
The topic for our lesson this morning is Becoming a Fruit-Bearing Christian. We will be looking at a couple of fig trees, a vine, and some branches. That will be how we get our lesson this morning. On three specific occasions; Jesus used some illustrations, to show what it means to be fruit-bearing.
We're going to be able to get some great insights from this.
Jesus Uses 3 Distinct Illustrations to Teach about the Fruit-bearing Christian
- The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree - Luke 13
- Personal Encounter with A Fig Tree - Mark 11
- The Metaphor of The Vine and Branches - John 15
Hopefully [we can] draw some conclusions, some thoughts, that we can take and add to our lives so that we can make sure that as Christians, we are bearing fruit as God intended for us to do.
The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
- Luke 13:6-9
Jesus has been speaking. There's been an interruption in Jesus's words, backing up to verse one, and there was a group of people who came to Jesus with some information about Pilate.
And Pilate, when you look at verse one; had very secretly killed some Galileans while they were in the process of offering sacrifices. The Galilean region was not necessarily under Pilate's specific rule. Pilate was a Roman ruler. Galileans were ruled by Herod.
We know from our study of the New Testament and New Testament history that Herod and Pilate, were not wonderful friends. They were not companions at all. Both of these were evil men, they were, by the way. Don't get the idea that either one of them was right in the eyes of God, but neither one of them was really very nice to one another, either. So we don't necessarily know from the text why these Galileans were being put to death by Pilate. It is assumed by many that this was a shot against Herod, and these Galileans were just suffering at the hands of Pilate. Because Pilate didn't care about the Galileans at all.
So, it was reported to Jesus that Pilate had secretly killed these Galileans in verse one. The blood of the Galileans was mixed with the blood of the sacrifices on the altar. And it's almost as if these Jews that come to Jesus saying, look at what Pilate has done, that they're almost pleased, it seems like, that these Galileans are dead. And it's almost like they believed that they deserved to die.
Jesus is going to respond with another tragic event that he's going to relate to them in verse 4 and he's gonna throw this right alongside the story that they told him and that was concerning when the tower of Siloam. We believe that it was overlooking the pool of Siloam that's read about in the New Testament. And, in the process of its construction, it fell, and 18 individuals were killed.
And Jesus says, don't you suppose that these were also just as guilty and ugly and vile as those Galileans that were killed? Jesus doesn't really believe that, but he's trying to prove a point to them. And the point is that you cannot judge the conditions of someone's heart by the things that they've suffered.
And verses three and five, say the same thing, but except you repent, you shall perish just like all these have perished. And they're outside of the realm of righteousness. And then he's going to teach this particular parable.
- Luke 13:6-9
"We cannot judge of men's sins by their suffering in this world. For many are thrown into the furnace as gold to be purified, not as dross or chaff to be consumed. We must therefore not be harsh in our censures of those that are afflicted more than their neighbors. " — Matthew Henry
You see, we've talked about this idea before. Something that was another prevailing idea in the first century was that if you were suffering greatly, it was because you had done some great sin or done some terrible thing to bring this suffering to your doorstep.
We look at Job from the Old Testament and his three wonderful friends, said in air quotes, his three wonderful friends that came and sat by him and then accused him of all these wrongdoings. It was a prevailing theory, but it did not have proof and one that was not backed by reasoning.
And Jesus is going to use this as an example to say, it's not the things that you've suffered that necessarily determine your righteousness or your unrighteousness in my sight. But he's going to use this idea of a fig tree.
As Jesus brought out in the beginning of this parable, a certain man had a vineyard and in his vineyard, this tree was planted. As Christians, we are planted in God's vineyard when we become a part of His kingdom. When we've been baptized for the forgiveness of our sins; when we've asked for the forgiveness of our sins, when we sought repentance before God so that our sins could be taken away we are then added, as Luke records in Luke chapter two in verse 47 into the kingdom of God. This is the same as God planting a tree in his vineyard.
- The fig tree represents us in God’s Kingdom
- The fig tree failed to produce fruit for the past 3 years
- Seeing no fruit “cut it down”
- “Cumbereth” = to be entirely idle
- One more chance/cut down
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree
Another account, Mark chapter 11. Jesus' encounter with a fig tree. This is the last week of Jesus' life and Jesus is traveling.
- Mark 11:12-14; 20-21
Jesus is in need of some food. As it says, He's traveling from Bethany to Jerusalem at this time and He sees this fig tree. And a tree that is full of leaves that look like it looks like there should be something there. But then this statement is made that it was not the time of the regular harvest for figs. So Jesus approaches this tree and there's nothing. And standing there in front of the tree. And so the apostles can hear what Jesus says. Jesus curses the tree and says, nobody's ever going to eat off of you ever again. And walks off.
Now, some have taken issue with this particular account. It's also found in the gospel of Matthew. Some critics have gone out of their way to accuse Jesus of things that they ought not. Notice Kyle Butt made this statement.
