Luke 13:6-9 Parable of the fruitless
fig tree. Parallel passages in Matthew 21:18-19, and Mark 11:12-14 & 20-21.
This parable is rather puzzling in that Luke did not record that Jesus offered
any explanation of it. The next section seems to be a different scene, so we
can only connect this to the previous passage. In this context, it would appear
that Jesus is using the fig tree (often a symbol for Israel, but perhaps a
symbol for any individual person) to make the point that the owner of the
vineyard tries to get it to bear fruit, and waits patiently for it to bear
fruit. But His patience is not unlimited. At some point, he says to cut it
down. And so perhaps there is a hint here relating to the previous passage the
those on whom calamity has seemingly fallen without provocation may in fact
fall in this category. God tried to get fruit from them. He tilled the soil and
put out fertilizer in an effort to get fruit. But when that all failed, and the
fig tree was determined to be irrevocably barren, it will be cut down. In
Matthew and Mark, an actual event in Jesus' life, He looked for fruit from the
tree but found none, and so cursed it. Immediately, the next day, it was found
to be withered and dead. Not so many
opportunities here, but this event occurred on the eve of the Passion week, and
Jesus was approaching the climax of His life.
The
issue here is not a judgment of condemnation, but of liquidating a bad
investment. Of course we do not know (at least in this passage) how God feels
about this, but if we are investing in a mutual fund that year after year fails
to show a return, we would not stick with it out of loyalty ... eventually we
would shift our investment to a fund that does actually yield a return.
We
might wonder what He considers fruit, and perhaps that is a valid question.
Jesus often alluded to producing fruit, but the actual content of what that
fruit might look like is eclectic. In Luke 3:8 He refers to the fruit of
repentance, which presumably means changing one's mind and one's behavior to
turn from something to something else (e.g.
from sin to righteous living). In John 4:36, the context suggests that the
fruit is the lives and souls of people who are led from sin to turn to God. In
John 15, it appears that Jesus is referring to fruit as the love of God for the
brethren and for the lost. In Romans 7, Paul implies that fruit is serving God
in the Spirit, and not under the Law. I Cor 15 refers to firstfruits of those
raised from the dead, Jesus being the foremost. Galatians 5:22-23 lists the
attributes of the fruit of the Spirit. Ephesians 5:9 identifies fruit with
goodness, righteousness, and truth, and Phil 1:11, Hebrews 12:11, and James
3:18 the fruit of righteousness. Colossians 1:10 identifies fruit with good
work and knowledge of God. Hebrews 13:15 the fruit of the lips - giving thanks
to His name. The common element in all
these descriptions of fruit is that they are not things that can be produced by
human effort. To bear fruit, we must allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives
and to work out His will and His life in our life. We have to make a decision,
and that decision is to obey God and let Him have His way. But it is the Holy
Spirit who produces the fruit. Just as the fig tree, which does not produce
figs by trying, or exerting itself, or even disciplining itself. It simply
allows the sun and the rain and the nutrients of the soil to work with its
natural design to produce figs.