Thank you to John for this week’s MWB
“A text without a context is a pretext.” In an era of soundbites, when politicians and others are often quoted out of context, that is important to remember. It is also vital to bear in mind when we read the Bible or hear it quoted.
The parable of Jesus which we are considering today, in Luke 13:6-9, comes directly after the conversation recorded in vv1-5.
So please read Luke 13:1-9.
Jesus is speaking to Jews who are very conscious that they are God’s chosen people. They tell Jesus about a tragic and shocking atrocity, when some of their fellow-Jews from Galilee were murdered, apparently in the Temple, on the orders of the Roman governor Pilate. Jesus responds, “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than others because they suffered this way? I tell you, NO! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” And , to emphasise his point, Jesus reminds them of the 18 people who were crushed to death when the tower in Siloam fell on them. “Do you think they were more guilty than all the others in Jerusalem? I tell you, NO! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
As they listened to Jesus’ words, his hearers must have been shocked. They thought that repentance was for Gentiles and “sinners” – not for respectable Jews such as they were.
So then Jesus tells them the parable about the fruitless fig-tree (vv6-9).
Why does Jesus use this particular imagery? One clue is in the words of the Old Testament prophet Hosea (9:10), in which God says “When I found Israel…..it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig-tree.” So in Jesus’ story the fig-tree may well represent the Jewish nation. They had failed to produce the “fruit” that God intended and commanded. They had disobeyed God and been unfaithful to his covenant with them; therefore God had warned them again and again that they were heading for disaster. But he longed for them to repent, to turn back to him and to be fruitful, so he delayed his final judgment on them. In fact, the Lord Jesus Christ was God’s final word to them (Hebrews 1:1-2).
This parable also applies to us, as individuals and as a church. We have not been faithful in producing the fruit that God wants and enables us to bear (John 15:1-8). We should not presume that God will just ignore our sin and failure. His righteous judgment is certain, but he longs for us to repent so that he can bless us, and others through us. He calls us to turn to him, to remain in Jesus and bear the fruit that he commands and makes possible – the fruit of the Holy Spirit:
Love…Joy…Peace…Patience…Kindness…Goodness…Faithfulness…Gentleness…Self-control
So let us heed this parable and apply it to ourselves.
Prayer
Holy and merciful Lord, our Judge and Saviour, grant us true repentance and your Holy Spirit. Amen.