" Israel is often characterized as a fig tree in the Old Testament (Jer. 8:13; Hos. 9:10, 16; Joel 1:7), and Jesus’s cursing of the fig tree symbolizes the judgment of God upon a nation that has the outward appearance of life but fails to bear fruit. "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived