29 AN UNFRUITFUL FIG TREE He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down (Luke 13:6-9).
This parable deals with an unfruitful fig tree. The owner of the vineyard was tired of waiting for the fig tree to bear fruit. He ordered it cut down. His gardener asked him to spare the tree for one more season. He promised to fertilize it and care for it. "Be patient for one more season!"
The fig tree was a metaphor for Old Covenant Israel. God had grown tired of waiting for the nation to bear fruit. But the gardener pleaded for mercy. Who was the gardener? Jesus Christ. His earthly ministry was aimed at Israel. "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 15:24). Mary mistook the resurrected Jesus for a gardener (John 20:15). He really was Israel's gardener, metaphorically speaking. He asked for an additional period of grace on behalf of the nation. God granted His request. But this grace ended in A.D. 70.(1)
Bearing Fruit The land owner asked: "Why cumbereth it the ground?" The Greek word translated "cumbereth" means "to destroy" or "to use up." The land owner was asking: "Why waste space on it any longer? It is using up a scarce economic resource: fertile ground." The implication is clear: there must be a positive return on God's investment. If there isn't, God will eventually cease to invest any more resources in a failed project. He will plant another tree. But he will first rip out the fruitless tree.
The gardener had an answer. He would fertilize the soil. He would dig the soil to loosen it. With this assistance, the fig tree might at last bear fruit.
The gardener was being gracious to the fig tree. His care of the soil on behalf of the fig tree would cost him extra work. He did not have to do this. The land owner was ready to devote the soil to another tree. This was his vineyard. There were other uses for his land. But the gardener pleaded on behalf of the fig tree. "Don't give up on it yet. Give me an opportunity to make it bear fruit."
He had already waited three years. These years were gone forever. He could not get them back. Whatever he had invested in caring for the fig tree was gone. What was past was past. Any expenses that the land owner had borne had become what economists call sunk costs: gone forever. The question facing the land owner was this: "How much will I have to invest in order to make this tree profitable?"
The land owner had to make a decision. Was it worth caring for the soil on behalf of an unfruitful tree? How long should he be patient? By planting another tree, he might be able to get a return on the use of his land. The fig tree was absorbing resources and not paying off.
The gardener had a suggestion: wait one more year. If the land owner could get the tree into production in a year, this would be a good return on the investment, as of year three. Whatever had been invested previously was economically irrelevant. It was unrecoverable. It was gone. It would be better, implied the gardener, to regard the tree as a one-year investment.
But there was a problem: What if the tree was inherently unfruitful? Maybe it was from a bad seed. The evidence pointed to this possibility: three years with no fruit. So, one year's delay followed by fruit would be a good investment, but if the tree was from bad stock, the extra year would not pay. What to do?
An Extra Generation Jesus devoted the bulk of His ministry to bringing the message of repentance to Israel. He only rarely went to gentiles. He was giving the fig tree one last opportunity to repent, to become fruitful for God.
His ministry was cut short sometime around A.D. 30, or possibly in A.D. 33.(2) The temple was burned by the Romans in A.D. 70. Old Covenant Israel was therefore granted one more generation by God after the crucifixion. When national repentance did not come, God uprooted Israel. Jesus had prophesied this. "Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof" (Matt. 21:43). The church has inherited God's promises to Israel. It has become the new Israel of God (Gal. 6:16). Gentile members of the church have become the sons of Abraham (Rom. 4:16).
The additional generation was evidence of God's mercy. Jesus had said on the cross, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34b). The extra generation was God's response to this prayer. But judgment came, according to the words of the Jewish people. "Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children" (Matt. 27:25).
Conclusion The parable of the unfruitful fig tree reveals a fundamental biblical principle: God expects all men to bear spiritual fruit. He holds them accountable. He has invested resources in them. We call these resources God's grace. He expects a positive return. But a man cannot provide this on his own. He is inherently unfruitful. For him to bear fruit, he needs additional grace.(3) The gardener supplies this. Jesus Christ offers care and feeding for unfruitful fig trees. He volunteers to do this on behalf of both the owner and the trees. That is, Christ's mercy is a gift to God by way of the presently unfruitful trees.
This mercy has time limits. At some point, God will destroy every unfruitful fig tree. On this point, Israel is again the model. "And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done" (Matt. 21:19-21).
The vineyard is kingdom of God. The owner is God. He expects a positive rate of return. Only Christ can provide this. Only through Christ can any tree become fruitful in God's eyes. Old Covenant Israel is the example of how not to become fruitful.
Footnotes:
1. David Chilton, The Days of Vengeance: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation (Ft. Worth, Texas: Dominion Press, 1987).
2. If Herod died in 4 B.C., as Josephus argued and most historians still believe, then Jesus died sometime around A.D. 30. But if Herod died in January of A.D. 1, then Jesus died in A.D. 33. John P. Pratt, a Mormon scholar, makes a cogent case for the later date for Herod's death. Pratt, "Yet Another Eclipse for Herod," Planetarium, XIX (Dec. 1990), pp. 8-14. http://www.griffithobs.org/IPSPlanPlatt.html
3. See Chapter 40, below.
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