Luke 13 · a question people ask
Jesus's parable in 13:6-9 has a fig tree, its owner and a vine dresser. Who are they meant to be?
Jesus doesn't say, and Luke gives no explanation, so these notes give the parable as it stands and add nothing to it. "He spoke this parable. “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none." (13:6). "He said to the vine dresser, ‘Behold, these three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and found none. Cut it down! Why does it waste the soil?’" (13:7). "He answered, ‘Lord, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit, fine; but if not, after that, you can cut it down.’" (13:8-9). There the parable ends. Luke doesn't tell what the owner said next or what became of the tree, and these notes don't say who the tree, the owner or the vine dresser stand for.
The verses
“He spoke this parable. “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. He said to the vine dresser, ‘Behold, these three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and found none. Cut it down! Why does it waste the soil?’ He answered, ‘Lord, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit, fine; but if not, after that, you can cut it down.’””