Why did Jesus get angry at a tree?

[Carolyn_Lee]

Jesus could not eat fruit from a tree because if was not the right season. Why did he get mad at the tree, which then withered?

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, he went over to see if he could find anything on it. When he reached it he found nothing but leaves; it was not the time for figs. And he said to it in reply, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again!” And his disciples heard it…
…Early in the morning, as they were walking along, they saw the fig tree withered to its roots. Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”
- Mark 11:13-14, 20-21

Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went over to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again.” And immediately the fig tree withered.
- Matthew 21:19

Why would Jesus curse something?
The “curse” is not a curse in the modern sense. The word used here is in the sense of judgment as it is in Matthew 25:41.

Why did Jesus pronounce a judgment upon this fig tree?
There are some details in these passages that are important. Both passages state that there were leaves on the tree, this is important because if a fig tree has leaves then it should have fruit. Even if the fruit is not yet fully matured the appearance of leaves should mean that its fruit is present. Therefore when the leaves were noticed it would have been expected that the tree would have had figs. So Jesus condemns the fig tree for showing the outward signs of bearing fruit but not doing so in actuality.

Why bother to judge it for being fruitless?
It was a symbolic/prophetic act. Old Testament prophets performed many symbolic actions as prophetic judgment (e.g. Ezekiel 12:1-20; 1 Samuel 11:7; Jeremiah 27–28; Hosea 1; 3:1–5).

What was the prophetic judgment of Jesus?
The fig tree had all the appearance of being fruitful but was not. Jesus used this as a symbol of the state of Judaism at the time. Judaism at the time had the temple and external religious life (leaves) but did not have true holiness (fruitfulness). It is no mere coincidence that this prophetic act takes place around the time of the cleansing of the temple (in Matthew immediately after, in Mark the two parts of the fig tree incident bookends the cleansing of the temple). This prophetic judgment would come to be understood as being a warning of the destruction of the temple and the former ways. However, it also stands as a stark warning to us to be careful not to permit the “window dressing” of religion to be a substitute for truly living our faith…