Jesus’ parable is a continuation and graphic explanation of his warning to the people, “Repent or else…” The man who owes the fig tree in his vineyard is God. The fig tree is often used in the Bible to represent Israel, thus referring to the misguided Jews who came to Jesus wanting to incite Jesus to start a revolt against Pilate and the Rome Pilate represented. They stubbornly continued in an opposite direction than God wanted them to go.
The vineyard represents the kingdom of God. God had planted Israel in his kingdom. Like the man in the parable, God wanted Israel to bear fruit, meaning he wanted them to be his messengers to the world. They were not. They bore no fruit for the three years Jesus had preached, taught, and done miracles. They did not put their faith in him. They did not follow him. They did not obey him. Instead, they wanted to kill all of their enemies. No matter how much Jesus had taken care of the fig tree for the three years of his ministry, they did not bear fruit. God wanted to cut them down.
Jesus pleaded for God to give them some more time to change their ways. He would send his disciples to dig around it and fertilize it. They would continue his work exponentially. Jesus told his Father, “If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.” The Jews did not bear fruit and in 70 AD they were destroyed by Rome. Similarly, I can take Jesus’ parable as a warning to bear fruit as God intends for my life or else…
