Dang, accidentally found another contradiction in the New Testament.... regarding an event that probably never took place.
Here we go...
In Matthew 24 we see Jesus saying these words....
"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near," Matt 24:32
And, those that know farming practices know that figs come in early summer and Fall if cultivated correctly.
In Israel, it can produce two harvests in a growing season. A crop of figs can come in late June, and then another crop comes along in early September. That first crop is produced on the branch grown the previous season
https://www.kkl-jnf.org/tourism-and-recreation/touring-holy-land/trees/fig.aspx
So, here is the contradiction which would seem to point out that the event never took place... so here it goes
Now I just quoted Matthew 24:32 and by that verse it seems clear Jesus knows a little bit about farming practices.
Now keep in mind that the Passover is held sometime between late March to early April, depending on the first Full Moon after the Spring equinox. Well, for that year of 0033, Passover was on Thursday April 1st.
Now that quote is from Matthew 24, but if we look in chapter 21 just hours earlier of him saying what he did in Matt 24:32... we find something very odd.
This takes place on Monday, the day after Palm Sunday... keep in mind to what i just said, Thursday is Passover. So, according to the Gregorian Calendar, this Monday was March 29, 0033.
So here is Matthew 21:18-22...
Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again." Immediately the tree withered.
When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.
Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
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So, if Jesus knew when the leaves sprout out and then the figs come, as claimed in Matt 24.... then why would he even bother looking for figs in March? Thus, this event never took place.
For real figs dont come until Summer and Fall.
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Now what is interesting is what Mark says. Keep in mind that many Textual Critic scholars deem Mark as the first gospel of the three synoptic Gospels. In other words it is the source gospel for Matthew and Luke. For Matthew copies Mark verbatim word for word in a vast amount. And, whatever Mark has Matthew also has. However, Mark only has 16 chapters, whereas Matthew has a long 28 chapters in comparison. So, Matthew greatly adds to Mark's account.
Now keep in mind what i just wrote about the contradiction in Matthew.
On top of this i want to point out a detail... when Jesus curses the fig in Matthew, on that Monday, it says it withered "immediately."
Now when we read Mark... Palm Sunday happens, then Jesus leaves Jerusalem. On Monday, Jesus and his disciples return to Jerusalem and when they are going he sees a fig tree and curses it for not having fruit. Unlike Matthew, where Jesus flips the tables on Palm Sunday, in Mark he does so on Monday. Likewise, in Matthew the fig tree withers immediately, so much so that the disciples say something about it.
Not so in Mark. While the tree gets cursed on Monday, the disciples don't say anything about it till Tuesday when Jesus goes back to Jerusalem for the third time.
What is interesting is this... "Mark" tries to fix the story by adding some remarks in the narrative by saying.... "because it was not the season for figs."
Which i find funny! Because why look if it is not the season for figs? And, why curse the tree when it is not justified to do so?
Because of things like this, this gives just cause for why Textual Critic scholars lean towards the theory of a "Q" source manuscript and so Mark is not the original source to Matthew, nor to Luke.
So here is Mark, chapter 11
Mark 11:12-26
The next day (Monday) 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.” And his disciples heard him say it.
On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables.....
....When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.
... In the morning (Tuesday), as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
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Mark shouldn't put the little comment in there. Because if people don't know farming... they wouldn't see the contradiction.
Not until they read Mark 13:28-29, where Jesus seems to know a little bit about farming...
“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near..."
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So we see several contradictions when studying this topic
1. Jesus seems to know when figs come, yet then looks for figs a few days before Passover, in late March that year, when figs don't even exist on trees during that time of year.
2. When did the disciples notice the withering? Was it Monday according to Matthew or Tuesday according to Mark?
3. Though I didn't mention this fully... but the flipping of the tables occur on Palm Sunday in Matthew, but on Monday according to Mark.
Again, it seems like the smallest of all gospels, Mark, is copying from some source (like source "Q") and "possibly" that this "source" doesn't mention times regarding the tree being cursed, nor the time frame of the year... rather it might just be crude notes and these authors who don't know farming, added it in the wrong spot in their personal narrative, but that is uneducated or unverifiable speculation, except for the source part. That might be more of a "likelihood."
Now if we go to Luke's version on the "end time" conversation that Jesus had with his disciples in Luke 21.... he adds to the narrative something that neither Mark, nor Matthew has. Instead of focusing on just a fig tree.... he mentions all trees....
Luke 21:29-31
He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near."
Just had to point that out.
Now in Luke 19, we don't get a since of what day Jesus enters Jerusalem, especially when the lead up he is here and there. However, the same day he enters Jerusalem he drives out those who were selling.
Interestingly enough though, in Luke's narrative.... Jesus never curses a fig tree, so either Luke omits that story or was not aware of it. Likewise, in Luke, Jesus never flips tables over in his narrative.
We only read...
Luke 21:45-46
When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer;' but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.'"
So, you can't have a guy that is seemingly to be knowledgeable about when figs mature then suddenly look for figs to eat from the tree when they don't exist yet. Thus, the story probably never happened, and as mentioned, it is interesting that Luke omits that story altogether!!!!
Maregaal
12/27/2021
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