The Parables of Christ no. 19

The Barren Fig Tree

January 31, 2004

Rev. Brian Kocourek

 

This Evening we will continue in our study of the parables, and we will study the parable found in Luke 13:6-10 which deals with The Barren Fig Tree. Before we read, I would like to note that most everyone that has ever preached concerning this parable have focused on the fact that the Tree had no fruit. And so they turn their thoughts on the scene where Jesus actually curses the fig tree and they say it is because it had no fruit. And so many a sermon has emphasized fruit as though it is the essential thing, and without it you can be cursed. I do not believe that for one minute. It is true that I do believe we are to bear fruit, but I do not believe for one minute that the tree was cursed because it did not bear fruit, or because it lacked fruit, and we will see why I say this in a few minutes. But first let’s read the parable in Luke chapter 13.

 

LUKE 13:6   He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. 7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? (Now, we do not use this word cumbereth in our regular vocabulary, so we need to know what that means, and it simply means to under employ, or to underutilize the ground. In other words he says, this tree is just taking up precious soil, and giving back nothing in return.) 8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: 9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. Now, I want you to notice the response of the husbandman of the vineyard. He in essence is saying, Lord there might be a reason why this tree is not producing fruit. Let’s first do all we can to fertilize it, and create the right environment around it, and then let’s see if it will produce or not. Now, that is a very wise thing that was said here for many times we expect people in the church to produce when they have not even been taught the basic principles of Christianity.

 

Now, there are three points that make up this parable.

 

Number 1 – The Fig Tree Itself.

Number 2 – The fact that the Fig tree has no Fruit.

Number 3 – Judgment is awaiting the results of the Fig Trees ability to produce fruit.

 

To begin with, let’s examine point Number 1 – the Fig Tree Here we must ask ourselves what is the significance of the tree?

 

HIS UNFAILING WORDS OF PROMISE 64-0120  31But here's what Jesus was speaking to my most humble opinion, was that He said, that this generation, in other words, the generation that saw the fig tree putting forth his buds. See, He said here, "And when the fig tree is begin, is tender and putteth forth its branches, you say summer is nigh. Likewise (See?), when you see all these things, know the time..." When you see all these three questions fulfilled, the time is at the door. That generation that sees the fig tree... And the fig tree is always Israel. And when Israel goes back to her homeland and becomes a nation, that generation will not pass away until these things are all fulfilled. And Christian friends tonight in this great scruple in the Scriptures, that people think is scrupled, we're now living to see the very... Everything that He has said here is fulfilled, just the next thing's for His coming.

 

 

 

A little later on in the Book of Luke we find Jesus telling another parable about the fig tree. LUKE 21: 29    And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; 30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. 32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.

 

Now, notice that Jesus is talking in a parable and he tells the people that when the fig tree which we know is Israel because the country is identified with its fig trees, that when this Fig Tree, Israel is beginning to put forth its bud, then we know that the summer or the end is nearing. 

 

MATTHEW 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 32    Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

 

Remember, last week how we examined the parable of the eleventh hour people, and found that World war one was stopped on the eleventh Month at the eleventh hour because the Jews were not yet in their homeland. They were not yet positionally placed.  Now, in this parable we are also dealing with Israel.  Because the Fig Tree represents Israel. That is her Tree that grows everywhere throughout that country.

 

Again we see in the Book of Mark this same parable being told.

 

MARK 13:28  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: 29    So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. 30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

 

Now, this brings us to the second point witch is the fruit, because Jesus is not just speaking of the Fig Tree, but He is speaking of the Fig tree that has no fruit. And we see an episode in his life that is exactly what this parable is all about.

 

MATTHEW 21:18   Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. Now, notice closely that this is the key to this scene in Jesus Life. He was hungry and so he noticed a fig tree and he went out of his way or off the path to get something to eat from the fig tree 19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. 20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! 21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. 22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

 

Now, the question is, “why did Jesus curse this particular fig tree?” You might say, “well, it is because it had no fruit on it”, and yet we find this same parable told in several other places in Scripture and the indication is, that it was not yet the season for the fruit to be on the tree. So we must ask the question, why did Jesus Curse this Tree.

