And in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw that the fig tree had dried up from the root.
The fig tree’s withering from the root shows the completeness of judgment. It had dried up not only in its outward branches, but from the root, that is, life had departed from it. This is a dreadful picture of the end of fruitless religiosity. What has only leaves and no fruit finally loses even its outward vitality. The fig tree’s withering also foreshadowed the judgment that was to come upon that generation which rejected the Messiah and continued in a religious form without the fruit of faith. Yet this word also applies to every person: if the heart remains unfruitful before Christ for a long time, then outward piety cannot save him from judgment.