IT'S ABOUT TIME

Main Text: Luke 13:1-9 INTRODUCTION What is God’ greatest Gift to man? A. Jesus gives his take on a tragic event : Jesus never answered the question on why they died catastrophically Luke 13:1-5 B. Jesus gives a parable 1. A certain man - This man is God in the story 2. God is the one who planted the tree Genesis 2:8, Psalm 92:13 3. The expectation of the Man that planted the tree Micah 6:8 4. The fig had not produced fruits for 3 years: procrastination is man’s greatest unrecognized enemy 5. Judgement had already been declared on the fig tree 6. The only thing that was keeping the fig tree from being cut down was the plea Of the vineyard keeper 7. The vinyard keeper was going to do something diffrent with the figtree that he had not done before i) Dig around it ii) fertilize it The planted Figtree is you and I i) Why the fig tree First of all, we see the figs in the garden of Eden—covering up the shame of Adam and Eve. ii) The fig tree in the bible is also symbolic of Israel itself—it often symbolized the health of the nation both spiritually and physically.1 Hosea 9:10 1 Kings 4:25 Deuteronomy 8:8

A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;

I Kings 4:25

And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

Jeremiah 8:13

I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.

Hosea 2:12

And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.

Joel 2:22

Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.

Zechariah 3:10

In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree. iii) The Fig tree is steeped in ancient meaning and for millennia, has symbolized wisdom and success in an abundance. Fig trees were so highly valued by the ancient Greeks that it was considered an honour to bestow upon the winner of various competitions.

These are just some of the many passages in the Old Testament, especially in the writings of the prophets, where the vine and the fig tree are mentioned together.

The common fig is, well, common in Israel.  It grows everywhere, not merely where figs are grown as a crop for harvesting.  Fig trees can grow and produce heavily without any human intervention at all, usually producing a crop by the second year, if not the first.

When the Lord is telling His people of His blessings on them, He talks of them as dwelling peacefully and enjoying the fruit of the fig tree and of the vine.  When He warns them of the judgment that must come when they have rebelled against Him, He talks of the fig trees not bearing fruit, dying, or of others eating the figs of the land.

In the Old Testament, fruitful fig trees are symbolic of God’s faithful covenant blessings on his people as they dwell in fellowship with their God, obedient to Him and trusting Him.  Unfruitful and withered fig trees symbolise just the opposite.

The fig tree was probably chosen for this symbolism because of its abundance and because it produces with little or no human intervention.  When God blesses, He may use human instruments, but He does not need them.  The fruit-bearing fig, springing up beside the road and producing two crops a year whether pruned / tended or not, seems a particularly apt symbol of God’s blessing.