The Barren Fig Tree

Intro

Good morning,

How many of you just picked up this week? Awesome, welcome to Regimental Chapel. You picked an awesome time to jump in here because we are starting our sermon series, Jesus the Storyteller. This will take us right into our Easter celebration.

The history of storytelling goes back thousands of years. Storytellers have been some of the most revered people in society because storytellers were so many things in one. They were gifted speakers, who communicated tradition, history, wisdom, they were teachers. Jesus was perhaps the most masterful storyteller to live, because his messages conveyed life changing truth that were as relevant two thousand years ago as they are today. Jesus was a storyteller.

Most often, when Jesus taught others, he used a device known as a Parable.

What is a parable?

A story, a story that covnveyed a moral or religious point. It is an allegory of sorts. Often times, stories would hold a double meaning with an illustration that held a simple moral message, but more deeply represented the Kingdom of God, it had a spiritual representation.

Well our new series is about Parables found in the gospel of Luke. If you are coming into faith here at Infantry OSUT and want to know what it is to be a Christian, there is no better place to start than with the Parables. We are going to hear the same stories Jesus personally shared with people seeking God.

Scripture

Luke 13:6-9 “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.’ ””

May God add to the reading of his word, Amen.

Parable Explained

Well this story is perhaps the easiest Parable to understand. In it, we have two characters. First is the owner of the vineyard. This man has a fig tree in his vineyard which would have been a common sight in Israel.

Fig Trees

It would take about three years for the tree to begin bearing fruit. According to the Israelite laws found in Leviticus, the man was required to wait an additional three years before he could eat fruit from the tree. Before the fruit was considered clean. He began anticipating this day 6 years ago when he planted the tree. Three years he has been anticipating a return on his investment for when he can . . .

He wants some . . . what do you do with figs?

But year after year he came to the tree only to find it barren. There was no figgy pudding to be had. The longer the tree was there, the larger it gets, the more nutrients it steals from the plants around it. The patience of the owner runs out. Cut it down! Enough!

But the man who cared for the tree and took care of the vineyard begged the owner for one more year. Give it just one more year, and if it still doesn’t have fruit, cut it down. The worker vowed to loosen the soil, to add fertilizer, to nurture and care for the tree. But.....the farmer can’t make the tree bear fruit, he can only set the conditions for success.

And we are then left with an uncertain outcome. What happens to the tree? Well that part of the story was openended to be finished by you and me.

What is the primary message of Jesus’ story?

Jesus tells his audience that God’s patience and love eventuates in judgment for the sinner who does not repent. The nation of Israel was often symbolized as a fig tree. While God is ever more merciful and patient with us than the farmer with his fig tree, none of us know how much time we have on this earth. No one is promised tomorrow. And eventually for those who remain unrepentent will face the judgement of God.

John 15:6 “If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.”

We will choose to serve Jesus, to accept his free gift, the pardoning of our sin, or we will eventually stand in judgement that ends in separation from God forever. Wow.

Pslam 1:1-3, “1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.

Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches." ... At the very beginning of the passage, he says, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener." My Father is the vinedresser. He is the owner of the vineyard.

In the vineyard, we find another opportunity to realize that God is in control, God is in charge, and we are not. We cannot find our purpose without realizing our place.

Obviously, in a garden, the branch doesn't tell the vine what to do. On a farm, the plants don't tell the farmer how to get the job done. Can you imagine a plant telling the gardener, "NO! I'll do it my way!" No, the gardener knows best for the plants, and cultivates, works, cuts, removes, fertilizes, waters, covers, sprays ... for very good reasons. And a good plant simply trusts the gardener.

Imagine that you are out in the middle of a lake and there are two rowboats and you are standing with one foot in each boat. One boat, however, is filled with holes and is sinking fast. It is obvious that unless you do something you will soon be in the lake. The boat with the holes represents ourselves with all of the leaks caused by sin. The boat without holes represents Christ. It should be obvious that with one foot in each boat we shall end up in the same place that we would have ended up in had we had both feet in the boat marked “self.” The only safe place to be is to have both feet firmly planted in the boat marked Christ.

John 15:1-7 ““I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

It's important to have the right tools, if you're going to have a fruitful life. According to the story, a psychologist at Stanford University once tried to show that we live for productive results, or what Jesus referred to as "fruit." This researcher hired a logger and said, "I'll pay you double what you get paid in the logging camp, if you'll take the blunt end of this axe and just pound this log all day. You never have to cut one piece of wood. Just take the end that is blunt and hit it as hard as you can, just as you would if you were logging." After half a day, the man quit. The psychologist asked, "Why did you quit?" The logger said, "Because every time I move an axe, I have to see the chips fly. If I don't see the chips fly, it's no fun."