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April 2, 2023 - Just Informed Talk - Craig James
13:34
The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree - Luke 13:1-9 | God's Grace Is Greater
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Hi and welcome to another God's Grace is Greater segment where we do a deep dive into the scripture.
Today, we're picking up where we left off.
We finished Luke chapter 12 yesterday, and what we finished with was an incredible set of verses that talked about essentially us being ready for Jesus' return, how to prepare ourselves, and understanding that Jesus came to divide and that that division is what brings peace ultimately in our eternal salvation in heaven.
Now, from there, we go straight in to chapter 13.
Now, we'll get into the context of these verses probably a little bit after, but he's picking up at this point where he's being challenged.
This is all part of a very long sermon that we are listening to from, I believe it starts in around chapter 9 or 8 of Luke, and it goes all the way up, I believe, through chapter 13.
This is Jesus continuing on as he is giving us all these different lessons, and he goes into this parable of a barren fig tree.
But he starts with a very important point, and that is in 13, chapter 13, verse 1 through 5, where he talks about how if you do not repent, you will perish, you will go to hell.
And he's giving a lesson to those who are questioning him that explains a truth that was debunking a myth that was existing at the time of Jesus.
And it's still a myth probably a lot of people believe today.
And what is that myth?
The myth is that people who have bad things happen to them deserve it because they were somehow being disfavored by God.
And Jesus breaks that myth in these words, but also reaffirms the concept that if you do not repent, and if you do not put your life to God, then you will perish and go to hell.
And then he gives us the parable of the bear and fig tree to explain that a little further.
And we're just going to go ahead and read it.
Starting in chapter 13, verse 1 through 9, it says, At that time, some people came and reported to him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
And he responded to them, Do you think that these Galileans were more sinful than all Galileans because they suffered these things?
No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all perish as well.
Or those 18 that the tower in Siloam fell on and killed?
Do you think they were more sinful than all the people who lived in Jerusalem?
No, I tell you.
But unless you repent, you will perish as well.
And he told them this parable.
A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard.
He came looking for fruit on it, and found none.
He told the vineyard worker, Listen, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and none have found any.
Cut it down!
Why should it even waste the soil?
But he replied to him, Sir, Leave it this year also until I dig around it and fertilize it.
Perhaps it will bear fruit next year, but if not, you can cut it down.
Now, this is a fascinating, short, but fascinating set of verses here.
Obviously, the context in which we are looking at this is picking up in verse 12, because, you know, there aren't chapters really in how this was originally written.
The chapters are just modern ways that they've broken up the Bible to make it, I guess, more digestible and easier to navigate.
But where did we leave off?
We left off with, in chapter 12, Jesus telling us about how we are able to judge for ourselves what is right and what is wrong.
And he encouraged us to work with one another to settle our differences, especially before we end up meeting our maker in heaven.
And right as he's telling us about that important lesson, he essentially has this moment where he's challenged.
The Jews of that time were challenging Jesus by essentially referencing, which is only referenced here in Luke, but they're referencing Pilate, right?
Who was the, I believe, the governor of the region of Jerusalem while the Romans were occupying it and overseeing it and ruling it.
He had, I guess, committed some crime against the Jews.
He had sacrificed some Galileans who were Jews because of something they had done.
done, right?
Some sort of, they doing their ritual work in their church, he, or in their synagogue, he had ended up punishing them.
Now, Jesus, and in those days, to give you context even further, a lot of the Old Testament interpretation that had existed up to that point was that people who had bad things happen to them had done something wrong to deserve it.
Right?
Even if they were the most good people, you could imagine that if something bad happened to them, then it had to be something they did and weren't aware of, or they did secretly and nobody knew about, or something like that.
Right?
It had to be their fault.
It had to be something they did that caused them to fall.
Well, interestingly enough, Jesus dispels this myth.
He essentially says, do you think that they were more sinful than everyone else?
And that that's why they suffered in the way that they did when Pilate punished them by death?
He says, no.
But he says, but unless you repent, you will all perish as well.
He's essentially telling them that bad things are going to happen in this world, even to good people.
But because we know that we all are going to go to the same place unless we repent, that is what we must do is repent.
Repent now!
That's an encouragement to you out there.
If you're living a life that may be lost and you're not sure, listen to these words and understand.
What Jesus is essentially saying, he's saying bad things are going to happen in this world.
We all know what happens in the end, though.
Whether it's tomorrow or a hundred years from now, we all will end up dying.
But those who repent and believe, they have eternal salvation.
They have life everlasting.
We are given that gift by God's grace, which is greater, but it's also undeserved forgiveness.
It's undeserved favor.
It's love that comes without us really having to do much of anything that God has given to us freely because He loves us.
And in that way, He gives another example of 18 men, I guess, who were killed when a tower fell on them in Siloam.
