An ecological,creation-theology critical re-reading of Mark’s Fig Tree Miracle

Abstract

This article re-examines the story of the cursing of a fig tree by Jesus, who, seeking to find fruit on it to satisfy his hunger and finding none, was apparently disappointed, and thereupon cursed it. The tree was said to have withered forthwith. A critical reader gets perplexed when the Marcan version, unlike Matthew’s (Matt.21: 18-20), clearly excuses the fig tree, “...for it was not time for figs.” The zenith of the complications is reached in the anti-thetical classification of the incident as belonging to the miracle story Gattung. Was the Marcan Jesus on a self-indulgent ego trip? Was he on a power-demonstration tour? Or was the evangelist communicating another message in coded language? A study of the text from the narrative analysis and criticism points of view, and through the prism of ecological hermeneutics seeks to provide answers to the above questions, advocating a re-think on the environmental issues of deforestation in our climes.