In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he felt hungry.
In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, He felt hunger, showing His human nature by which He identifies with people. Yet this outward hunger also has a deep spiritual meaning: it symbolizes God’s longing to see the fruits of faith and righteousness in His people. Jesus’ hunger, which follows immediately after the cleansing of the Temple, prepares the next episode—the account of the fruitless fig tree—where He shows that a formal faith that is green in outward appearance but in reality has no fruit is condemned to withering. Thus, His hunger is a prophetic sign: a demand for spiritual fruitfulness from people who are called to live in God’s presence.