Church Fathers Commentary Luke 13:6-9

"And he spake this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit thereon, and found none. And he said unto the vinedresser, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why doth it also cumber the ground? And he answering saith unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: and if it bear fruit thenceforth, [well]; but if not, thou shalt cut it down." — Luke 13:6-9 (ASV)

Titus of Bostra: The Jews were boasting that while the eighteen had perished, they all remained unhurt. He therefore sets before them the parable of the fig tree, for it follows, He also spoke this parable: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard.

St. Ambrose of Milan: There was a vineyard of the Lord of hosts, which He gave as plunder to the Gentiles. The comparison of the fig tree to the synagogue is well chosen, because just as that tree abounds with wide and spreading foliage and deceives the hopes of its owner with the vain expectation of promised fruit, so also in the synagogue, while its teachers are unfruitful in good works, they magnify themselves with words as with abundant leaves; the empty shadow of the law stretches far and wide.

This tree is also the only one that produces fruit instead of flowers. The fruit falls so that other fruit may follow, yet a few of the former remain and do not fall. For the first people of the synagogue fell off like a useless fruit, so that from the fruitfulness of the old religion, the new people of the Church might arise. Yet those who were the first out of Israel, whom a branch of a stronger nature bore, surpassed all others in the grace of the most excellent fruits. Under the shadow of the law and the cross, in the bosom of both, and stained with a double juice like a ripening fig, it was said to them, You shall sit on twelve thrones.

Some, however, think the fig tree to be a figure not of the synagogue, but of wickedness and treachery; yet these differ in no way from what has been said before, except that they choose the genus instead of the species.

The Venerable Bede: The Lord Himself who established the synagogue through Moses, came born in the flesh, and by teaching frequently in the synagogue, sought the fruits of faith but found none in the hearts of the Pharisees. Therefore, it follows, And came seeking fruit on it, and found none.

St. Ambrose of Milan: But our Lord sought fruit, not because He was ignorant that the fig tree had none, but so that He might show figuratively that the synagogue ought to have fruit by this time. Lastly, from what follows, He teaches that He Himself, who came after three years, did not come before His time. For so it is said, Then said he to the vinedresser, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none. He came to Abraham, He came to Moses, He came to Mary; that is, He came in the seal of the covenant, He came in the law, He came in the body.

We recognize His coming by His gifts: at one time purification, at another sanctification, at another justification. Circumcision purified, the law sanctified, and grace justified. The Jewish people, then, could not be purified, because they had the circumcision of the body but not of the heart. Nor could they be sanctified, because, being ignorant of the law's meaning, they followed carnal rather than spiritual things. Nor could they be justified, because they did not practice repentance for their offenses and knew nothing of grace.

Rightly, then, no fruit was found in the synagogue, and consequently, it is ordered to be cut down. For it follows: Cut it down; why does it cumber the ground? But the merciful vinedresser—perhaps meaning him on whom the Church is founded—foreseeing that another would be sent to the Gentiles, but he himself to those of the circumcision, piously intercedes that it might not be cut off, trusting in his calling that the Jewish people also might be saved through the Church.

Hence it follows, And he answering said to him, Lord, let it alone this year also. He soon perceived that hardness of heart and pride were the causes of the Jews' barrenness. Therefore, he who knew how to censure faults also knew how to discipline. He adds, until I shall dig about it, promising that the hardness of their hearts will be dug up by the apostles' spades, lest a heap of earth cover up and obscure the root of wisdom. And He adds, and dung it; that is, by the grace of humility, through which even the fig is thought to become fruitful for the Gospel of Christ. Hence He adds, And if it bear fruit, well—that is, it shall be well—but if not, then after that you shall cut it down.

The Venerable Bede: This indeed came to pass under the Romans, by whom the Jewish nation was cut off and thrust out from the land of promise.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, in another sense, the fig tree is the human race. For after he had sinned, the first man concealed his nakedness with fig leaves—that is, the members from which we are born.

Theophylact of Ohrid: But each one of us is also a fig tree planted in the vineyard of God, that is, in the Church, or in the world.

St. Gregory the Great: But our Lord came to the fig tree three times because He sought after human nature before the law, under the law, and under grace, by waiting, admonishing, and visiting. Yet He complains that for three years He found no fruit, for there are some wicked men whose hearts are neither corrected by the law of nature breathed into them, nor instructed by precepts, nor converted by the miracles of His incarnation.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Our nature yields no fruit, though it has been sought three times: first, when we transgressed the commandment in paradise; second, when they made the molten calf under the law; and third, when they rejected the Savior. But that three-year period must also be understood to mean the three ages of life: boyhood, manhood, and old age.

St. Gregory the Great: But we should hear the word that follows with great fear and trembling: Cut it down; why does it cumber the ground? For everyone, according to their measure and in whatever station of life they are, cumbers the ground like an unfruitful tree, unless they show forth the fruits of good works. For wherever one is placed, one denies another the opportunity to work.

Pseudo-Basil: For it is part of God's mercy not to inflict punishment silently, but to send out threats to recall the sinner to repentance, as He did to the men of Nineveh, and now to the vinedresser, saying, Cut it down—thereby exciting him to care for it and stirring up the barren soil to bring forth its proper fruit.

St. Gregory of Nazianzus: Let us not, then, strike suddenly, but overcome by gentleness, lest we cut down a fig tree that is still able to bear fruit, which the care of a skillful vinedresser might perhaps restore. Hence it is also added here, And he answering said to him, Lord, let it alone...

St. Gregory the Great: The vinedresser represents the order of bishops who, by ruling over the Church, take care of our Lord's vineyard.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Or the master of the household is God the Father, and the vinedresser is Christ, who does not want the fig tree cut down as barren, as if saying to the Father, "Although through the Law and the Prophets they gave no fruit of repentance, I will water them with My sufferings and teaching, and perhaps they will yield us fruits of obedience."

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, the vinedresser who intercedes is every holy person who, within the Church, prays for those who are outside the Church, saying, "Lord, let it alone this year"—that is, for the time granted under grace—"until I dig around it."

To "dig around it" is to teach humility and patience, for ground that has been dug is lowly. The dung signifies soiled garments, which bring forth fruit. The soiled garment of the vinedresser is the grief and mourning of sinners, for those who do penance, and do it truly, are in soiled garments.

St. Gregory the Great: Or, the dung signifies the sins of the flesh. From this, then, the tree revives to bear fruit again, for from the remembrance of sin the soul rouses itself to good works. But there are very many who hear reproof and yet despise returning to repentance, for which reason it is added, And if it bear fruit, well.

St. Augustine of Hippo: That is, it will be well; but if not, then after that you shall cut it down—namely, when You come to judge the living and the dead. In the meantime, it is spared.

St. Gregory the Great: But he who will not, through correction, become rich in fruitfulness, falls to that place from where he is no longer able to rise again by repentance.