A couple of posts ago I asked the question: What happened to the other nine? I was referring to nine of the ten lepers Jesus healed of leprosy, and only one came back to be blessed. In that post, I mentioned how there could be other unanswered questions from other gospel passages.

For example, we can look at “The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree” – Luke 13:6-9. We are never told what happened to the fig tree. When the man went back the next year, was there any fruit on the tree, or did he have the vinedresser cut it down? And does it matter?

Let’s remember that parables are not true stories; they are used to illustrate some point the teller wants to make. They use real-life examples, but each part, like the fig tree, for example, represents something else. What are the symbols and meanings in this parable?

The man is God. The fig tree stands for the human race, and how God planted it, but it hasn’t produced fruit. A vinedresser is a person who takes care of the tree by trimming it, removing the non-producing branches, fertilizing it, and so forth.

Jesus is the vinedresser. He is spreading his word and trying to get people to repent and understand what they need to do to get to heaven. His teachings are the fertilizer. Each one of us is a branch. Next year is Judgement Day. This is when Jesus will come and see if we have produced any fruit. If we haven’t, he will cut the non-producing branches.

Therefore, the fate of the tree isn’t known right now, but it is our choice to either bear fruit or not. We can listen to Jesus and his teachings, or we can ignore them. But there is one thing we need to remember. We don’t know when the last day will be, meaning we need to make a decision fast. We can try and roll the dice, but we could get it wrong. Starting to change our lives tomorrow won’t do us any good if we don’t wake up tomorrow morning.

And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. ⁷  And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Behold, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?’ ⁸ And he answered him, ‘Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. ⁹ And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ” (Luke 13:6–9, RSV2CE)