The word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, how is the wood of a vine different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest? Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on?

And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything? If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred?

Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem. I will set my face against them. Although they have come out of the fire, the fire will yet consume them. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the Lord."

— Ezekiel 15:1-7 (NIV)

Ezekiel delivered this parable during the Babylonian exile to illustrate Jerusalem's uselessness when failing its divine purpose. The vine represents Israel, traditionally God's chosen vineyard, now failing to produce fruit.

Divine Purpose

Spiritual Productivity

Judgment Warning

Parable of the Productive and Unproductive Vine

I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard:
My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.
He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit.

"Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it?
When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?

Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed;
I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled.
I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated,
and briers and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds not to rain on it."

The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

— Isaiah 5:1-7 (NIV)

Isaiah delivered this love song turned lament during a time of relative prosperity in Judah, warning of coming judgment due to their failure to produce the fruit of righteousness despite God's careful cultivation.

Divine Investment

Expected Fruit

Divine Judgment

Song of the Vineyard

Then he told this parable: "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 (NIV)

Jesus told this parable after discussing recent tragedies and the need for repentance. It illustrates God's patience in waiting for spiritual fruit while warning about the limits of that patience.

Divine Patience

Spiritual Fruitfulness

Grace and Intervention

Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying:

"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.

Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

Whoever has ears, let them hear."

— Matthew 13:1-9 (NIV)

This is one of Jesus' most foundational parables, explaining how people respond differently to God's word. It's one of the few parables where Jesus also provides a detailed interpretation to His disciples, helping them understand the various responses to the gospel message.

fruitfulness

Parable of the Productive and Unproductive Vine

Song of the Vineyard

Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

Parable of the Sower