Jesus has been trying to convince people to turn from their ways of thinking acting and feeling and to follow Him. He has been doing this for years now with very little impact. He has gone up and cleansed the temple repeatedly and still he's got just a few followers who have really produced the fruit he and His Father are looking for...repentance...a true turning towards God and seeking His Kingdom.
Here come some folks with news that Pilate, a real sob if there ever was one, who just slaughtered some Galilean pilgrims in the temple while offering their sacrifices. Think about that...the governor of your state walks into church on Christmas day an and just opens fire and kills everyone. Why did this happen? And why would Jesus' followers think it was because the Galileans were really bad sinners? The Galilee was known for its zealots and one could conclude that Jesus and his crew grew up round many of them and saw more than a few of these violently zealous counterparts hanging from a tree. The disciple's want to know, are these those rebellious Jews that you were just talking about the ones who are going to start the end? Jesus says if you don't repent, that is change your thinking and turn towards God, you will be destroyed in the same way. Then he asks them about a local building accident where some guys died recently...and tells them they will be destroyed in the same way.
Slaughter at the hand of Rome...violent rebellion...crumbling buildings...in the same way...this is the key to what Jesus' has been prophesying to His people. If you don't repent this is going to be your end and it will be terrible.
Then Jesus tells them the parable of the fig tree. The fig tree is Jerusalem. YHWY, the Father, is the man and He has been coming to Israel again and again seeking fruit, but rather they have just been running His name through the mud, Jesus (as the gardener in this parable) pleads for them like Abraham pleads for Sodom. Let me just put a little more life into them and lets see if they produce fruit and if not then you can take the axe to it all. Take an axe to Jerusalem? If you remember John the Baptist thought that was what Jesus had come to do, what he desired...and Jesus rebuked Him. So we see Jesus own vocation clearly and the fate of Israel if they do not repent and turn to the Kingdom of God through His gospel. Truly Nineveh rises up in judgment over them, because we know they did not repent at the Word of the Son of God and Nineveh repented at the word of a fool.
What implications does this have for us? When you see bad things happen to rebellious people do you think they are worse sinners than you? Do you think that when bad things happen they are always the result of someones sinfulness? Perhaps it's all to bring you to repentance, to produce the fruit God is looking for, Jesus fought for you and He continues to do so...but the Father is making all things new and if there is no fruit being produced, then the soil in His vineyard is being wasted.
Repent for the Kingdom of God has come near to you.
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