September 2, 2026 | The Withered Fig Tree & The Paralytic | Lesson 353

MATT. 21:18-22; MARK 11:12-26; MATT. 9:2-8; MARK 2:1-12; LUKE 5:17-26

Full lesson HERE

THE WITHERED FIG TREE: Fig trees are cultivated all over the land of Palestine and especially in the mountain areas. The trees grow generally 10 to 15 feet high, and their thick foliage provides dense shade in the summer. In warm climates such as Israel, the fig tree produces two crops each year, an early one which is ripe about June, and a later, more important one which is ripe about August.

By December the leaves of the fig tree have shed and the trees are bare until the end of March when the leaf buds begin to appear. At the same time, tiny figs begin to grow. When they reach the size of a cherry, most of them fall to the ground. These "unripe" and "immature figs" are called taksh and may be and are eaten as they fall. Some of these immature figs remain on the tree, ripen to perfection about June, and are then known as "early figs" or "first-ripe" (Isa. 28:4; Jer. 24:2; Hos. 9:10). The first-ripe figs are greatly desired for their delicate flavor (Mic. 7:1).

This story took place during the Passover season which corresponds to our March/April. Every fig tree that produced fruit would have some taksh or immature figs upon it by then. The fig tree in the story already had its leaves—a sure sign the tree had immature figs since the taksh develops ahead of the leaves.

This was the final week Jesus was on earth. On the first day of the week, Jesus had ridden to Jerusalem on a donkey in a triumphal procession. Many of the people came from the city to meet him, while others from the countryside followed, shouting their praises and declaring him as their king. The next day when He journeyed again to the city, He hungered (Matt. 21:18; Mark 11:12). Seeing a fig tree, He came to it but found no fruit, only leaves.

THE PARALYTIC: Jesus was back in Capernaum for this miracle. He was in "the house" (Mark 2:1), and soon a crowd gathered, so large that there was not any room at the door.

The houses at that time in Palestine consisted of one or two stories and were generally square or rectangular. The smaller houses of the poor might have one or two rooms, and the people and animals shared the space. In the larger houses, a door opened from the street into an area called a porch, and the porch then opened into a courtyard. Surrounding the court was a covered walkway or gallery with doors opening into the other rooms. A stairway led from the courtyard or porch to the roof.

Roofs were generally flat and were used for storage, drying flax, solitude and prayer, and for a sitting area in the evening to enjoy cool breezes. Sometimes the guest chamber was on the roof, and often an outside stairway allowed the guest to come and go without disturbing the family.

Upon this occasion, a man sick of palsy (paralysis) was carried on his bed by four men to Jesus (Mark 2:3). They were unable to enter the house due to the crowd. Therefore, they carried the paralyzed man to the roof, uncovered the roof, and let the man's bed down into the presence of Jesus. Uncovering the roof was not a problem as the roofs were made from light beams laid across the walls with the spaces between the beams filled with closely packed branches, rushes, reeds, and earth. These spaces between the beams could readily be uncovered, cause little damage, and easily be repaired.