Buried Treasure index

BURIED TREASURE: Exploring The Parables Of Jesus

by J. W. Jepson, D.Min.

Copyright © 1997 by J. W. Jepson

All rights reserved, including the right to grant the following permission and to prohibit the misuse thereof:

The Author hereby grants permission to reproduce the text of this article, without changes or alterations*, as a ministry, but not for commercial or non-ministry purposes.

-------

15.

WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE?

A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.

Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?

And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: and if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

--Luke 13:6-9

WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE?

Jesus had been challenging His Judean audience with the moral obligations of true religion. He had even used the term "hypocrites" in addressing them.

All of this went directly against one of their deeply ingrained notions. They assumed that if God were displeased with them, He would have brought some evil event upon them. Things were going along fairly well; so they assumed God must be satisfied with them. After all, were they not the chosen people? So then, why all this talk about "hypocrites," and "why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right" (Luke 12:57)? Did Jesus really think they were sinners?

If Jesus wanted to find sinners, He should go to His own native Galilee. There Pilate had mingled the blood of some Galileans with their sacrifices. If those Galileans had not been sinners, that would not have happened to them!

Jesus aimed His reply directly at the heart of their false assumptions: "Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:2,3).

Then the Lord brought the whole matter home to Judea, right to the city of Jerusalem. "Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwell in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (verses 4,5).

Next, the Lord drove the point in all the way by the parable of the barren fig tree.

It was common practice in that country to plant fig trees in vineyards. So the people could easily picture what Jesus described. A fig tree had been planted in a vineyard. For three years the current owner looked for fruit on it, and each time he was disappointed. So he issued the order to his vine-dresser: "Cut it down!"

The vine-dresser interceded, "Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: and if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down" (verses 8,9).

The meaning of this parable is not hard to find. In Scripture Israel was likened to a fig tree and to a vineyard (for example, see Jeremiah 24 and Isaiah 5). The Jews knew this.

The owner of the field had a right to expect figs from a tree. He also had the right to uproot a fruitless tree. Just so, God the Father had a right to expect genuine righteousness from Israel, a nation that professed righteousness. He also had a right to uproot a fruitless nation. In other words, both the tree and the nation should produce what they profess. Both should be removed if they do not.

John the Baptist had already issued the divine warning: "And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire" (Matthew 3:10). Perhaps John's words surfaced in the memories of some of Jesus' hearers as the Lord spoke.

The fruitless tree rendered the ground it occupied useless. It consumed resources, required wasted care, and stood in the place that could be occupied by a fruitful tree.

For three years the Owner sought His rightful fruit (perhaps a reference to our Lord's earthly ministry), but Israel was not producing.

"Cut it down!" came the divine command. That generation was under the judgment of God for rejecting their Messiah and the moral obligations of His kingdom. Jesus made that fact clear to them.

But He was also their Intercessor, and His intercession alone spared them! But not indefinitely. There would be no unlimited fruitlessness.

Jesus would dig around the unfruitful tree, disturb it, probe it, attempt to open it up. He would pour in the life-giving nutrients of the gospel. He would do everything possible to make it fruitful. He would do so for a year--not necessarily a calendar year, but "the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:19). If the nation did not repent during that time, even the Intercessor agreed that it should be cut down. There is no disagreement between the Owner and the Intercessor. They are in perfect harmony both in mercy and in justice.

What did happen? The record of history is tragic. That generation did not repent, and so they likewise perished, their blood spilled by Roman swords and their bodies crushed under the stones of collapsing buildings as the legions of General Titus overcame Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

Christ's words are sure. They are engraved in Scripture as a divine warning to a fruitless world and to a fruitless life. It is aimed particularly at those who name the name of Christ.

A solemn responsibility rests upon all who call themselves Christians! Everyone--most of all God Himself--requires us to produce what we profess.

How should a Christian live? Just ask almost any unbeliever, and they will tell you. Read the Bible, and God will tell you.

God is asking us, "What are you producing in the space you are occupying?"

Unbelievers are producing nothing that is acceptable to God. They are under divine orders to repent and believe the gospel.

Hypocrites are unproductive, too. We who profess to be Christians would do well to ask ourselves, "Am I merely occupying space? Am I receiving spiritual care and consuming the resources of grace without producing the fruit of the Spirit in my life, the fruit of godliness in my conduct, or the fruit of service and ministry? What on earth am I doing for Heaven's sake?"

Let us not join the majority of this age in demanding, "What can I get out of life? What's in it for me?" Instead, with hearts that are regenerated and filled with the love of God, let us inquire diligently, "What can I put into life that will count for time and eternity?"

Let our pursuit be not the pursuit of happiness, but the pursuit of fruitfulness. Then happiness will surely follow. For if we try to save our lives, we shall surely lose them. But if we lose them for Christ's sake and the gospels, we shall surely find them.

Friend, how much time do you have left? None of us knows. "Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). Christ is interceding on our behalf. The Holy Spirit is inviting us. Let us be sure that we are abiding in Him; for if we are, we shall bring forth much fruit (John 15:5).

*****

16. Come To The Feast

Buried Treasure index

introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Bibliography