Question: What do we learn from Jesus' parable of the unfruitful fig tree (Luke 13:6-9)? Does it mean that God gives a limited time for us to repent, after which He sends us to hell fire?
Answer: Greetings to you in Jesus wonderful name!
Parables are earthly stories through which Jesus reveals the heavenly realities of the Kingdom of God and its intention on earth to fulfill God's purpose for each nation, generation, region and individual people on earth.
By taking the full context and the situation and the audience to whom Jesus speaks, is the only right way to rightly interpret these parables.
Here are the verses in context, "1 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” 6 He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ 8 But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’”" (Luke 13:1-9).
Here first of all a beautiful picture is drawn by Jesus to make people understand the need for repentance of all humans towards God for which Christ has come to the earth, and also thereafter His insistence upon the imminent death that all humans are waiting for when they are alive and well. In other words, because of sin's wages it is not whether we as humans will die, but rather it is like a race to the finish line of when we will die.
The occurrence of sudden death was thought in those days as Divine retribution for a wrong kind of evil life lived in a displeasing way towards God, but Christ rather warned these men about their false belief, and reinforced the truth that people killed by other people or people who die by accidents are not worse sinners than the one who live to their old age to die after living a full life. Rather Jesus Christ insisted and warned these religious unrepentant men that all men are sinners in the eyes of God and no one is a worse sinner than another sinner, but if they do not repent for their sins towards God by believing Jesus their Messiah who has come to save them all from their sins (John 8:24-25), like any other sinner who lived in any holy city like Jerusalem or anywhere around the earth will likewise die in their sins and go on to be judged to live in the flames of fire after their death for their sins (Luke 16:23-24; Matt 25:41; Mark 9:43-44, 45-46, 48; Rev 14:11).
He continued to expound and make people understand a little more regarding this message of repentance through a simple parable, "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none." It is normal for a owner of a farm to not only plant in his owned place but also expect the result of fruit for all the hard work done by Him. God is the owner of the earth which is His vineyard, He chose Israel nation as His own spiritual fig tree to plant within that vineyard. So when God came seeking fruit in Christ Jesus among His people, there was no spiritual fruit in their lives.
The parable continues..., "7 Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ 8 But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’”"
Then in a spiritual conversation of God the Father with Jesus the keeper of his vineyard, Jesus revealed that God wanted to scatter the nation of Israel underground in to the whole world without any unique identity for all people to see because they have no spiritual fruit to show to God.
It was Jesus who was interceding on behalf of the fig tree of the nation of Israel to God the Father personally, to give some more time for spiritual repentance before the judgment of his chastisement could take place (Matt 21:42-44; Luke 23:26-31). We infer from the text that Jesus was already in to His Messianic ministry for three years, but Jesus convinced God that one more year of his ministry will have some difference in the nation of Israel, which true to His word got sustained from 34 AD until 70 AD in which a little delayed dispersion of the nation of Israel in to all the world and the destruction of the temple happened because of the repentance revival that came upon all flesh in this nation through the outpouring of His Spirit (Acts 1:1-9; 2:14-47). Many Jews who believed Jesus as the Messiah and lived in repentance towards God by producing fruits were forewarned by Jesus of the coming destruction of the nation of Israel, these people were able to leave Israel in advance after 67 AD short siege, after which the second prolonged siege of 70 AD around Jerusalem under Titus Vespasian took place in which the whole nation was completely destroyed, and the leftover of young people were taken as captives in to all nations (Luke 21:20-24).
So as a whole this is a prophetic parable that happened just as Jesus Christ foretold in his teaching. Thus repentance is key to enter the Kingdom of God and also producing fruit of repentance is the only way to stay under the favor of God even after we are saved from sin. God expects even the today's Church to produce fruit in these end of end time without which the same that happened to Israel as a nation will likewise happen to the fruitless namesake harlot Church on earth after the rapture of the universal Church to heaven. When the fig tree was chopped fresh [i.e. On AD 70 when Israel was under distress and wrath of God], the wood was green and we know now know how severe the distress and wrath of God upon the people of the nation of Israel came suddenly as we have already discussed (Luke 21:23).
But then as we know now, Jesus again foretold about the present time we live and the succeeding end when the distress of nations and the wrath of God will come upon the Gentiles before the Second Coming, because the fig tree of the nation of Israel as a symbolic wood will be spiritually dry even after its regathering now until the soon coming Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to rescue it spiritually (Rom 11:25-27; Zec 12:10-11), during this time the nation of Israel will be at the zenith of the time of the distress and the wrath of God that Jesus two thousand years ago itself foresaw prophetically and warned the Jews about it, which was also called by the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah as the time of "Jacob's trouble" (Luke 23:28-31; Jer 30:7). But this time the good news is, Israel as a nation will be saved out of it by our Lord Jesus Christ when He returns again to this present earth [i.e. Second Coming] to rule it for a thousand years time along with the Church from Jerusalem in the nation of Israel.
Hallelujah! GLORY TO GOD!
Much Blessings....
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment