Luk 13:9 | KingComments | STEP | Israel thought itself to be safe, but they were not aware of the precarious state in which they were now. It was completely inappropriate to speculate quietly about Galileans and it would be foolish to forget the people of Jerusalem. The Lord continues to address their conscience by showing them their own history in the form of a parable and what hangs over their heads from God. He compares Israel to a fig tree planted by someone in his vineyard. The fig tree represents Israel that stands before God in its own righteousness. We see in Adam and Eve that after falling into sin they cover themselves with leaves of a fig tree ( ). With this they want to cover up their nakedness, their guilt before God. But that own righteousness does not suffice for God and therefore He makes garments of a skin. They stand before God covered by a sacrificial animal, which refers to Christ in Whom alone a sinner can stand before God. Israel, too, has not been able to stand before God in its own righteousness. They said they could when they said that they should do all what God wanted them to do ( ). Then God gave them the law to indicate how they could live for His honor and His joy. The vineyard is reminiscent of this for wine speaks of joy. Has Israel fulfilled its promises to be righteous, and have they given God joy? When He came to seek fruit, He did not find it (cf. ). In the parable the owner (God) tells the vineyard-keeper (the Lord Jesus) that he has been looking for fruit “on this fig tree” (Israel) for three years, but that he cannot find it. God has been looking for fruit in Israel in His Son for three years, but the people reject Him. The proposal is to cut down the fig tree because it does not yield anything. Then something else can be planted that does bear fruit. However, the vineyard-keeper asks for an extra year of grace. Then he can try to do anything to get fruit. Thus the Lord Jesus is busy in grace and not demanding to win His people for God. Only through His intervention God is still willing to endure Israel. The extra year can also refer to the time between the ascension of the Lord and His rejection as glorified Lord in the stoning of Stephen. If, despite the extra time and effort, there is no result, the curse comes. And so it happened. Israel has disappeared from its place as a testimony. The fig tree, the symbol of their national existence, has been cut down and withered.