 

MARK 11:12   And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: Notice again the story tells us He was hungry. 13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon:

(Now it does not say that he was specifically looking for figs here. But he was looking for something to eat. ) and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. (Now the author of this book made special mention that it was not in the season for figs to be on the tree. Then what was it that Jesus was looking for in that Tree? That is our question, for certainly it was not figs. And the second thing we must ask, is that if it was out of season for figs, then why did Jesus Curse that tree to begin with.) 14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.

 

Therefore without knowing what it was that Jesus was looking for in that tree to eat, we will not understand why he cursed it. Now, let’s read on in this story picking up at verse 19.

 

MARK 11:19 And when even was come, he went out of the city. 20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. (Now we are getting closer to finding out why Jesus cursed this tree. It had to do with its roots. The curse dried it up from the roots.) 21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. 22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

 

Now, Jesus is not telling them that they can go around and just start speaking and those things are supposed to happen. What He is teaching them is about how to approach Faith. Remember, Jesus did nothing unless the Father showed Him first. And that is always the key in our having Faith, and manifesting our faith to others. It’s not what you want, but what God has shown you, that’s what you want. Faith is a Revelation. Not an action.  

 

Has God made the promise or has He not made the promise? Now, why did Jesus curse the tree? Because he did not find that certain something in that tree that bore evidence that the tree was even capable of bringing forth fruit. Look, Jesus was not just some simple man that went around showing off the power of the Father. There was a specific thing he was looking for in that tree and when he did not find it, He knew that the Tree was already  cursed, and thus He could pronounce what God had already done.

 

“Around 1881, Edersheim was writing about Jesus thrusting his hand into the branches of a fig tree and withdrawing it without fruit. Putting a curse upon the tree. It occurred to Dr. Edersheim that Jesus was tried and crucified in the spring, and that the fig tree did not bear fruit until the early days of summer. Edersheim was certain he had caught the Messiah in a poorly devised example. He put his pen away, packed his bags and took a steamer from Liverpool to the Holy Land. The time was spring. He would not write another line until he learned what Jesus had in mind. After an exhaustive journey, he rode an animal from Haifa to Jerusalem, dismounted and looked for a fig tree. Finding one, he reached into the branches, and drew out his hand, and found he had a few leaves from the previous autumn, and some round grey substances. They looked like lozenges. Edersheim sought out several pedestrians until he found one that could speak German. He was told that the little gray objects were edible. That travelers used them to postpone hunger until they could reach an inn. "Unless you find those on the tree branches in the spring," he was told, "the tree will not bear fruit in the summer." So the German scholar returned to Germany where he  continued to write "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah" which is an all time classic.

 

 

 

 

Now, what I want to bring to your attention here is that it was not figs, that Jesus was looking for, but fruit or evidence that this fig tree was capable of bringing forth fruit. In the Book of Jeremiah we are given a story that is an allegory which represents Israel and its people being typed with the fig.

 

JEREMIAH 24:1   The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. 2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad. 3 Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. 4 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good. 6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. 7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. 8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt: 9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. 10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

 

Now, this brings us to the fruit itself. In the book of  JAMES 3:12 we read,  Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

 

In other words, we are to bear what we are ordained to bear. Every seed must bring forth after its own kind or nature. Therefore, by our nature we bear what we bear, and we can not bear anything other than what we were made to bring forth. Therefore we must look at the fruit to know the significance of this parable. And we must understand that God doesn’t go around cursing as a whim. He gave very strong reasons for being cursed, and that is in Deuteronomy chapter 28, the Book of the Two Laws. Now it is not as though God has two laws, but the Two laws are the law of blessing and the law of cursing. And we find that it all boils down to what we do with the Voice of God. If we hearken to it, we are blessed, and that blessing will come up upon us, and before we are fully aware of what is happening, it will take over our situation. 

 

DEUTERONOMY 28:1  And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe [and] to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: 2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God 3 Blessed [shalt] thou [be] in the city, and blessed [shalt] thou [be] in the field. 4 Blessed [shall be] the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 5    Blessed [shall be] thy basket and thy store. 6 Blessed [shalt] thou [be] when thou comest in, and blessed [shalt] thou [be] when thou goest out. 7 The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.

8 The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 9 The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways. 10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee. 11    And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. 13 And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do [them]: 14    And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, [to] the right hand, or [to] the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

 

Now, I want you to notice that for every blessing God has promised and every thing or circumstance that we are to be blessed in, God has also set to be cursed in those things. It all depends on what you do and your attitude towards the voice of God.

