Bible reading
1 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.’”
Source: Luke 13:1-9 (New American Standard Bible)
Bible Study summary
We often like to compare ourselves to others, thinking we are better than them. When we see other people suffer, we believe it is because of their own choices and decisions. Whatever happens to them, they brought it on themselves. They are worse off than us because they chose to go down that path, or they did not choose to turn around when they had a chance. However, as we do this, we often fail to realize that we are headed down the same path as them and will eventually meet the same end. Unless we have turned around from the path that everyone is walking down, we will end up in the same destination as them.
What then should we do? What is this path that everyone is walking down that we need to turn around from? What is this way of thinking that everyone has that we need to change from? Is there something that we are doing that we should not be doing? Or is there something that we are not doing that we should be doing?
We are like the fig tree that Jesus talks about in Luke 13:6-9. We have received many resources in our lives and these resources should enable us to produce things with them. It’s only fair that the one who gave us all this would hope that they would be put to good use and bring about fruits. If not, then it would be a waste, as those resources could be put towards other productive means.
If that is the case, then what are these fruits that God expects us to produce? To answer this, we can take a look at the many references to fruits which the Bible contains. In Genesis, we see God instructing the first man and woman to be fruitful and multiply. Just like having physical children, we can see that being fruitful is to pass on life to others. In Gal 5:22-23, we also see the “fruits of the Spirit”, which are the qualities that come out of a person’s life when they have the spirit of God in them. The fruit that we produce is not just life for ourselves, but a life that gets passed on to others, bringing them also to life.
God will not expect us to produce fruits without giving us everything we need to produce it. We have received many resources in our lives, just like the fig tree. We’ve been given time, and extra. We’ve been given the word of God and the spirit of God, like water and air for the fig tree. We’ve been given a ground to grow on, and sunlight to pull us to grow upward. And in addition to all that, we’ve been given Christ, a vineyard keeper, who would do everything he can to give us a chance to bear fruit.
Just like Christ, we are called to help others to grow also. We are called to do everything we can to give others a chance to bear fruit too. Let us consider how we can work to provide those around us with ground, water, air, sunlight, time, and everything they need to be fruitful. The resources we receive from God, in turn, we use to provide those around us to enable them to also have life, grow, and bear fruit.
Thus, instead of looking around us and consider how we are better off than others for not making the same mistakes, let us change our mindset and instead seek how to pass on life to others. For if we are not doing what God wants us to do, we will likewise meet our end. But if we repent, not only do we obtain life, we also become people who can be used by God to bring life to those who are perishing.
Bible study by Pastor Stan
Summary by Horace