Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

Text and Content

This parable appears only in Luke 13:6–9. A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came seeking fruit on it for "these three years" but found none, so he told the vinedresser to cut the tree down, since it should not be allowed to "cumber the ground." The vinedresser pleaded, "Lord, let it alone this year also." He would dig around the tree and fertilize it, and if it still bore no fruit after that, the owner could cut it down. The parable ends with this reply and does not say whether the tree ever bore fruit.

Immediately before, in 13:1–5, Jesus refers to two events. One is the incident in which Pilate mingled the blood of certain Galileans with their sacrifices; the other is the collapse of the tower in Siloam, which killed eighteen people. Jesus says that these victims did not suffer because they were greater sinners than others, and He warns, "except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." The parable follows directly upon this warning.

Background

Planting fig trees in vineyards is generally believed to have been not uncommon in Palestine. The fig tree is regarded as drawing heavily on the soil's nutrients. The remark that a fruitless tree "cumbereth the ground" would therefore have been a vivid expression for those who first heard the parable.

Interpretations differ regarding the meaning of the "three years." Some interpreters point to the regulation in Leviticus 19:23–25, which forbade eating the fruit of a newly planted tree during its first several years. In light of this, they take the phrase to mean that the tree was mature enough that fruit could reasonably be expected.

Significance in the Wider Biblical Context

In the Old Testament, the fig tree and the vineyard frequently serve as images of Israel. A representative example is Isaiah 5:1–7, where God tends a vineyard that yields only wild grapes. Hosea 9:10 and Jeremiah 8:13 likewise compare the fruit of the fig tree to the condition of God's people.

In the New Testament, John the Baptist had already proclaimed, "And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire" (Luke 3:9). The cursing of the fig tree recorded in Mark 11 and Matthew 21 also concerns a fruitless fig tree. Because Luke does not include that episode but does include this parable, the two passages are often compared. In its demand for fruit, the parable is also connected with the parable of the vine in John 15:1–8.

Interpretations and Issues

• Allegorical interpretation: A reading long used in church tradition, which assigns a corresponding referent to each element. The owner is taken to be God, the vinedresser the interceding Christ, and the fig tree Israel or the individual; the three years are sometimes linked to the length of Jesus' public ministry. Many, however, hold that one should be cautious about matching each detail of a parable to a specific referent. Moreover, the text itself does not state that the public ministry lasted three years.
• Warning to Israel: Some read the parable as a final opportunity for repentance offered to the Israel of that time, especially Jerusalem. On this view, the parable is sometimes connected with the later destruction of Jerusalem.
• Exhortation to the individual: Others read it as a personal call to repentance and to a life befitting it, that is, to bear "fruit." On this reading, the one-year reprieve displays the goodness and longsuffering of God spoken of in Romans 2:4.

The parable's open ending has given rise to several interpretations. One holds that it is left open so that hearers may respond for themselves. Another holds that it reveals a tension: even the reprieve of grace has a time limit.

In the Korean Church

The phrase "let it alone this year also" is reportedly often used as a text for year-end sermons reflecting on the past year, for Watch Night services, and for the first worship service of the new year. On such occasions, the sermon typically leads the congregation to reflect on the fruit they failed to bear in the past year and urges repentance and renewed commitment for the new year.