 

DEUTERONOMY 28:15   But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: 16 Cursed [shalt] thou [be] in the city, and cursed [shalt] thou [be] in the field. 17 Cursed [shall be] thy basket and thy store. 18 Cursed [shall be] the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 19 Cursed [shalt] thou [be] when thou comest in, and cursed [shalt] thou [be] when thou goest out. 20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. 21 The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. 22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. 23 And thy heaven that [is] over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee [shall be] iron. 24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed. 25 The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 And thy carcass shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray [them] away. 27 The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. 28 The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: 29 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save [thee]. 30 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof. 31 Thine ox [shall be] slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass [shall be] violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep [shall be] given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue [them]. 32 Thy sons and thy daughters [shall be] given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail [with longing] for them all the day long: and [there shall be] no might in thine hand.

33 The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway: 34 So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. 35 The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head. 36 The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone. 37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee. 38 Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather [but] little in; for the locust shall consume it. 39 Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress [them], but shalt neither drink [of] the wine, nor gather [the grapes]; for the worms shall eat them. 40 Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint [thyself] with the oil; for thine olive shall cast [his fruit]. 41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.42All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume. 43 The stranger that [is] within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. 44 He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. 45 ¶  Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee: 46 And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever. 47    Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all [things]; 48 Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all [things]: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. 49 The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, [as swift] as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; 50 A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young: 51    And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which [also] shall not leave thee [either] corn, wine, or oil, [or] the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee. 52    And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee. 53    And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee: 54 [So that] the man [that is] tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave: 55 So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates. 56    The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, 57 And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all [things] secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates. 58  If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD; 59 Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, [even] great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. 60 Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.

 

61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which [is] not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. 62 And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God. 63 And it shall come to pass, [that] as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. 64  And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, [even] wood and stone. 65    And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: 66 And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: 67In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. 68 And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy [you]. 29:1  These [are] the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.

 

Notice it is not then your fruit that brings on a curse, and it is not what you do, or your fruits that brings forth a blessing, but the attitude you take towards the Covenant of God and His word.

 

ROMANS 9:16 So then [it is] not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will [have mercy], and whom he will he hardeneth. 19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed [it], Why hast thou made me thus? 21Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22    What if God, Who is willing to shew His wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath that had fitted themselves to destruction: 23 And what if He did that to make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

 

In other words, what if God allows the darkness of night in order to show forth the brightness and splendor of the day. What if he allows bad people in order to show forth those that are good? What if God allows storms and rain in order to bring forth freshness after the rain. You know how good the air smells after the rain and lightning? Well, God doesn’t do anything for no reason. . He is very exact in what He does, and has a purpose for everything under the sun.

 

ECCLESIASTES 3:1  To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up [that which is] planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5  A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8    A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

 

And God has a purpose behind everything. Then what is the purpose of the tree being cursed? Because that tree could not be cursed unless it was first cursed in heaven. And that is the key top our prayer and our faith. Acknowledging what God has already done. Jesus knew that tree was already cursed and could not bring forth fruit, even before the season and thus then could speak those words of curse to it, because it had already come under a curse, and the fact that it did not have in it the essentials to be able to produce the desired fruit is why it could be cursed. The curse is not because of what it does or does not do. The curse is done in heaven and then just spoken on earth. Our words declare what God has already pronounced.

 

2) The Fruit

 

1 The fruit shows that there is life in the tree, Therefore without any fruit there is no representation of life there to begin with. Then all you have is a form. And  Jesus warned us that the people in the end time would have a form of Godliness but they would deny the Power there of, and the power is the Manifestation of the word. Romans 1:16 the Word of God is the Power of God unto salvation.

 

2 The fruit is an indication that the tree is producing something for someone, and is good for  something. No fruit, shows it is of no use to others, but just taking up space, and getting in the way. That is why Jesus said, ; why cumbereth it the ground? or why let it take up good ground when it is not utilizing what the ground has to offer. And I wonder sometimes if he doesn’t think that today when we have people in Laodicea who are just lukewarm concerning Christ and service in His Kingdom.  

 

3 The fruit represents the teaching for the season.  This is very Important because when he reached in to see what fruit it had, there was not teaching there at all. And without any teaching, which is doctrine, the tree is fit for just one thing, and that is for fire wood. In other words a church or people without doctrine is fit only for destruction and the fire of the tribulation period.