Sermon Framework | The Barren Tree and Borrowed Time Luke 13:6–9
- Herbert Berkley
- Aug 3
- 4 min read
The Barren Tree and Borrowed Time
Scripture Text – Luke 13:6–9 (ESV)
6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure.9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”
I. The Tension of Time (Inductive Opening)
Time can feel endless—until it doesn’t.
We live as if there will always be more chances. More space to course-correct. More time to repent. But this parable reminds us: the clock is ticking, not in threat, but in truth.
Contemporary Narrative:
We've all got that one story. A conversation with a man in his 40s—sincere, intelligent, searching.
“I know I need to surrender. I’ve just got to clean some things up first. Once I get through this season…”
But he didn’t get through it. He passed unexpectedly a few months later.
This story isn't about condemnation—it's about recognition. It forced us to ask: How many times have we assumed more time, and failed to bear fruit?
II. Jesus’ Story: The Barren Fig Tree
This parable is more than horticulture. It is spiritual urgency wrapped in agricultural metaphor.
The Man who owns the vineyard represents God the Father—the righteous Judge and planter.
The Vinedresser is Jesus—the Intercessor, the cultivator, the patient Worker.
The Tree? That’s you and me.
What makes this parable so uncomfortable is not the judgment—it’s the mercy that precedes it.
“Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?”“Sir, let it alone this year also…”
God is not quick to destroy. He is slow to anger.But His slowness does not mean apathy. It means a season of mercy.
III. The Gardener’s Request: Cultivation Before Judgment
Jesus doesn’t just delay judgment—He digs.
“Let me dig around it and put on manure.”
This is not spiritual landscaping—it is surgical cultivation.
Digging speaks to disruption. It breaks through the hard layers of pride, routine, and religiosity.
Manure, though offensive and smelly, is full of nutrients. In Christ’s hands, even what stinks can produce fruit.
This is the pattern of redemptive work: disturb what’s settled and nourish what’s buried.
“Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” — John 15:2“No discipline seems pleasant at the time...but it produces a harvest of righteousness.” — Hebrews 12:11 (NIV)
Jesus doesn’t walk away from barren trees. He works their soil. But even His intercession comes with an expiration.
“Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.”
Mercy is present. But so is a warning.
IV. The Second Narrative: The Vineyard of Today
The fig tree stands in every generation.
Here’s how spiritual barrenness shows up today—camouflaged, but still deadly.
1. Comfort Without Conviction
We love peace but flee pruning. We build lives where God fits in—but doesn’t rule.We call resistance “boundaries” and stubbornness “wisdom.”
Yet a heart that’s never disturbed is rarely fruitful.
2. Knowledge Without Application
We love truth until it asks something of us.
We read Scripture but stop short of surrender.We attend church but avoid transformation.
“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” — James 1:22
Truth not applied becomes spiritual clutter.
3. Delay Without Urgency
“I’ll obey…later.”“I’ll forgive…eventually.”“I’ll surrender…after this season.”
But delay is a silent killer. Repentance postponed is often repentance lost.
4. Activity Without Abiding
We are busy—but not bound to Christ. We volunteer, serve, and organize—but rarely slow down to be still and know Him.
“Apart from Me, you can do nothing.” — John 15:5
Busyness can look like fruitfulness—but it’s a fig leaf without a fig.
V. The Deductive Turn: God Is Still Expecting Fruit
This is where we name the truth without flinching:
God expects fruit.
Not just behavior. Not just theology. Not just motion.Transformation. Evidence. Yield.
“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” — Matthew 7:19
This is not a threat—it is clarity.
Fruit is not earned to stay in the vineyard.But absence of fruit reveals disconnection from the Vine.
“By their fruit you will recognize them.” — Matthew 7:20
Jesus isn’t telling us to try harder. He’s calling us to abide deeper.
VI. Reflection Questions
Let the Spirit dig through these:
Where in my life have I mistaken God’s patience for His approval?
What do I appear to have that I don’t actually bear?
Am I allowing Christ to dig and fertilize—or resisting His cultivation?
What fruit have I delayed producing, thinking I had more time?
VII. The Final Word: Let Him Dig While There’s Still Time
You are still standing. That’s grace. You are still hearing. That’s mercy. You are still being called. That’s love.
But the mercy of Jesus is not permanent silence—it’s borrowed time.
“The Lord… is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” — 2 Peter 3:9
Don’t waste the digging.
Don’t waste the stench of spiritual manure.
Don’t assume you have another year.
Let Him work. Let Him root you again. Let Him produce in you what you never could on your own.
Because the Gardener is not walking away. But one day, the time for digging will be done.
