Imperishable Inheritance

I was reading in Mark the other night, and I found this neat passage full of symbolism and meaning in the 11th chapter. It is the account of the barren fig tree which Jesus cursed.

Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late. On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" And His disciples were listening.
Mark 11:11-14

This even happened right after His triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the donkey (Mark 11:1-10). The barren tree symbolizes the lack of metaphorical fruit on display by national Israel. This meaning behind this story is foretold in Jeremiah 8.

"I will surely snatch them away," declares the LORD; "There will be no grapes on the vine And no figs on the fig tree, And the leaf will wither; And what I have given them will pass away."
Jeremiah 8:13

I found this an incredibly rich account of the dismay of Jesus when He came to fulfill prophecies of the coming Messiah only to be rejected by those who He was promised to (Rom 15:8). There is also a rich embodiment of the distress told by God, because Israel had abused her rights and profaned the name of God amongst the nations.

"When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, 'These are the people of the LORD; yet they have come out of His land.' "But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went. "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. "I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD," declares the Lord GOD, "when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight."
Ezekiel 36:20-23

This was Jesus passing judgment on the nation of Israel. This idea was also extrapolated on by Mark by the story of Jesus entering the temple and seeing the defilement (Mark 11:15-18). Because of her rejection of Himself, national Israel was now, as Peter proclaimed cursed (kataraomai which means "doom"), and cut off from the divine plan of God (Rom 11:19). The only way to be reconciled was to have faith, and that is exactly what Jesus proclaims as He explains the curse to Peter and the disciples when He says, ""Have faith in God" (Mark 11:22). He then goes on in a discourse of what it means to have faith.

I found this incredibly rich, and I can see in my mind Jesus walking away from the withered fig tree as what happened from the curse. Jesus walked away from national Israel to those who wanted Him. It symbolizes the nature of the New Covenant (Luk 22:20; Jer 31:31-34) and the relation of Jesus to the "Mosaic version" of Israel.