I am surprised that this strange story of Jesus cursing the fig tree ever got into our New Testament.  Among all of the stories about Jesus recorded in the Gospels, this one is just about the most embarrassing and difficult to explain. 

On the face of it, it goes like this: Jesus had just ridden into the Holy City in triumph, accompanied with crowds singing His praises and strewing palm branches before Him.  Those who remembered the old prophecy of Micah realized that in riding into town on a donkey, Jesus was proclaiming Himself Messiah.  And yet...for the rest of the day, not much happened.  Jesus and His students wandered through the streets of the Holy City rather aimlessly, acting for all the world like a bunch of tourists.  It may well be that what He was doing was sizing up the sit…