He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Luke 13:6
Many of the trees in our old orchard were on a two-year cycle of production: one year there would be a bountiful crop and the next year there would be only a few apples. It was always a disappointment to us in an off-year to approach one of our favourite trees and find it barren of all but leaves, even though we knew about the cycle. We would have to wait for another year to enjoy the fruit. But some trees bore faithfully every year, and those we appreciated the most, because they never disappointed. We expected the apples to be there, and they were. So I can understand the frustration of the man in our parable who found no fruit on his fig tree. For three years he found it the same, just a waste of good vineyard space; he would do better to get rid of it and plant more grapevines. This parable is a little picture of God’s disappointment with His chosen nation Israel, and possibly with us as well.
When the Lord Jesus came for His earthly ministry, He found a nation that had plenty of time for religion but little time for God. They cared so little for worship that they had turned the temple into a marketplace. They determined to get rid of Him because He interrupted their little programs of hypocrisy. They rejected their King and despised His presence. It surely broke the heart of the Lord Jesus to see how little fruit was to be found there. No wonder He would weep,’O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!’ (Luke 13:34) There were a few in Israel who accepted Him, but they did so as individuals, not as a nation. In fact, those who accepted Him were not as impressive as the Roman centurion and the Syrophoenician woman, Gentiles who acted in faith as they sought healing for their loved ones. The lack of fruit led to the setting aside for a time of Israel. Sadly that nation, still beloved of God and still rejecting her King, remains without fruit to His pleasing. God’s disappointment in Israel is no different from His disappointment in us today when we fail to provide for Him the fruit that He seeks in our lives.
Just as in the spring an apple tree is covered in blossoms, to the lives of each believer are covered at conversion in blossoms of opportunity. Each blossom represents an opportunity for worship and for service during our Christian experience. How many of those blossoms mature to good fruit in our lives? How well do we use the time and the privileges extended to us to produce that which brings delight to our Lord? How much effort goes into pleasing Him? How much time is spent in prayer and study of the Scriptures? How much time is devoted to the company and comfort of the Lord’s people? How much of our efforts and resources are assigned to spreading His Gospel?
Is the Lord Jesus pleased or disappointed in our little tree today? -Jim MacIntosh