Repentant? Or Prideful?

TWENTIETH IN MY TEACHING SERIES ON THE PARABLES OF JESUS

The Parable Of The Barren Fig Tree

Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

Luke 13:6-9

Three Characters In The Parable

The three characters in this parable all have clear symbolic significance. The vineyard owner represents God, the one who expects to see fruit on His tree and who justly decides to destroy it when He finds none. The gardener, or vineyard keeper who cares for the trees, watering and fertilizing them to bring them to their peak of fruitfulness, represents Jesus, who feeds His people and gives them living water. The tree itself has two symbolic meanings: the nation of Israel and the individual.

Disappointed At The Fruitless Tree

As the story unfolds, we see the vineyard owner expressing his disappointment at the fruitless tree. He has looked for fruit for three years from this tree, but has found none. The three-year period is significant because for three years, Jesus had been preaching the message of repentance throughout Israel. But the fruits of repentance were not forthcoming. But the Jews were offended by the idea they needed to repent, and they rejected their Messiah because He demanded repentance from them. After all, they had the revelation of God, the prophets, the Scriptures, the covenants, and the adoption. They took literally the concept that they were “God’s chosen people”. They saw this as being exclusive, elite, untouchable. God saw it as the responsibility for the Israelites to produce and reproduce His unfailing love. The parable states that the fruitless tree will one day cut down.

One of my favorite quotes I used to hear during my career in college athletics: “Just because you’re standing on 3rd base doesn’t mean you hit a triple.” Point being, just because the Israelites were God’s chosen people, that responsibility was in no way because they had done something to deserve it. Only God’s sovereign will placed them there.

Through the generations, they had departed from the true faith and the true and living God and created a system of works-righteousness that was completely counter to what the scriptures had taught them. He, as the vineyard owner, was perfectly justified in tearing down the tree that had no fruit. The Lord’s ax was already poised over the root of the tree, and it was ready to fall.

A Little More Time?

However, we see the gardener (Jesus) pleading here for a little more time. As it turned out, Israel as a nation still did not believe, but many individuals certainly did. The compassionate gardener intercedes for more time to water and fertilize the fruitless tree, and the gracious Lord of the vineyard responds in patience.

Jesus is attempting to make it clear to the listener of the parable that the extra time is not permanent. God’s patience has a limit. In the parable, the vineyard owner grants another year of life to the tree. In the same way, God in His mercy grants us another day, another hour, another breath. Jesus stands at the door of each man’s heart knocking and seeking to gain entrance and requiring repentance from sin. But if there is no fruit, no repentance, God’s patience will come to an end, and the fruitless, unrepentant individual will be cut down.

Jesus wants us to understand that every human being lives on borrowed time. The end is near.

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