Sometimes Jesus’ actions seem pointless but actually have a spiritual meaning behind them. Over and over, Jesus speaks against the empty religious outlook of the people, that their religion does not serve any purpose, and the Pharisees are upset hear Him talking like this.
Jesus and the fig tree: The Old Testament speaks of Israel when likening it to a fig tree. Jesus may be using the fig tree as a picture of Israel, that He came down hoping to find the fruit of faith and godliness among the Jews, but did not find any. You may remember His amazement at the Gentile Centurion soldier who had more faith than any Jew that He had come across. The Jews were clueless as to Jesus’ identity, even though He was fulfilling the OT Scriptures again and again before their eyes. Jesus cursing the fig tree was a picture of what was about to happen, that unbelieving Israel will receive judgment soon (in AD 70) for their lack of faith.