“Steve Wells, the author of The Skeptics’ Annotated Bible, labeled this story as an absurdity and said in a sarcastic tone: “Jesus kills a fig tree for not bearing figs, even though it was out of season. He did this to show the world just how much God hates figs.” – Kyle Butt
I would argue that's not the case. And what an absurd thing to actually say. But if you've ever looked into The Skeptic's Bible, oh boy, you better just hang on as you read because you're getting into the realm of absurdity with nearly every page you turn this particular man has his comments. And you can obviously see from his comments that he is not trying to impart anything about righteousness and spiritualness at all. He's actively attempting to turn people away from God and from the Word of God.
But Kyle would go on in another statement to say this.
“Louis Cable, another skeptic, responded to the story with this statement: “Now to curse a fig tree for not bearing fruit in March is not unlike kicking a dog because it cannot speak English thereby punishing it for the inability to do the impossible.” – Kyle Butt
So we have some critics here who are very angry, if you will, at what they read concerning what Jesus has done. But as with many skeptics and critics of the New Testament, they've made these statements without doing very much research at all.
Now here's an individual right here, R. K. Harrison, who's a contributor to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ISBE. And they have lots of good and interesting historical facts,
“Various kinds of figs grew in Palestine during the first century. One very important aspect of fig growth has to do with the relationship between the leaf and the fruit…” (R.K. Harrison, ISBE contributor)
So if you're not up on, on all of this, basically what that means is when you have a healthy fig tree, the leaves come out, there are these immature figs, known as taksh to the Arabs, that grow at the same time as the leaves.
So now take that information. Go back to what we read in verse 10. Jesus sees this fig tree from the road that's full of leaves and he knows if it's a healthy tree, there should be some proof because there are leaves and young fruit.
“When the young leaves are appearing in spring, every fertile fig will have some Taksh on it…But if a tree with leaves has no fruit, it will be barren for the entire season.” – R.K. Harrison
So Jesus approaches this tree, which to the eye, to the image that it presents, appears to be a healthy fruit-bearing tree, but in fact, it was not going to bear fruit at all that year because the immature figs were not present with the leaves. And Jesus curses that particular tree and says, No one is going to eat off of you ever again.
And the next day when they pass by this very same place, Peter remembers what Jesus said, and he calls it out to Jesus. Like, here's the tree that you cursed. It's already withered up and died.
- Mark 10:20-27
Jesus is teaching them that they cannot allow anything to get in the way of their faithfulness to God. They have to believe in the power of prayer, which is what Jesus tells them as a result of this example that He's demonstrated for them.
Jesus Uses the Metaphor of a Vine
- John 15:1-8
And I know we looked at this particular passage, uh, last week, and I don't necessarily mean to be going over the same verses but the best way to learn and understand is through spaced repetition. Well, it's been a few days, so we're going to look at John chapter 15 again.
Jesus says, I am the vine. So what we're going to do this morning, for a moment in a way to illustrate this, is we're going to have that hierarchy chart. We're going to demonstrate to a degree, the lesser degree than what Jesus is doing here, how this works.
He says, God, the father, my father is the husband and he is the owner of this particular vineyard. It belongs to Him. I am the vine, everything that is attached to me has the ability to grow, is what Jesus is saying.
I am the vine. There is no other vine in the field. Except me. And then there are these branches. Now to those in the first century, these branches, obviously the Jews are thinking, Oh, He's talking about us. He's patting us on the back. We're the branches. We are the offspring that God has set up. Salvation is of the Jews. Even Jesus said in John chapter four, that they are the branches of God, but they're not the only branches of God. The coming of the church was going to symbolize God's branches are anybody. They are everybody; Jew, Gentile, it didn't matter where they came from. They all had the ability to be part of the branches affixed to Jesus as the vine.
But notice what he says, that if the branches aren't bearing fruit, what's going to happen? They're going to disappear. They're no longer going to be a part of the vine because God is not going to allow those who aren't bearing fruit, those who have stopped growing, and those who haven't tried to progress in their faith to continue being in His vineyard. Because you will destroy the rest of the branches on the vine. And you become an impurity in Jesus's kingdom. And God will not allow that.
But to those that do bear fruit, notice what Jesus says, They are pruned. They are trimmed. They're cut back. A fruit-bearing tree, a limb that has fruit on it, is cut back and then what do we find? It doesn't stop bearing fruit. It bears more fruit in the next year because it's been tended to. It's been taken care of. It has been given a boost if you will, nutrients and vitamins and things that it absolutely needs. And it's going to respond well to that and bear fruit, more fruit in the future. That's what God wants.
Many times these seven verses talk about abiding in Jesus. If you abide in me, if I abide in you..., then growth can take place. Notice Jesus says unequivocally the branches do not grow on their own. If you hold the branch up to the vine next to it, is that branch going to flourish of its own power? Absolutely not.
It has to be attached to the life source. The branch has to be attached to the vine in order to receive its nourishment, in order to gain instruction, in order to do what it is notice designed to do. We talk about design from an apologetic standpoint, from a creation versus evolution standpoint. Quite often, design versus chance versus, Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest.
