Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it . . . Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”  Mark 12-14, 20-21 NKJV

In the above text, fig leaves speak of falsehood and lies. For example, in Genesis chapter 3, God forbade the man from eating the fruit of from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But when Eve “saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves” (Gen. 3:6-7). The realization of nakedness was hurt feelings, guilt, shame, and humility, etc.

Some people try to cover up their hurt and shame, their emptiness, and evil in their hearts with beautiful clothes, expensive jewels, valuable possessions, or even doing good works.  They may fool the undiscerning, but they will never fool God. God doesn’t see us for what we seem to be, He sees us just as we are (1 Sam. 16:7).

Like Jesus, we must curse the “fig leaves” of appearances of fruit having none. The barren fig tree represents hypocrisy, falsehood, and a lie.  And, we must show anger to that which is no more than dead form without substance (2 Tim. 3:5). But make no mistake; the fig tree was not cursed because it was barren, but                    because it was false.

Covering-up your unmet needs, unhealed hurts, and unfulfilled desires with the “fig leaves” of lies will never truly  satisfy (Matt. 5:6). It will only cause you to pretend and continue to lust. In fact, lust is the direct result of a sense of being unfulfilled in some way (Jas. 1:14-15). Satan uses the unfulfilled desires of your sinful human nature to ensnare you (1 John 2:16). God looks only at your heart. He desires His people to walk in truth, honesty, and a true reality—barren or fruitful. When you give the appearance something by “fig leaves” that is not true, you are living a lie (Lev. 19:11).