If it bears fruit fine; but if not, cut it down.

Luke 13:1-21 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. ² And Jesus said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? ³ I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

⁶ And He began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. ⁷ And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ ⁸ And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; ⁹ and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”

¹⁰ And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹ And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. ¹² When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.”¹³ And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God. ¹⁴ But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” ¹⁵ But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? ¹⁶ And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” ¹⁷ As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.

¹⁸ So He was saying, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? ¹⁹ It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”

²⁰ And again He said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? ²¹ It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”

In yesterday’s text Jesus said:  “From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”   In today’s text Jesus says:   “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate?  I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.  Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Repentance is required in order for us to receive; to be given redemption, reconciliation and restoration. It is given by grace, but it requires that we repent and believe. Ephesians 2:8-9 says:  For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 

Jesus continues in today’s text, telling a parable:  “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”   When we veiw this all in context we see that repentance is necessary for us to be given all that is offered by grace. Yet, not that we are saved by our works, but, we having been given much by grace, are required to do much. We are required, because we have been given much, to bear fruit for the kingdom. Ephesians 2:10 says:  We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.   Repentance means that we change the way we think and act. It is more though than no longer sinning, we are recreated in Christ to do the good works God prepared beforehand. In Jeremiah 29:11 God says:  I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  What is expected or required of we who have given much by grace is that we will align ourselves with God’s plans; that we will do the good works He has prepared and that we will bear fruit in and for the kingdom.  In Luke 3:7-9 John the Baptist said:  “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”   We who have been given much, should bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

Jesus continues in today’s text:  “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.” …  “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”  In Luke 17:21 Jesus says:  “Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”  The kingdom of God may not be visable. It may seem as small as a mustard seed or as insignificant as a small amount of leaven, but because it is within us, because we have been given much, everywhere we go and everything we do should be touched and impacted by the kingdom of God. We should bear fruit for the kingdom. Bearing fruit for the kingdom does not mean that we must all become evangelists, pastors or teachers. It doesn’t mean that we must be prophets or apostles or that we operate in gifts of healing. Galatians 5:22-23 says:  The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…   If these are the fruits in our lives, these will be the fruit of our lives.  From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.  Galatians 5:25 says:  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.  Having been given the indwelling Spirit of God by grace through repentance, we are expected to live by that same Spirit; bearing the fruit of the Spirit.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; thank You for all that I have been given by grace. May I truly be recreated in Christ, through repentance. May the kingdom of God that is within me, impact the world around me. May the fruit of the Spirit in my life become the fruit of the Spirit of my life.   Amen.