THE FIG TREE - NYOBS 92.25

The Fig Tree

Unfruitfulness – Time of Repentance – Return of Christ – Kingdom of God

First Word - The Vineyard

·         Jesus reveals His plans and matters with objects of common knowledge and interest, here He uses the common fig tree. -  He told His followers to consider the parable of the Fig Tree… NO He did not! … He commanded them to LEARN the Parable of the Fig Tree. 

·         There is a season for figs on a tree; the green figs generally appeared before the leaves did blending in until maturity, LEAVES SUGGEST FRUITFULNESS, so seeing the leaves, one would expect fruit on the tree. - Fig Trees would normally produce two to three crops a season, starting in the early spring with additional latter crops.  Plus everyone knew that depending on soil conditions and the weather, some trees could produce figs for most of the year.

·         Before we look at the Fig tree, I want to look at the expectations of the vineyard, the soil of the land, the kind of plants and the owner and as well as the gardener caretaker.

·         The Prophet Isaiah paints the picture of an investor purchasing some PRIME land and clearing it of all the rocks and stones, then cultivating it and planting the very best plants.  Then He builds a hedge and fence around it to protect it from animals who might destroy the tender plants, then proceeds to build a watch tower for thieves who might try to break in and steal the harvest and finally He builds a wine press with the expectation of a bountiful harvest.

·         With that said, He did not expect a harvest the FIRST year, but certainly by the SECOND or THIRD year it should be overflowing with a bounty of fruit. 

·         The Story of the Fig Tree starts out with God, the vineyard owner who is in frustration concerning a fig tree that He planted three years ago that had not produced any fruit. Interestingly, the ministry of Jesus Christ was three years as well as John the Baptist who preached to All Israel for REPENTANCE and the coming of the Kingdom of God.

·         The parable continues when God instructs the Gardner who is Jesus Christ to just cut the FRUITLESS tree down and make room for other plants.  Jesus Christ the attentive Gardner, intercedes to give the fig tree A LITTLE MORE TIME; just one more year and He would give it special attention. - If it still did not produce fruit; then it would be cut down.  (Remember, a day to the Lord is a like a thousand years; time has once again been put on hold.)

Matthew 24:32-33 – LEARN the parable of the Fig Tree
³² Now LEARN A LESSON FROM THE (parable) FIG TREE. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near.
³³ In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know

HIS RETURN IS VERY NEAR, RIGHT AT THE DOOR.

(NLT)

Isaiah 5:1-7 – What more could God do for Israel
¹ Now I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a rich and fertile hill.
² HE PLOWED THE LAND, CLEARED ITS STONES, AND PLANTED IT WITH THE BEST VINES. In the middle he

BUILT A WATCHTOWER AND CARVED A WINEPRESS in the nearby rocks. Then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes, but the grapes that grew were bitter.  Now, you people of Jerusalem and Judah, you judge between me and my vineyard.
⁴ WHAT MORE COULD I HAVE DONE FOR MY VINEYARD

THAT I HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE? When I expected sweet grapes, why did my vineyard give me bitter grapes? Now let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard:
⁵ I will tear down its hedges and let it be destroyed. I will break down its walls and let the animals trample it.
⁶ I will make it a wild place where the vines are not pruned and the ground is not hoed, a place overgrown with briers and thorns. I will command the clouds to drop no rain on it.
⁷ THE NATION OF ISRAEL IS THE VINEYARD OF THE LORD of Heaven’s Armies. The people of Judah are his pleasant garden. He expected a crop of justice, but instead he found oppression. He expected to find righteousness, but instead heard cries of violence. (NLT)

The Fig Tree

·         Painting the picture; Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem and being hungry happens upon a fig tree and seeing the LEAVES; He expects an early fig, but the fig tree was “FRUITLESS”.  Jesus curses the tree; which was a teaching for the disciples not yet realized.  He then proceeds on to the Temple only to find it overrun with merchants exchanging money, selling livestock and birds; that is when He cuts loose and cleansed the Temple of all its merchants. 

