Jesus seems temperamental. He tells people off. He publicly humiliates questioners. He not-so-subtly casts the listeners as antagonists.
To a specific group, that is.
Need an example?
“Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” —Jesus in Luke 13
Repent or Perish.
Yikes. Really though? I thought we had moved away from the turn or burn message. Our High Priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses, also cuts straight to the jugular of supposed accusers.
REWIND.
Preceding Jesus’s tart response, some news reporters “told [him] about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices” [Luke 13:1].
Graphic, I know. So why does Jesus come down so tough on these seemingly innocent informants? Who are these people giving the news report? And who are these Galileans?
Turns out Galileans weren’t the most respected demographic in Israel. This serves as a clue to why Jesus might come to their defense.
Jesus was a Galilean.
In those days, Judeans looked down upon Galileans for reasons spanning their “lax religious observance,” political and geographical distance from Jerusalem and their mixed ethnic heritage [1].
Pause. These reporters were definitely making a dig at the Galileans with their news report.
Which provides insight into why Jesus responds the way he does. When the unidentified reporters present to Jesus the news of Galileans murdered in their place of worship, Jesus responds with a question: “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?”
When Jesus asks questions, he’s not lacking information.
He knew the hearts and minds of men, so what’s he getting at? Is there a lingering motive peering through the seemingly innocent report these random guys give Jesus?
In typical Jesus fashion, his follow up question reveals the insinuating nature of their report.
The Jews were notorious for incriminating those who fell into hard times, declined under unfortunate events or contracted disease [i.e. blind man in John 9]. It’s possible that these news carriers were alluding to Galilean guilt [2] at the scene of Pilate’s murderous temple crime.
Jesus answers his own question with a resounding no, those who were killed were not deserving of such evil.
Jesus doesn’t critique the Galileans in death, doesn’t explain why they died; instead, he critiques those who would incriminate people for their level of religious devotion and deservingness to die. He reminds the people to turn from their sinful judgment and avoid their own.
Then Jesus tells a story about a tree.
“A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down’” (Luke 13:6-9).
The symbolism in Jesus’ parable is potent, per usual.
Figs symbolically represent the prosperity of Israel and Israel itself [3].
When the owner looks to destroy the barren fig tree, it’s the gardener {later Mary would mistake Jesus as the gardener at the tomb…accident? I think not} who comes to the aid of the barren tree.
It’s as if Jesus rebukes those who would judge the Galileans, but in his parable, he offers the mercy of time and attention to the unfruitful ways of the accusers.
Dirty, Jesus.
The gardener asks the owner of the garden for time and fertilizes the soil with manure, the dirty undesirable things of the land, to bring about life again. The minority group—the unwanted, looked down upon, sociopolitically-dirty Galileans—are brought into the picture as the solution to re-fertilize the unfruitful people of God [1].
THE JESUS SOLUTION: He applies the rejected earth to the soil of the accusing reporters. He applies Himself—the “how could anything good come from Nazareth [Galilee]?” Jesus offers himself to restore his own people.
It is for the unity of Israel—the fig—that he restores the tree. The gardener’s tree. His tree.
Want a fig?
Could this not be a message to Jesus followers? That the fruitfulness of God’s people is connected to the celebration [in place of judgment] of diverse cultural expressions and practices of worship?
Maybe it’s a stretch. But hey, it’s a parable, and I’m just here to pick some fruit.
What do you think of Jesus’s fig story?
- 7 Differences Between Galilee and Judea in the Time of Jesus
- Who were the “Galileans” in the Days of Jesus?
- The Symbolism Of Figs In The Bible
See Camille Waterfallen’s art piece “Let Me” and read her thoughts on this parable.
Photo by Kendal James
