葉子的謊言：當耶穌找不到果子時 The Lie of the Leaves：When Jesus Finds No Fruit

文／Cathy Chen 

【經文】

「第二天，他們從伯大尼出來，耶穌餓了。他遠遠地看見一棵無花果樹，樹上有葉子，就往那裡去，或者在樹上可以找著什麼。他到了樹下，竟找不到甚麼，只有葉子，因為不是無花果的季節。耶穌就對樹說：從今以後，永沒有人吃你的果子。」（馬可福音 11:12-14）

坦白說，剛信主時讀到這段經文，我心裡其實充滿了懷疑，甚至偷偷懷疑著：「主耶穌是不是和我一樣，肚子餓的時候血糖低，脾氣就比較大？怎麼會因為沒東西吃，就對著一棵無花果樹放狠話呢？」

尤其馬可福音還補了一句：「因為那不是收無花果的時候。」我心想，既然不是產季，找不到果子不是很正常嗎？把樹咒詛到枯乾，未免也太嚴厲了吧？

直到後來，當我真正弄懂了那棵樹的生長法則，我才驚出一身冷汗。我竟然用自己狹隘的格局去衡量耶穌，實在太幼稚了。原來，令耶穌憤怒的，並不是這棵樹「沒有果子」，而是它「正在騙人」。

葉子的謊言

在巴勒斯坦的無花果樹，收成季節在陽曆六～九月間，春天若一棵無花果樹已經長出茂盛葉子，通常會讓人期待樹上至少有早期小果，或有果子的跡象。耶穌經過時是三、四月，不是收無花果的時候，但長滿了葉子。

耶穌走近那棵樹，是因為它「遠遠看著有葉子」，彷彿向路人高調地展現：「來吧，我果子。」但當耶穌走近翻看，卻發現那是場騙局，因為它只有茂盛的儀式感（葉子），卻沒有生命的實質（果子）。

馬可福音在這裡用了一種高明的「三明治敘事法」（Intercalation），將「潔淨聖殿」夾在這棵樹的故事中間，用這樹象徵了當時宗教體制的偽裝。 

• 第一層： 耶穌咒詛一個長滿葉子的無花果樹。（可11：12-14）

• 中間內餡： 耶穌潔淨外表熱鬧、內裡卻像賊窩的聖殿。（可11：15-19）

• 第三層： 被咒詛的樹，連根枯乾了。（可11：20-22）

聖殿就像那棵樹，外表宏偉（葉子茂盛），裡面卻充滿了貪婪與虛偽（沒有果子）。但最讓我戰兢的是：這棵樹，不也是一個人屬靈生命的寫照嗎？

自己身上的葉子

這段經文像一面鏡子，照得我無地自容。

身為基督徒，我覺得一不小心，自己也可能變成那棵樹，「葉子」長得非常茂盛。 記得曾有一段時間，我每週忙著參加聚會、關懷探訪、陪人禱告、練敬拜，嘴裡說著屬靈術語，外表看起來是一棵充滿生命力、熱心服事的樹。或許有些人大概也覺得這棵樹「算屬靈」。

但那是一段靈裡黑暗的日子。神光照我，若在深夜裡，祂撥開這些層層疊疊的「葉子」，走進我的內心尋找時，祂真找得到「果子」嗎？

聖靈的果子有九種味道：仁愛、喜樂、和平、忍耐、恩慈、良善、溫柔、信實、節制（加拉太書5：22-23）。主在我的身上，嘗得到哪一種滋味？

• 祂找得到我對家人的忍耐嗎？還是只看到我對外人客氣，對家人卻暴躁？

• 祂找得到我對不可愛之人的憐憫嗎？

• 祂找得到我對購物或社群媒體使用的節制嗎？

我還驚恐地發現，我是否正在用佯裝的熱心，來掩飾內心的枯乾？主走近我時，會不會只看見我的忙碌、我的焦慮、我對虛榮的渴望，以及那顆其實已經沒有愛的石心？

耶穌咒詛那棵樹，是因為祂厭惡「假裝」。 祂寧可我誠實地承認自己枯乾，也不要我用茂盛的活動來偽裝豐盛。因為「假冒偽善」比「軟弱」更令神心痛，因為它阻斷了我們真實悔改的路，既欺騙了自己，也欺騙了別人。

承認枯乾，才能迎來新生

耶穌對無花果樹的審判，看似嚴厲，但我如今認為，這是祂極大的恩慈。

如果耶穌沒有指出那棵樹的真相，讓我們知道祂看穿一切，我們就會一直活在「我很不錯」的幻覺裡，繼續用茂盛的葉子誤導別人，也哄騙自己。主讓虛假的葉子枯乾，是為了讓我們不再被「表現」所蒙騙。清醒了，才能回到生命的源頭。

求主光照我們，不要害怕被祂看見我們裡頭的荒誕與貧瘠。因為只有勇敢承認自己結不出果子，我們才會死心塌地連於那真正的葡萄樹 — 耶穌基督。

我們不需要展現茂盛來突顯自己，更不需要努力「裝」出果子來證明自己，我們需要的是「住」在祂裡面。因為離了祂，那些葉子再漂亮，也不過是無用的裝飾。

禱告

親愛的天父，讀這段經文時，我心裡是戰兢的。 當我把力氣花在經營外表的「葉子」，發出誤導人的錯誤信息，卻忽略了在隱密處與祢相連，求祢赦免我，引導我回頭。

我不願意成為一棵欺騙的樹。求祢光照我生命中任何假冒為善的地方，修剪我、拆毀我虛假的裝飾。我承認我怕修剪，但我更怕失去祢真實的同在。

求祢幫助我，不再用忙碌來掩飾內心的荒涼。讓我真實地連於祢，單單由祢得著養份，好叫我的生命，不是「看起來活著」，而是「真正活著」。 奉主耶穌基督的名禱告，阿們。

於1/25/2026

The Lie of the Leaves: When Jesus Finds No Fruit 

By Cathy Chen

Scripture "The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, 'May no one ever eat fruit from you again.'" (Mark 11:12–14)