·         The next day Jesus and the astonished disciples observe this fig tree withered from the roots up, something that would have normally taken a number of weeks to accomplish.

·         This is the only act of judgment of Christ while on earth, it demonstrates His authority to BLAST as well as to BLESS. – However, there is another story that seemingly judgment was passed on 2,000 swine at Gadara with a legion of demons.  This was actually a blessing on the man that was possessed by the demons.  The demons begged to go into the pigs and the pigs went crazy and ran into the sea and drowned; they did it to themselves; they got what they asked for. – Everything you ask for is NOT beneficial for you, so be careful what you ask for.     - It’s in the Book -

·         Since there are other accounts of barren fig trees in the Book containing  slight variances in the account of the story, students of the Word debate when the curse and the withering took place; but that’s not the point of the teaching, the story is about what THE FIG TREE represents; symbolically the FIG TREE represents ISRAEL.

·         Jesus is symbolically putting an ax to the root of fruitless Israel; fruitless Christians that have only a form of religious godliness that are just Make Believers. – This is why He commanded us to Learn the parable of the Fig Tree. When we are barren of fruit, we have failed the purpose for which we were created. - Their fruit of holiness was lacking; their Fruit was professed, but not possessed.   

·         Israel was spiritually dead; lacking the FAITH that Jesus the Christ could save man, and they responded, telling Him to go save Himself. – After this teaching, Jesus then continues on in His parable with His teaching of the Power of having Faith.  

Isaiah 28:4 – The early fig is quickly picked and eaten
⁴ It sits at the head of a fertile valley, but its glorious beauty will fade like a flower. Whoever sees it will snatch it up,

AS AN EARLY FIG IS QUICKLY PICKED AND EATEN. (NLT)

Mark 11:12-14 – The Fig Tree was in FULL leaf
¹² The next morning as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.
¹³ He noticed a FIG TREE in full leaf a little way off, so he went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit.
¹⁴ Then Jesus said to the tree,

“MAY NO ONE EVER EAT YOUR FRUIT AGAIN!” And the disciples heard him say it.

(NLT)

Matthew 21:18-22 – Immediately the fig tree withered
¹⁸ In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry,
¹⁹ and he noticed a FIG TREE beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “MAY YOU NEVER BEAR FRUIT AGAIN!” And immediately the fig tree withered up.
²⁰ The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”
²¹ Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have FAITH and don’t doubt, you CAN DO THINGS LIKE THIS and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen.
²² You can pray for anything, and IF YOU HAVE FAITH, you will receive it.” (NLT)

2 Timothy 3:5 – They had only a form of godliness
⁵ HAVING A FORM OF GODLINESS but denying its power. And from such people turn away! (NKJV)

1 Corinthians 6:12 – Everything asked for is NOT beneficial
¹² I HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO ANYTHING,” you say—

BUT NOT EVERYTHING IS BENEFICIAL. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. (NIV2011)

Mark 5:1-15 – Demons begged to enter the 2000 pigs
¹ So they arrived at the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gerasenes.
² When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out from a cemetery to meet him. With a shriek, he screamed.  In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me!”
⁹ Then Jesus demanded, “What is your name?” And he replied,

“MY NAME IS LEGION,

because there are many of us inside this man.”
¹⁰ Then THE EVIL SPIRITS BEGGED HIM again and again not to send them to some distant place.
¹¹ There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby. SEND US INTO THOSE PIGS,” the spirits begged. “Let us enter them.”
¹³ SO JESUS GAVE THEM PERMISSION. The evil spirits came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd of 2,000 pigs plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water. (NLT)

ISRAEL - the History

·         In the finality of things; Isaiah reveals that GOD is the investor/owner of the prime land, JESUS is the Intercessor caretaker and the people of Judah are his pleasant garden; THE VINYARD IS ISRAEL. - God expected a crop of justice, but instead what He found was oppression.  He expected to find righteousness, but instead He heard cries of violence. 

