Fertilizer and Fig Trees

Luke 13, “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.’”

God has a vineyard and the Fig trees in this vineyard are people. God goes to inspect his vineyard and sees a Fig tree (people) that has not produced a single Fig in three years and so he instructs his gardener (Jesus Christ) to cut it down. The gardener (Jesus Christ) says let me fertilize the soil and let’s give the tree one more year and if it still does not bear figs I will cut it down.

This particular vineyard is the Jewish nation. Under the old Mosaic Law they were not fruitful.

Jesus wants to infuse them with a new Law… a Law of love to see what they might produce. At the end of his three year ministry Jesus allows himself to be sacrificed and gave up his perfect life to demonstrate incomprehensible love to his disciples. And with that love God’s people who had been unproductive started sharing that love around the world and God’s garden got bigger and bigger and produced more and more figs.

It’s amazing what a little love can do.