Sycamine Tree Part 1

We recently just spent several weeks in Sunday School on a very interesting, needful lesson.  I am going to share it with you...It will have several parts.  The "teacher" did not come up with this writing on her own.  It was written by Rick Renner.  She just "happened" to have a copy of it, and was asked to share it.  She expounded on it of course, but it was such an interesting lesson that I want to share.  There were things brought out in ways I never thought about before.  (My own thoughts, will be in italics.)

(DISCLAIMER:  I know nothing of Rick Renner or Rick Renner Ministries.  I am in no way promoting them, only using this writing of his that was very good.)

Part 1
 
Why Jesus Compared Unforgiveness To the Sycamine Tree (by Rick Renner)

If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.  Luke 17:6

(Sycamine tree was a very common tree in that day...Jesus used things people could relate to.)

In Luke 17:1-6, Jesus taught His desciples about bitterness and unforgiveness and about how to remove these evil forces from one's life.  As an illustration, Jesus likened these forces to the sycamine tree that was so well known in that part of the world.  The word "sycamine" comes from the Greek word sukaminos, and it is the Greek word that refers to a tree that grew throughout the Middle East.

(The sycamine tree and the sycamore tree are NOT the same tree.)

When you understand everything that is connected to the sycamine tree, you'll know exactly why Jesus chose to use this tree as an example of bitterness and unforgiveness in Luke 17:6.  In that verse, Jesus told His disciples, "...if ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you."  Notice that Jesus said, "...Ye might say unto THIS sycamine tree..."  The word "this" indicates that Jesus was pointing out something very specific to them. 

Keep in mind that Jesus was speaking of getting rid of bitterness and unforgiveness.  In Luke 17:3, He told the disciples that they needed to forgive those who sinned against them.  He then took it to the maximum in Luke 17:4 by saying that even if a brother does something wrong seven times in one day and is each time truly repentant, they were to keep on forgiving that offending brother. 

(that verse also says to "rebuke him"  don't go telling everyone else what he did...rebuke him, gently of course, :) and if he be repentant forgive him.  Sometimes I think bitterness starts...often times rather...b/c we are afraid or refrain from "rebuking" the other person.  They may or may not realize what they are doing is an offence to you and may need to be told.  So we refrain from rebuking and the devil lets it stew inside until before we know it we have become bitter.)

(I have always heard Luke 17:6...but it has always been referred to as "whatever you wanted done",  but Jesus was clearly talking about unforgiveness/offences/bitterness...the sycamine tree is a symbol of unforgiveness.)

Forgiving once is already a challenge for most people.  But to forgive someone seven times in one day almost sounds impossible to many folks.  It must have sounded preposterous to the disciples as well, for they said, "...Lord, Increase our faith" (Luke 17:5).  This statement was the equivalent of their saying, "Lord, we don't know if we have enough faith to forgive so many times in one day.  You'll have to increase our faith if we're going to do this seven times in one day!"

That is when Jesus began to teach His disciples about speaking to bitterness and unforgiveness.  He said, "...If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, (and a mustard seed is extremely tiny, so he is saying you don't need a great amount of faith to forgive...) ye might say unto this sycamine tree..."  When Jesus used the word "this", it was the equivalent of Jesus' telling them, "Bitterness and unforgiveness are just like the sycamine tree - and if you really want to be free of these attitudes, you can speak to this menacing growth in your life and command it to be planted in the sea!"

Before we can understand what Jesus taught about getting rid of bitterness and unforgiveness, we first need to see why He used the sycamine tree to illustrate these destructive forces.  Was there a particular reason why He didn't use the oak tree, an apple tree, or a palm tree in this illustration?  Why did He use the sycamine tree to symbolize the detrimental effects of bitterness and unforgiveness in a person's life?

As you look at the characteristics of the sycamine tree over the next few weeks, I believe you will comprehend why Jesus used this particular tree in this context.

Think about these things and next week I will do Part II.

 

A lesson I am currently learning while I am,