·         What He found was WORTHLESS sour grapes and His response was I will tear down its hedges and let it be destroyed. I will break down its walls and let the animals trample it. - I will make it a wild place where the vines are not pruned and the ground is not hoed, a place overgrown with briers and thorns. I will command the clouds to withhold the rain.

·         What we see interwoven in all the fig trees stories is Jesus the caretaker, interceding for the unfruitful trees and requesting that God the Owner to delay His destruction of the unfruitful tree for one more year and He will give them special attention, and if they still did not produce fruit then He himself will put the ax to the roots of the trees.

·         God delayed His judgement until 70AD when Titus overthrew Jerusalem and the temple was destroyed with not one stone standing upon another. 

·         The question for the unbeliever is WHAT MORE COULD HE HAVE DONE to save mankind.
Today we have been given another extended PERIOD OF GRACE; a time to become FRUITFUL before His return.

- It’s in the Book –

Luke 13:6-9 – If the tree does not produce; cut it down
⁶ Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a FIG TREE in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed.
⁷ Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! CUT IT DOWN. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’
⁸ The gardener answered, ‘Sir, GIVE IT ONE MORE CHANCE. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer.
⁹ If we get FIGS next year, fine.

IF NOT, then you can CUT IT DOWN.’”

(NLT)

Matthew 24:3 – Disciples asked what is the SIGN of His return.
³ after, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said,

“TELL US, WHEN WILL ALL THIS HAPPEN?

WHAT SIGN WILL SIGNAL YOUR RETURN

AND THE END OF THE WORLD?”

(NLT)

Luke 21:29-31 – The Fig Tree and ALL THE TREES
²⁹ Then He told them a parable:

"BEHOLD THE FIG TREE AND ALL THE TREES;
³⁰ as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that SUMMER (the season) IS NOW NEAR.
³¹ So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NEAR.

(NASB)

Matthew 24:24-25 – False Messiahs and teachers will rise up
²⁴  For FALSE MESSIAHS AND FALSE PROPHETS WILL RISE UP and perform GREAT SIGNS AND WONDERS so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.
²⁵ SEE, I HAVE WARNED YOU ABOUT THIS AHEAD OF TIME. (NLT)

Matthew 24:30 – The Sign is Jesus coming in the clouds
³⁰ And then at last, THE SIGN THAT THE SON OF MAN IS COMING will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And

THEY WILL SEE THE SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS of heaven with power and great glory.

(NLT)

Luke 13:1-5 – Repent now; do not perish
¹ About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple.
² Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered?
³ Not at all! AND YOU WILL PERISH, TOO, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.
⁴ And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem?
⁵ No, and I tell you again that

UNLESS YOU REPENT, you will perish, too.”

(NLT)

Ezekiel 32:7-8 – Heavens, stars, sun, moon and land darkened
⁷ WHEN I BLOT YOU OUT, I will veil the heavens and

darken the stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and

the moon will not give you its light.
⁸ I will darken the bright stars overhead and cover your land in darkness. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken! (NLT)

The Take Away

·         The fig tree parable is twofold, THE FIRST representing the spiritual fruits of the individual man and THE SECOND is the Nation of Israel representing the SEASON of the return of Christ; both requiring repentance and the bearing of good fruit.

·         All through the New Testament Israel is symbolized as the Fig Tree, the Book says that when the Fig Tree leaves begin to sprout you can know that the RETURN of Jesus Christ is near; even at the door.

·         May 14, 1948 Israel was declared an independent international state; in 1967 the six day war enlarged their borders.  The shoot has been planted and now the leaves of the fig tree of Israel have begun to sprout announcing the SEASON of Christ’s return. – Doctor Luke warns every Christian that ALL THE TREES, not just Israel; must bear fruit.  The Lord’s Ax is now poised over the roots of the fig trees. – God in His ever loving mercy has given us an EXTENDED TIME for repentance; we are now on borrowed time. 

