Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

Luke 13:9

Luke 13:9. And if it bear fruit after that, well. ‘After that,' or ‘hereafter,' belongs to this part of the verse. This indefinite phrase in the request hints at still further patience. ‘Well' is properly supplied. ‘If,' here suggests that the vine dresser expected this supposition to prove correct.

If not, thou shalt out it down. ‘Then' is not to be supplied: the vine dresser does not set the time when the tree shall be removed, but leaves it to the owner of the vineyard. Even here there is a tone of hope and affection, which is often overlooked. The usual interpretation of the parable is as follows: The owner of the vineyard is God the Father; the vine dresser, our Lord, who labors and intercedes; the fig tree, the Jewish nation drawing near to destruction through its unfruitfulness, and the vineyard, the world. God had been seeking results during the years of our Lord's labor, and none are found; He, the great Intercessor, pleads for a brief delay. The additional means used suggest the Atoning death and the gift of the Holy Spirit. But He leaves it to His Father's will to execute the sentence, should all prove in vain. Another interpretation, starting with the thought that individual repentance had just been enjoined (Luke 13:3; Luke 13:5), finds in the fig tree a reference to the individual man. The vineyard then represents the Gospel dispensation, and the owner is Christ, who during His three years ministry has been seeking fruit. (Notice those addressed were still impenitent.) The vine dresser is the Holy Spirit, who wrought through the prophets and afterwards more powerfully through the Apostles. The additional care is then mainly the Pentecostal blessing. The Holy Spirit is Doth Laborer and Intercessor as respects the individual heart. This view is thought by many to accord better with the delicate shading of thought in Luke 13:9, and to afford the best basis for a continued application of the parable.

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Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

Luke 13:9

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