He says, Do you think they were more sinful than everyone else who was in Jerusalem?
Well, He says, No!
But He says, Repent, or you all will perish as well.
Perishing, I believe in the words that are used here in this translation, is a reference to hell.
To the death that is eternal.
Because see how there's two sides to that?
There's life eternal and death eternal.
Death eternal results in the fiery pit, which is referenced throughout the gospel and the Bible, right?
And in this sense, Jesus is telling us to repent, because even if we die in this life, If we repent and accept Him as our Savior, we have life everlasting.
But just because bad things happen to people, doesn't mean it's because they did something bad and deserved it, necessarily.
Sometimes bad people have bad things happen to them, but sometimes good people have bad things happen to them as well.
And whether you think that's fair or not, That's what Jesus is telling us.
Then he goes on to give us this interesting parable.
The parable of the barren fig tree.
And I'll summarize it pretty quickly.
A man had a fig tree.
It was in his vineyard.
He went to it for the first three years and never once did he find any fruit.
So he tells the guy who's working for him in the vineyard to cut it down.
But what happens?
The guy who's in the vineyard He begs the vineyard owner to not do that.
He says, give me one more shot at bringing this fig tree back.
I'll dig up the ground, I'll put extra work in, I'll put the fertilizer down, and we can hopefully bring this back.
And he says, but if it doesn't come back by next year, then we can cut it down.
And why does Jesus tell us this parable right after that story we got in the beginning, right?
Right after that explanation of repenting or perishing in the beginning.
I believe it's a story about God's love for us and his patience toward us.
And there's a lot of, a million different ways to interpret it, of course, but in my simple interpretation, not being a Bible scholar or a, you know, eschatologist or anything like that, I'm just a simple evangelist.
The way I read that is that it's talking about the patience that God has for us and that the, he'll go the extra step to try to save us.
That there are going to be people who are not producing, but they can maybe, if they're given a little bit of extra help, have a chance at producing fruit for God, for Jesus, in the glory of God, with the Holy Spirit in their hearts.
So I believe it's a lesson that there is a time at which If we reject God, if we do not repent, if we live a sinless or a sinful life that is unrepentant, that eventually we will get cut down.
Eventually we will end up in the fiery pit, just as that first story told.
But that doesn't mean that God is going to stop trying.
He's going to do everything He can to save us.
He has done everything He can to save us in sending His one and only begotten Son to die on the cross for yours and my sins, so that we may have eternal life.
But all you have to do is one simple thing, and then that should lead to many other simple things.
But the simplest thing that happens first is, as Jesus says, repent or you will perish.
You don't want to be the barren fig tree.
You don't want to get cut down and cast in the furnace.
Repent, because God is digging the soil around your life right now.
He's laying the fertilizer.
He is trying to make you revive into something that is glorious, that can produce fruit, that can help others and do great things.
He's doing it.
He's sowing the seeds right now.
The question is, Are you going to allow Him to do it in your life?
Are you going to accept it?
Are you going to embrace it?
Are you going to suck up that nutrient-rich soil and let God be a part of your life through the Holy Spirit that lives in all of us by accepting His Son as Messiah?
I'll leave that to you.
But let's go ahead and say a prayer.
Lord and Heavenly Father, thank you so much for these incredible words and this incredible lesson.
Lord, I pray that we believe in our hearts that no matter what happens in this world, that as long as we've repented and accepted you as our Savior, that we are saved.
Lord, for myself and everyone out watching, praying along with us, Lord, I pray that we embrace the soil that is being enriched with your amazing power and fulfillment in our lives to help us Thank you for everything.
Thank you most of all for our eternal salvation.
In Jesus name.
through the spirit of the gospel for you and for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Lord, please, I pray that in your name.
Thank you for everything.
Thank you most of all for our eternal salvation.
In Jesus' name, amen.
All right, guys.
Well, I hope you enjoyed that episode and we're gonna wrap it up there.
But hey, you know, there's so much to learn here.
And I really appreciate it.
I hope you let me know your comments below what you think of everything that we just talked about.
It really helped me out.
Just tell me what your thoughts are.
Are you going to embrace the fertilizer that's being sown into your heart right now?
The fruit that is being the fruit of the spirit that's being given to you?
Are you going to embrace it?
I hope so.
With that being said though, thanks for watching.
Make sure you like, share, subscribe.
There's links in the description if you want to support this channel.
Your donations keep this channel going.
There's also links if you want to support me on social media and all that stuff.
And if you're watching on YouTube, there's links to the Rumble livecast that goes on most days, most weekdays, where we do the news rundown that we can't do on YouTube because they censor.
But, with that being said, I want to say thank you for watching this episode.
We'll see you on the next one.
Until then, my name's Craig.
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