·         The Book says, let the wicked change their ways; turn to the LORD and He will have mercy on them and forgive generously.  – It’s in the Book –

Luke 3:8-9 – Every tree that does not produce fruit is cut down
⁸ Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.
⁹ Even now THE AX OF GOD’S JUDGMENT IS POISED, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes,

EVERY TREE THAT DOES NOT PRODUCE GOOD FRUIT

WILL BE CHOPPED DOWN AND THROWN INTO THE FIRE.” (NLT)

Isaiah 55:6-7 – Seek God while He can still be found
⁶ SEEK THE LORD WHILE YOU CAN FIND HIM.

Call on him now WHILE HE IS NEAR.
⁷ Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.

(NLT)

Isaiah 13:9-13 – The day of the Lord is coming; judgment
⁹ For see, THE DAY OF THE LORD IS COMING— the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger. The land will be made desolate,

and all the sinners destroyed with it.
¹⁰ The heavens will be black above them; the stars will give no light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will provide no light.
¹¹ I, the LORD, will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their sin. I will crush the arrogance of the proud and humble the pride of the mighty.
¹² I will make people scarcer than gold— more rare than the fine gold of Ophir.
¹³ For I will shake the heavens. The earth will move from its place when the LORD of Heaven’s Armies displays his wrath in

THE DAY OF HIS FIERCE ANGER.”  (NLT)

Psalm 18:7-15 – He returns with great anger blazing forth
⁷ Then the earth quaked and trembled. The foundations of the mountains shook; they quaked because of his anger.
⁸ Smoke poured from his nostrils; fierce flames leaped from his mouth. Glowing coals blazed forth from him.
⁹ He opened the heavens and came down; dark storm clouds were beneath his feet.
¹¹ He shrouded himself in darkness, veiling his approach with dark rain clouds.
¹² Thick clouds shielded the brightness around him and rained down hail and burning coals.
¹³ The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded amid the hail and burning coals.
¹⁴ He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies; his lightning flashed, and they were greatly confused.
¹⁵ Then at your command, O LORD, at the blast of your breath,

the bottom of the sea could be seen, and

the foundations of the earth were laid bare. (NLT)

In the multitude of counselors,

there is wisdom.

Proverbs 11:14

I am grateful to those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical

information, and scripture verses.  Because of them I can stand on their shoulders

                         and see further that I otherwise ever could have.              

                                                                                                                                     

All the Parables of the Bible – Herbert Lockyer

Antiquity of the Jews – Flavius Josephus Matthias

Apocrypha – Goodspeed

Baker Commentary on the Bible – Elwell

Bible Almanac; The – Packer-Tenney-White

Bible Commentary – F.B. Meyer

Bible Dictionary – Harper and Row

Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s

Dake’s Annotated Bible – Dake

English Standard Version Bible – ESV

Expositor’s Bible Commentary – Frank E. Gaebelein

Forgotten Books of Eden; The – World

Gospels Interwoven; The – Karmit Zarley

Illustrated Bible Dictionary; The – Tyndale

Interlinear Greek-English New Testament – Baker

Invisible War; The – Donald Grey Barnhouse

King James Version Bible – KJV

Lost Books of the Bible; The - World

Lost Books of the Bible; The - Bell

Matthew Henry’s Commentary - Zondervan

Meredith’s Book of List; 1&2 –Bethany House Publishers

Missing Books of the Bible; The – Halo Press

Mysteries of the Bible – Readers Digest

Nag Hammadi Library; The – James M. Robinson

Nave’s Topical Bible - Zondervan

New International Dictionary of the Bible; The – Douglas - Tenney

New International Version Bible (2011) – NIV

New Living Translation Bible - NLT

Parables of Jesus; The – J. Dwight Pentecost

Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls – Hugh J. Schonfield

Systematic Theology – Wayne Grudem

Thru the Bible – J. Vernon McGee

Vincent’s Word Studies of the New Testament – Mac Donald

Who’s Who in the Bible – Paul D. Gardner

Wycliffe Bible Commentary; The – Pfeiffer & Harrison

Wikipedia –