Honestly, when I first became a believer and read this passage, my heart was filled with doubt. I even secretly muttered to myself: "Did Jesus have low blood sugar when He was hungry, just like me? Was His temper short? How could He speak such harsh words to a fig tree just because He couldn't find anything to eat?"

Especially since Mark adds the phrase: "Because it was not the season for figs." I thought, "Since it wasn’t the season, isn't it normal not to find fruit? Cursing the tree until it withered seems a bit too severe, doesn't it?"

It wasn't until later, when I truly understood the growth laws of that tree, that I broke out in a cold sweat. I had been measuring Jesus with my own narrow perspective—how childish of me. It turns out that what made Jesus angry was never about the tree "having no fruit"; it was about the tree "lying."

The Lie of the Leaves

For fig trees in Palestine, the harvest season is typically between June and September. Once the leaves are full, the figs appear. When Jesus passed by, it was March or April—not the season for figs—yet this tree was covered in leaves. When Jesus passed by, it was likely March or April—not the main harvest season for figs—yet this tree was already covered in leaves. In that region, a leafy fig tree in spring could reasonably suggest that some early fruit, or at least signs of fruit, might already be there.  Jesus approached the tree because it "had leaves seen from a distance." It was high-handedly announcing to passersby: "Come, I have fruit." But when Jesus got close to inspect it, He found it was a scam. It had the lush appearance of ritual (the leaves) but lacked the substance of life (the fruit).

Mark uses a brilliant literary technique here called the "Markan Sandwich" (Intercalation), sandwiching the "Cleansing of the Temple" right in the middle of this tree's story. He uses the tree to symbolize the disguise of the religious system at that time.

• Top Layer: Jesus curses the tree that has only leaves.

• The Filling: Jesus cleanses the Temple, which looked busy on the outside but was a "den of robbers" on the inside.

• Bottom Layer: The tree withers from the roots up.

The Temple was just like that tree: magnificent on the outside (lush leaves), but filled with greed and falsehood on the inside (no fruit). But what makes me tremble most is this: Is this tree also a portrait of my own spiritual life?

The Leaves on My Own Branches

This passage acts like a mirror that leaves me with nowhere to hide.

As a Christian, I sometimes feel like I am exactly like that tree—my "leaves" are very lush. I remember a season where I was busy every week attending gatherings, doing visitation, praying for people, and practicing worship. My mouth was full of spiritual jargon, and on the outside, I looked like a tree full of vitality and zealous service. Perhaps some people even thought, "That tree is quite spiritual."

But those were days of spiritual darkness. God shone His light on me: If, in the middle of the night, He peeled back these layers of "leaves" and walked into my heart to search, would He really find any "fruit"?

The fruit of the Spirit has nine flavors: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Which one could the Lord taste in me?

• Can He find patience toward my family? Or does He only see me being polite to strangers but short-tempered with my loved ones?

• Can He find mercy for unlovable people?

• Can He find self-control in my shopping habits or social media use?

I was horrified to discover: Was I using feigned enthusiasm to mask the dryness inside? When the Lord draws near to me, does He see only my busyness, my anxiety, my craving for vanity, and a heart of stone that actually possesses no love?

Jesus cursed that tree because He detests "pretending." He would rather I honestly admit that I am dry than for me to disguise my abundance with flourishing religious activities. "Hypocrisy" breaks God's heart more than "weakness" does, because it blocks the path to true repentance—it deceives not only others but also ourselves.

Admitting Dryness to Welcome New Life

Jesus’ judgment on the fig tree seems severe, but I now see it as His great mercy.
If Jesus hadn't pointed out the truth of that tree—letting us know He sees through everything—we would continue living in the illusion of "I'm doing pretty well," continuing to mislead others and fool ourselves with our lush leaves. The Lord allows false leaves to wither so that we are no longer deceived by "performance." Only when we wake up can we return to the Source of life.
May the Lord shine His light on us. Let us not be afraid of Him seeing the absurdity and barrenness within us. For only when we bravely admit that we cannot produce fruit will we wholeheartedly graft ourselves onto the true Vine—Jesus Christ.

We don't need to try hard to "fake" fruit; we need to "abide" in Him. Because apart from Him, those leaves, no matter how beautiful, are nothing but useless decorations.

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father,

Reading this scripture makes my heart tremble. Forgive me for the times I spent my energy cultivating the "leaves" on the outside, sending out misleading signals, while neglecting to connect with You in the secret place. Please guide me back.

I do not want to be a tree that deceives. Lord, shine Your light on any hypocrisy in my life. Prune me; tear down my false decorations. I admit that I am afraid of the pruning, but I am even more afraid of losing Your true presence.

Help me to no longer use busyness to cover up the desolation in my heart. Let me truly connect with You and draw nourishment solely from You, so that my life is not just "looking alive," but "truly living."

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.