mystically, the Lord, leaving the Chief Priests and Scribes, withdrew outside the earthly Jerusalem, which therefore fell. He came to Bethany, "the house of obedience"—that is, to the Church. After He had rested there following the initial establishment of the Church, He returned to the city He had left a short while before, and upon returning, He was hungry.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: For if His hunger had been a human hunger for physical food, He would not have been hungry in the morning. The one who truly hungers in the morning is the one who hungers for the salvation of others.

St. Jerome: We understand the tree He saw by the wayside to be the synagogue. It was near the way because it had the Law, but it did not believe in the Way—that is, in Christ.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: And it is compared to a fig tree because the Apostles, being the first believers from Israel, will, like green figs, precede the rest in the glory and the time of their resurrection.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Also, because of the multitude of seeds under one skin, the fig is like an assembly of the faithful. But He finds nothing on it but leaves only—that is, pharisaical traditions, an outward show of the Law without the fruits of truth.

Origen of Alexandria: And because this plant was figuratively a living creature with a soul, He speaks to it as though it could hear: Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. Therefore, the Jewish synagogue is barren and will continue to be so until the end of the world, when the fullness of the Gentiles comes in. The fig tree withered while Christ was still living on this earth. The disciples, seeing the mystery of this withered faith with their spiritual discernment, were amazed. Having faith and not doubting, they bring this about, and so the synagogue withers when their life-giving power passes to the Gentiles. And by each person who is brought to the faith, that mountain, Satan, is lifted up and cast into the sea—that is, into the abyss.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Or, "into the sea" means into the world, where the waters are salty—that is, the people are wicked.

Rabanus Maurus: And he (Satan) avenges his exclusion from the elect by treating the reprobate more cruelly.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, this is to be said by each servant of God in his own life concerning the mountain of pride, to cast it from himself. Or, because the Gospel was preached by Jews, the Lord Himself, who is called the mountain, is cast by the Jews among the Gentiles as into a sea.⁴

Origen of Alexandria: For every person who is obedient to the word of God is Bethany, and Christ abides in them; but He leaves the wicked and the sinners. And when He has been with the righteous, He goes to other righteous people after them, accompanied by them, for it is not said that He left Bethany and went into the city. The Lord is always hungry among the righteous, desiring to eat the fruit of the Holy Spirit among them, which are love, joy, and peace. But this fig tree, which had only leaves without fruit, grew by the wayside.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: That is, near to the world; for if a person lives near to the world, they cannot preserve the fruit of righteousness within themselves.

Origen of Alexandria: But if the Lord comes seeking fruit through temptations, and a person is found having nothing of righteousness but only a profession of faith—which is leaves without fruit—they are soon withered, losing even their seeming faith. Every disciple makes this fig tree wither by revealing that it is void of Christ, as Peter said to Simon, Thy heart is not right in the sight of God (Acts 8:21).

For it is better that a deceitful fig tree, which is thought to be alive yet bears no fruit, should be withered by the word of Christ's disciples, than that it should steal away innocent hearts through deception. Also, in every unbeliever there is a mountain as great as their unbelief, which is removed by the words of Christ's disciples.

1. ap. Anselm
2. ord.
3. de Cons. Ev., ii, 68
4. Quaest. Ev., i, 29