# Fig Tree Cursed

Life of Jesus · Draft · BSB

Content revision: 3da431cbed5f7bb1 · No editorial review date recorded

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Date: Final Passover through resurrection appearances. The crucifixion is commonly dated to AD 30 or 33. The closing stop extends through the forty-day appearance period in Acts; the whole group is not one eight-day interval.

Returning from Bethany toward Jerusalem, Jesus finds a fig tree without fruit and pronounces a judgment on it. Mark places the temple action between this scene and the disciples’ later observation of the withered tree.

Mark explicitly says it was not the season for figs, so the scene should not be reduced to an ordinary lesson in horticulture. Matthew presents the withering immediately; the timeline preserves Mark’s two-part arrangement for comparison.

## Primary Scripture

[Matthew 21:18–19 (BSB)](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2021%3A18%E2%80%9319&version=BSB)

21:18 In the morning, as Jesus was returning to the city, He was hungry.

21:19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. “May you never bear fruit again!” He said. And immediately the tree withered.

[Mark 11:11–14 (BSB)](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2011%3A11%E2%80%9314&version=BSB)

11:11 Then Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

11:12 The next day, when they had left Bethany, Jesus was hungry.

11:13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if there was any fruit on it. But when He reached it, He found nothing on it except leaves, since it was not the season for figs.

11:14 Then He said to the tree, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again.” And His disciples heard this statement.

## Related Scripture

[Jeremiah 8:13 · teaching](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%208%3A13&version=BSB)

Jeremiah’s image of missing figs and withering leaves offers a prophetic comparison.

## Location evidence

The tree stands along the journey between Bethany and Jerusalem. Its exact roadside position is unknown, so the endpoints are shown without an event pin or a surveyed path.

No event map marker is assigned. Do not infer an exact venue from related places.

Bethany: Identified site. Coordinates \[longitude, latitude\]: \[35.26212, 31.77167\]. Classification source: rule.

[Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire](http://sws.geonames.org/285111)

Jerusalem: Identified site. Coordinates \[longitude, latitude\]: \[35.23494, 31.77744\]. Classification source: rule.

[Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire](http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/15896)

## For the class

What does reading the tree scene around the temple action invite readers to consider?

## Interpretation and reuse

Narrative order is a reading arrangement, not a proven chronology. Dates retain their stated uncertainty. An identified locality does not establish the exact venue or prove an event. Region extents and routes are illustrative, not surveyed boundaries or ancient roads. Draft material has not completed editorial review.

Record source: theographic (446)

Record source: editorial

Events and places adapted from Theographic Bible Metadata (github.com/robertrouse/theographic-bible-metadata), CC BY-SA 4.0. This adapted data is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Place coordinates from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, CC BY 4.0.

Teaching stops, summaries and regional extents are original editorial content of this atlas.

Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain. https://berean.bible/licensing.htm

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