But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
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Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
De Con. Evan, ii, 68: The meaning is not that it dried up at the time, when they saw it, but immediately after the word of the Lord; for they saw it, not beginning to dry up, but completely dried up; and they thus understood that it had withered immediately after our Lord spoke.
Further, the fig tree was dried up from the roots to show that the nation was impious not only for a time and in part, and was to be smitten forever, not merely to be afflicted by the attacks of nations from without and then to be freed, as had often been done; or else it was dried up from the roots, to show that is was stripped not only of the external favour of man, but altogether of the favour of heaven within it; forit lost both its life in heaven, and its country on earth.
The Gentiles, who have attacked the Church, are in the habit of objecting to us, that we have never had full faith in God, for we have never been able to change mountains. It could, however, be done, if necessity called for it, as once we read that it was done by the prayers of the blessed Father Gregory of Neocaesarea, Bishop of Pontus, by which a mountain left as much space of ground for the inhabitants of a cityas they wanted.
Or else, because the devil is often on account of his pride called by the name of a...
Now the fig tree withered from the roots is the synagogue withered from Cain, and the rest, from whom allthe blood from Abel up to Zechariah is required.
Peter perceives the dry root, which is cut off, and has been replaced by the beautiful and fruitful olive, called by the Lord. Wherefore it goes on: “And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto Him, Master, behold, the fig tree which Thou cursedst is withered away.”.
Christ then who is the mountain, which grew from the stone, cut out without hands, is taken up and cast into the sea, when the Apostles with justice say, Let us turn ourselves toother nations, since ye judged yourselves unworthy of hearing the word of God.
Mark has, as he is wont,expressed seven verses of the Lord’s prayer in one prayer. But what can he, whose sins are all forgiven, require more, save that he may persevere in what has been granted unto him.
The wonder of the disciples wasthe consequence of imperfect faith, for this was no great thing for God to do; since then they did not clearly know His power, their ignorance made them breakout into wonder.
Or else, as He did not dry up the fig tree for its own sake, but for a sign that Jerusalem should come to destruction, in order to show His power, in the same way we must also understand the promise concerning the mountain, though a removal of this sortis not impossible with God.
The greatness of the miracle appears in the drying up so juicy and green a tree. But though Matthew says that the fig tree was at once dried up, and that the disciples on seeing it wondered, there is no reason for perplexity, though Mark now says, that the disciples saw the fig tree dried up on the morrow; for what Matthew says must be understood to mean that they did not see it at once, but on the next day.
Consider the Divine mercy, how it confers on us, if we approach Him in faith, the power of miracles, which He Himself possesses by nature, so that we should be able even to change mountains.
