The Parable of the Fig Tree

Mike Johnson

The Bible mentions fig trees several times.  For example, Matthew 21:19 speaks of a withered fig tree; John 1:48 tells about a person under a fig tree, while James 3:12 asks a question about a fig tree.  There is an interesting parable about a fig tree recorded in Luke 13:6-9.  This parable is usually called the “Parable of the Barren Fig Tree.”

It says:

A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.  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?’ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.  And if it bears fruit, well.  But if not, after that you can cut it down.’

The Parable

 Verse 6 points out that a certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard.  He came to get fruit from the tree but could not because it had not produced any.

Fig trees were essential in the Palestine area. One reason for their importance was they produced fruit for a large portion of the year.  In his book, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (Book 4, p. 246), Alfred Edersheim pointed out, “According to Josephus, in favored localities the ripe fruit hung on the tree for ten months of the year, the barren months being April and May, before the first of the three crops which it bore had ripened.”  However, the tree of this parable was barren.

Verse 7 points out that the owner made a decision about the tree.  He said, “… 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?” The owner felt they should not waste more time on this worthless tree.  Also, a fruit-producing tree could go into the space occupied by the barren one.  The unfruitful tree was not only failing to produce fruit but was also taking up an area where they could plant a tree that would bear.

Verses 8-9 point out that the keeper wanted to give the tree more time to produce.  During the following year, he said, he would fertilize it and dig about it, and then he said, “And if it bears fruit, well.  But if not, after that you can cut it down.” The question was not whether they should cut down an unfruitful tree but, instead, when it should happen.  The vine-dresser wanted to give it another year to produce fruit.

Immediate Application

 In verse five, Jesus previously told the Jews, “. . . unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” The design of this parable is to get the Jews to repent and produce fruit, and it foretold their doom if they did not.  The symbolism seems to be that the owner represents God; the barren tree represents the Jewish nation; the keeper is symbolic of Christ.  The three years would be the time frame the Jews had been unfruitful.  So the owner gave the tree one more year to produce.

This additional period would equal another amount of time God would give the Jews to repent and “produce fruit,” demonstrating God’s patience and longsuffering.  Finally, the potential for cutting down the tree shows the doom of the Jewish nation if they did not repent and start producing fruit.  Thus, the parable demonstrates not only the longsuffering nature of God but also His destructive capacity.

General Application

The tree under consideration had a definite purpose: to bear fruit.  The tree was disappointing to its owner, not having fulfilled its purpose. Similarly, Christians have a purpose, and that purpose is to bear fruit.  In the Parable of the Sower, those represented by the good ground were people who heard the word, understood it, and then produced fruit.

We bear fruit by our deeds.  Concerning the bearing of fruit, Thayer says (p. 326, Greek Lexicon), “b.  metaph.  to bear, bring forth deeds; thus of men who show their knowledge of religion by their conduct. . . .” (Notice also Gal. 5:22, Phil. 4:17, Rom.  1:13.) John 15 points out the fate of those who do not bear fruit.  Verse two says, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”  Verse 6 speaks of the fire that awaits them.

Finally, consider that the barren tree was useless.  It only occupied the ground.  It did not produce bad fruit but had no fruit.  Thus, the owner wanted the tree cut down.  Many Christians are like this also.  They feel that as long as they do not commit wrong acts, they are pleasing to God.  However, the Bible not only tells us “what not to do, but it also tells us what to do.  Someone may say, “How can I be lost?  I have not done anything?” This concept portrays the very point.  Christians must obey and serve God every day.  They must not only avoid doing what God says not to do but also must do what He says to do (Mt. 25:31-46).  Christians cannot be like a fruit tree that takes up space — they must produce fruit.