The Barren Fig Tree - Luke 13:6-10

It’s been a while since I’ve written and honestly, I don’t feel bad about it, I’ve let the whole guilt thing go about this blog. I love to do it, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out and I’m happy to be back. When we left off, some Jews were telling Jesus about a few Galileans who had been massacred by the Roman, indicating that it was because they were wicked. From Jesus’ response we learn that bad things happen to everyone and that the it is important to always been repenting and changing for the better so that we can be assured of good things in the next life. Jesus continues this lesson with a parable about a certain land owner had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. One of the articles that I read said that fig trees weren’t usually planted in a vineyard because their root systems are so extensive that you wouldn’t be able to plant very many of them and it would take up the space for the grape vines. This might be an explanation when considering this parable in the context of the gentiles, but that is for a later interpretation.

When the land owner came to get fruit from the fig tree, there was none and he was not pleased, he said, “Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none.” An article from gotquestions.org says, “The three-year period is significant because for three years John the Baptist and Jesus had been preaching the message of repentance throughout Israel. But the fruits of repentance were not forthcoming. John the Baptist warned the people about the Messiah coming and told them to bring forth fruits fit for repentance because the ax was already laid at the root of the tree. But the Jews were offended b 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 had it all, but they were already apostate.”  It’s like he’s expressing dismay about the lack of acceptance he’s received from his own people, the ones who had the truth.

The land owner tells his servant to “cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?” He tells his servant to get rid of it, it’s taking up space that could be used for a productive plant. Another article I read commented that the tree wasn’t dead, it was fully capable of producing fruit, it just wasn’t doing it. If the tree was incapable of actually growing fruit because it was dead, then there would have been no point in keeping it around longer, the servant just thought that it needed some encouragement. The servant answered his master, saying, “Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: and of it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.” The servant is pleading for just a little bit more time, and it’s interesting that he isn’t saying, “let’s just wait and see,” he’s saying “let’s take an active role in giving this tree everything it needs to thrive and hope for the best.” Jesus doesn’t take a “wait and see” approach with us, if we allow him, he will take an active role, leading and guiding us on the path that he wants us to go.

The IM teaches, “After teaching that all people must repent of perish, the Savior spoke a parable about a barren fig tree. The ‘certain man’ represents God, the ‘fig tree’ represents the Jewish remnant of Israel, ‘his vineyard’ represents the world, and the ‘dresser of his vineyard’ represents the Son of God. For three years the owner of a vineyard waited in vain for a fig tree to product fruit. He granted a final year for the tree to bear fruit, during which time it had to either produce fruit or be removed from the vineyard. This parable underscored the Savior’s teaching that all must repent or perish. Earlier, John the Baptist had declared a similar message. After giving this parable, the Savior continued to emphasize that Israel was failing to produce righteousness within its season of opportunity.”