Q: Why did Christ cause the barren fig tree to wither?

Q: Why did Christ cause the barren fig tree to wither? 

A: Christ's admonishment of the barren fig tree and its immediate withering from the gospel reading of Great & Holy Monday, sets the tone for the entire week of our Lord's Passion. Interestingly, all of Jesus' other miracles were restorative and purposeful (i.e. granting sight to 
the blind, hearing to the deaf, healing the infirm, curing leprosy, and even raising the dead), yet this particular one was actually destructive in nature. Therefore this unique incident is shrouded in deep-set meaning and mystery – becoming an ominous precursor of our own judgment and demise if we should fail to produce the good fruits expected of us. 

In other words: the fig tree looked and acted as a fig tree, except it bore no fruit....meaning it did not fulfill its purpose in life. So therefore we, too, will wither if we look and act like Christians without bringing forth and bearing the fruits of Christian virtue! 

Fr. John