Mark alone mentions that the tree did not bear anything more than leaves “because it was not the season for figs,” and it makes Jesus’ action seem even more outlandish. Why curse a fig tree for not bearing figs out of season? Jesus surely knows it is not fig season. This detail is a clue for the reader to look beyond the surface meaning and to see its symbolic meaning.19 This action is not about a particular unfruitful fig tree; it has to do with the temple. The word “season” (kairos) is not the
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