01 February 2023 – The Sycamore Fig

Luke 19:1-10
19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus;
he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy

(BIR MAN). 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over
the crowd (OBSTRUCTION TO DESIRE). 4 So he ran ahead (THE EFFORT TO OBTAIN
THE DESIRE REQUIRES INITIATIVE AND ACTION) and climbed a sycamore-
fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

RAN AND CLIMBED – FORWARD AND UPWARD

5
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down
immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him
gladly.

GET HIGH TO BE SEEN – GET DOWN TO FOLLOW

7
All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

8
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my
possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times
the amount.”

9
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of
Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” WHEN JESUS MADE HIS
DIVINE VISITATION – GET READY

SYCAMORE-FIG FOR A REASON

DESCRIPTION

In its native habitat, the tree is usually found in RICH SOILS ALONG RIVERS AND IN MIXED
WOODLANDS.

Ficus sycomorus grows to 20 m tall and has a considerable spread, with a dense round crown of
spreading branches. The leaves are HEART-SHAPED with a round apex, 14 cm long by 10 cm wide,
and arranged spirally around the twig. They are dark green above and lighter with prominent yellow
veins below, and both surfaces are rough to the touch. The petiole is 0.5–3 cm long and pubescent.
The fruit is a large edible fig, 2–3 cm in diameter, ripening from buff-green to yellow or red. They are
borne in thick clusters on long branchlets or the leaf axil. FLOWERING AND FRUITING OCCURS
YEAR-ROUND, peaking from July to December. The bark is green-yellow to orange and exfoliates in
papery strips to reveal the yellow inner bark. Like all other figs, it contains a latex.

PERFECT SPOT

YOUR PLANTING IS FOR GOD’S PURPOSE