12 And on the morrow, they having come forth from Bethany, he hungered, 13 and having seen a fig-tree afar off having leaves, he came, if perhaps he shall find anything in it, and having come to it, he found nothing except leaves, for it was not a time of figs, 14 and Jesus answering said to it, 'No more from thee—to the age—may any eat fruit;' and his disciples were hearing.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Mark 11:12-14
Commentary on Mark 11:12-18
(Read Mark 11:12-18)
Christ looked to find some fruit, for the time of gathering figs, though it was near, was not yet come; but he found none. He made this fig-tree an example, not to the trees, but to the men of that generation. It was a figure of the doom upon the Jewish church, to which he came seeking fruit, but found none. Christ went to the temple, and began to reform the abuses in its courts, to show that when the Redeemer came to Zion, it was to turn away ungodliness from Jacob. The scribes and the chief priests sought, not how they might make their peace with him, but how they might destroy him. A desperate attempt, which they could not but fear was fighting against God.