There's design in you and me in the church. It's not just happenstance that we become children of God. It's not just happenstance or survival of the fittest that we make it from this life into the next life in service to God. Christians are designed to grow.
I would argue this, if we as New Testament Christians do not grow, it's not because the vine is impure It's not because the nutrients that come from the vine are not good enough for us. The issue is with us. We as a branch are not doing what we as branches are supposed to do, and thriving.
There could be numerous reasons for that being the case.
Bearing fruit glorifies the Father and through bearing fruit, we demonstrate our discipleship to Jesus.
- John 15:8, 17
God is not going to force His words onto any one of us. God did not force His words onto and into the apostle's hearts. That's not how it works.
"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." — John 15:7-8
So what about fruit-bearing today? Well, we can, we can easily explain what fruit-bearing is not. There's a portion of this that is part of bearing fruit, but for many, the concept of bearing fruit as a Christian is wrapped up in one word and one word only, and that is evangelism.
Some would say that if you have not personally been involved with or been responsible for bringing someone from the world to the church, then you're not engaged in evangelism and therefore you're not a fruit-bearing Christian. Let me as plainly as possible say that is way too narrow of a description of fruit-bearing. Because we may not all be able to attain that definition or description.
And then, we sit back and we say, I don't know if I'm gonna make it. I hope so. And we don't use hope in the Biblical sense. We use it in our earthly sense of there's a chance I don't, but I wish that I will.
Fruit-bearing is not 100% wrapped up in the number of people that you bring either from your family or the world into the church. Is there a portion of fruit-bearing that is going to be in evangelism? Evangelism is going to be part of fruit-bearing, absolutely, because the more we grow as individual Christians, the more we're going to see certain things Jesus' way, we're going to see the church God's way, we're going to see the world the way God sees the world, and it's going to cause us to act. How do I know? Because it's caused us to act up to this point. And we're going to continue acting in a way that is right in the sight of God.
But there are also others, there have been entire movements dedicated to this idea that 100 percent of evangelism is 100 percent of their fruit-bearing. Some may be familiar with titles like the Crossroads Movement or the Boston Movement, but you don't find them so much in this part of the country. But in certain parts of the country, the northeast and even in the southeast. You'll find these even still today, and they built a reputation on this faulty way of thinking, and they've done much damage to folks that they have tried to brainwash. That's the only nice way that I can put what they've done, to individuals who have followed their, teachings and, their ways of living. And it's so far from being accurate.
As to what we see fruit-bearing to be in the New Testament.
“Fruit bearing is intently inclusive of all Christian activities. It is not restricted JUST to winning of souls as some, who lack full comprehension, have contended.” – Robert R. Taylor Jr.
You see it so much more than what we try and say it is, this idea of fruit-bearing.
What is fruit-bearing?
I would conclude and I would argue and we could add so many more things to this. And, but this is what I want you to think about.
- Doing good to others is fruit-bearing - Galatians 6:10
- Bearing one another's burdens - Galatians 6:2
- Husbands dwell with your wives according to knowledge. - 1 Peter 3:7
- Wives submit yourselves to your own husbands. - Ephesians 5:22
- Child-rearing - Proverbs 22:6, Ephesians 6:4
That's fruit-bearing. That's doing the things that God has told us as Christians to do with information that we have gleaned from His Word.
It's His Word in us demonstrated by the things that come out of what we say, what we think, and what we do. That way when someone looks at us, they don't see a tree that has just leaves on it. They can walk up to us and they can see the immature fruit, if it's out of season, or they can see the ripened fruit on the vine.
- Matthew 5:14, 16
What did Jesus say in John chapter 15 brought glory to the Father?
Us bearing fruit. Shine your light into the world that they may see your fruit-bearing, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.
- Colossians 1:3-8
Paul commends the Christians, the saints that are in Colossae, for their growth, for their love for the brethren, and notice how they did it, the hope, the expectation of heaven, which is found in the gospel.
Maybe you're not unlike that first fig tree in the parable. You're in the vineyard. You're in the field. You are a tree planted in God's kingdom. But to this point, you're not bearing fruit. Are you ready to bear fruit?
If you're going to be nourished this one more time, are you ready to do what the owner of the field wants you to do? Maybe you're like the tree that Jesus sees from the road and all the potential, all the outside of this tree looks like what a fruit-bearing tree is supposed to look like but when you get closer things may be in your life aren't matching up with what Jesus says is supposed to be in a fruit-bearing tree.
Maybe you're like the branches of the vine who are trying to gain a source of life outside the vine. There's only one way to live faithfully to God and that is by abiding in Jesus.
Maybe you're not a member of the body of Christ at all. This lesson is not to scare you away from being a Christian because there are expectations for Christians. Hopefully, we're looking for a way to live that brings us joy peace, and happiness, not only in this life but in the life that is to come.
If we're able to help, assist you in any way, please contact us so we can meet you, and work with you to come to know the love of God.