Lovers of God

The parable of the continually fruitless fig tree

Lk 13:1-9 1 Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? 3 "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 "Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? 5 "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." 6 And He began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. 7 And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; 9 and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”

The man in this parable is God. The vineyard keeper is the Holy Spirit. You are the fig tree.

When calamity befalls people, we tend to think that it must have been God’s judgment upon them because they did something horrible. That’s what the people in this passage felt, and Jesus wanted them to stop thinking like that.

To help them understand His point, Jesus commented on the event they brought up, and on another terrible event that happened (where eighteen people were killed because a tower fell on them).

Jesus’ point was that it is not for us to judge why something happened to others. We need to make sure that we are in a state of continuous repentance so that we don’t perish and end up in hell.

Then Jesus told them the parable of the fig tree that didn’t bear fruit for three years. His point is that God expects you to bear fruit (i.e. exhibit His nature) within a reasonable amount of time after you are born again. His Holy Spirit will do everything He can to help you do that. However, His patience is not limitless – if you don’t bear fruit year after year, you will be cut down / spat out (Rev 3:14-15); that is, you will perish.

Every sin you and I see ourselves practicing needs to be repented of. That is, we must decide to stop doing that sin, and when we are tempted to do it, we must resist that temptation.