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

He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.

All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.

As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."

— Mark 4:26-29 (NIV)

Jesus shared this parable alongside other agricultural parables about God's kingdom. It appears only in Mark's gospel and emphasizes the mysterious, autonomous nature of spiritual growth.

Divine Partnership

Patient Waiting

Harvest Certainty

Parable of the Growing Seed

Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'

'An enemy did this,' he replied.

The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'

'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'"

— Matthew 13:24-30 (NIV)

Jesus shared this parable as part of a series of kingdom parables, teaching about the nature of God's kingdom and its development in the world. It addresses the disciples' questions about why evil continues to exist alongside good in the world.

patience

Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

Parable of the Growing Seed

Parable of the Wheat and Tares