“Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith” (Mark 11:23).

On the Third Day of Redemption Week, the sight of the withered fig tree led to an instructive lesson on faith in God, the Lord Jesus assuring the disciples that real faith could even move mountains into the sea. In parallel, on the Third Day of Creation Week, He had literally called the mountains up out of the sea (Genesis 1:9,10)!

It was also on this day that the Lord rebuked the Jewish leaders with two parables about a vineyard (Matthew 21:28–43). They had been placed in charge of God’s vineyard on the earth, and had failed. Like the fig tree, there was no fruit for God from their service, and they must be removed.

Likewise, on Day Three of Creation, the entire earth had supported an abundance of fruit to nourish every living creature (Genesis 1:11,12). It had been placed in man’s care (1:28–30; 2:15), but he had failed. Before the earth can become a beautiful garden again (Revelation 22:2), it must be purged, and the faithless keepers of the vineyard banished.

This Third Day of Passion Week was climaxed with His great discourse on the Mount of Olives, in which the Lord promised He would come again some day in power and great glory (Matthew 24). He then spent the night with His disciples there on the mountain, no doubt remembering the first mountains. Also, the little Garden of Gethsemane-on its slopes-would bring to mind the beautiful Garden of Eden and the verdant world He had planted everywhere that same day. Now, because of what He was about to do in Jerusalem, the ground would some day be cleansed of its Curse and the world made new again. HMM