Happy new year to all!
Recap: In a recent post (Post 38, Nov 25, 2021), I explained my belief that, similar to how an acorn is predestined to become an oak tree, God has predestined all to be his children. I referred to this predestining grace as "human infrastructure" - the God-given ability of all to know Him. However, unfortunately, just as all acorns do not become oak trees, not all people realize God's loving plan for them.
With trees on my mind from that previous post, today I wanted to examine a short but poignant parable in which Jesus supports the notion of predestining grace and wonderfully illustrates the concept of biblical mercy.
The Barren Fig Tree
And he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, 'Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?' And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'" (Luke 13:6-9 ESV)
Context
As always, the context of the text of this teaching is very important. In the verses immediately prior to this parable, Jesus refutes an implication by some interlocutors (fancy word for 'people asking questions') that tragedies - either manmade or natural - are necessarily God's punishment because of sin. Jesus tells the people plainly that sin did not cause the suffering of those who died at the cruel hands of Pilate. And sin did not cause the deaths of those who were killed when a tower collapsed. But then, Jesus adds, "unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3, 5). In other words, Jesus saw this as a teachable moment to stress the common need for all to repent. It is at this point that Jesus tells the parable of the barren fig tree.
The Fruit of Repentance
Both the context and the content of the parable make clear that this teaching is not simply a teaching about doing good deeds. Note that if the tree doesn't bear fruit, its final end is destruction. This teaching is salvific in nature. The fig tree in the parable represents a person who is not producing the fruit of true repentance. The apostle Paul tells us that all people should be doing deeds in keeping with . . . repentance" (Acts 26:20 ESV).
What does the fruit of true repentance look like? I believe that Jesus sums up the fruit of true repentance when he tells the Pharisees that they are neglecting "the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness" (Mat 23:23). True repentance, then, is reflected in deeds that show justice, mercy and faithfulness.
In addition to the actions of justice, mercy and faithfulness, true repentance should also be reflected in the character of the true follower of Christ. Jesus gives us the evidence of the nature of a truly repentant heart in Matthew 5: the poor in spirit . . . those who mourn . . . the meek . . . those who hunger and thirst for righteousness . . . the merciful . . . the pure in heart . . . the peacemakers . . . (Matthew 5:3-9).
In other words, a true Christian - a repentant Christian - reveals his faithful heart with both his/her actions and his/her character.
Grace and Mercy
While the parable of the barren fig tree is really a clarion call for repentance, it also illustrates the grace and mercy of God, and of Jesus' wonderful role as intercessor/mediator on our behalf. Even though God's justice demands that the fruitless tree be cut down, notice that the owner (God, the Father) has already patiently waited for three years for the tree to bear fruit, yet the vinedresser (Jesus) intercedes and requests that more time be given. Additionally, in an act of grace, the vinedresser offers to help the tree succeed by digging around it, fertilizing it, nurturing it.
When we remember that the tree represents an unsaved person - one who has not yet shown any signs of repentance and whose end is destruction - this loving and nurturing of the tree/unbeliever is a wonderful example of the salvific ministry of Jesus in seeking and saving the lost. And his request to give the tree more time is a powerful demonstration of the mercy of God.
The barren fig tree (unbeliever) was predestined by God to produce fruit. Ultimately, if the tree does not produce fruit, the end result is to be "cut down." This reinforces the understanding that biblical mercy is not the foregoing of justice (which a just God cannot do), but the delaying of justice so that God's predestining grace might take effect. RC Sproul puts it beautifully in his book The Holiness of God:
“the full measure of justice was delayed so grace would have time to work . . . Here the delay of justice was not the denial of justice but the establishing of mercy and grace.”
Final Thought
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people (Titus 2:11 NIV). To receive God's offer of salvation - to inherit heaven - we simply need to take advantage of God's grace - believe, repent and begin producing "figs".
Remember that God's mercy, that is, the delay of justice, is the reason you and I didn't die in our sleep last night for the sins we committed yesterday. The apostle Peter sums up the amazing mercy of God with this: The Lord . . . is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance (2 Peter 3:9 ESV). Amen!
Next Post: Here is a link: https://www.bibleinsights.net/post/post-41-unity-not-diversity-is-our-strength
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