Church History: Observations:
1. The advantages which this fig-tree had. It was planted in a vineyard, in better soil, and where it had more care taken of it and more pains taken with it, than other fig-trees had, that commonly grew, not in vineyards (Those are for vines), but by the way-side, (Matthew 21:19). This fig-tree belonged to a certain man, who owned it, and was responsible for it. The church of God is his vineyard. We are fig-trees planted in this vineyard by our baptism; we have a place
and a name in the visible church, and this is our privilege and happiness. It is a distinguishing favor.
2. The owner's expectation from it: He came, and sought fruit from it, and he had reason to expect it. He did not send someone else, but came himself, intimating his desire to find fruit. Christ came into this world, came to his own, to the Jews, seeking fruit. The God of heaven requires and expects fruit from those that have a place in his vineyard. He has his eye upon those that enjoy the gospel, to see whether they live up to it; he seeks evidences of their getting good by the means of grace they enjoy. Leaves will not serve, crying, Lord, Lord; blossoms will not serve, beginning well and promising fair; there must be fruit. Our thoughts, words, and actions must be according to the gospel, light and love.
3. The disappointment of his expectation: He found none, none at all, not one fig. It is sad to think how many enjoy the privileges of the gospel, and yet do nothing at all to the honor of God, nor to answer the end of his entrusting them with those privileges; and it is a disappointment to him and a grief to the Spirit of his grace.
(1.) He here complains of it to the dresser of the vineyard: I come, seeking fruit, but am disappointed--I find none, looking
for grapes, but behold wild grapes. He is grieved with such a generation.
(2.) He aggravates it, with two considerations:
He had waited a long time, and yet was disappointed. As he was not high in his expectations, he only expected fruit, not much fruit, so he was not hasty, he came three years, year after year: applying it to the Jews, he came one space of time before the captivity, another after that, and another in the preaching of John Baptist and of Christ himself; or it may allude to the three years of Christ's public ministry, which were now expiring. In general, it teaches us that the patience of God is stretched out to long-suffering with many that enjoy the gospel, and do not bring forth the fruits of it; and this patience is wretchedly abused, which provokes God to greater severity. How many times three years has God come to many of us, seeking fruit, but has found none, or next to none, or worse than none!
This fig-tree not only did not bring forth fruit, it took up the room of a fruitful tree, and was injurious to all about it. Those who do not do good commonly do hurt by the influence of their bad example; they grieve and discourage those that are good; they harden and encourage those that are bad.
4. The doom passed upon it; Cut it down. He saith this to the caretaker of the vineyard, to Christ, to whom all judgment is committed, to the ministers who are in his name to declare this doom. Nothing else can be expected concerning barren trees than that they should be cut down. As the unfruitful vineyard is dismantled, the unfruitful trees in the vineyard are cast out of it, and wither. What reason is there why it should have a place in the vineyard to no purpose?
5. The caretaker’s intercession for it. Christ is the great Intercessor; he ever lives, interceding. Ministers are intercessors; they that dress the vineyard should intercede for it; those we preach to we should pray for, for we must give ourselves to the word of God and to prayer.
Now observe,
He prays for a reprieve: Lord, let it alone this year also. He does not pray, "Lord, let it never be cut down," but, "Lord, not now. Lord, do not remove the caretaker, do not withhold the dews, and do not cut down the tree."
He promises to fertilize the tree.
Upon what grounds he leaves the matter: "Let us try to save it, try what we can do with it for one more year.
But he adds, If after that time it does not bear fruit, you can cut it down.
Though God has shown great patience, he will not bear wait forever for unfruitful professors; his patience will have an end, and, if it be abused, will give way to that wrath which will have no end.7
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