When the owner wanted the unfruitful tree cut down, the vinedresser asked for one more year to care for it in hopes it would bear fruit. Even though everything about the vinedresser isn’t an exact match, I believe that he represents Jesus.

Jesus believes in second chances. I’m thankful for this because I have often needed second, third, fourth, and more chances.

When the owner came to check on his fig tree, he said that he had come for three years and found no fruit. The common fig tree in Jesus’ day was the ficus carica. It sometimes bore fruit in the second year, but more often in the third year or later. Much depended upon the rains and the condition of the soil. When one plants a fig tree, patience is required. The tree needs to grow and mature.

 We will look at this parable from several angles. Today I want to concentrate on the expectations of the owner. While everything about the owner is not analogous to God, it is clear that we were planted by him. God expects us to bear fruit. He never put us on the earth to simply take up space. What kind of fruit does he want us to bear?

Over my years of ministry, how have I not devoted more sermons to

the subject of hell? There are many possibilities. Maybe I heard too

much “hellfire and damnation” when I was a child. Maybe my

personality is not aligned with that approach to preaching. Maybe I

cannot bear the thoughts of it for people I know who have already

passed. Who knows?

This devotional centers on the Sorting of the Parable of the Net. When

the net was dragged to shore, the sorting began. The sorting represents

the final judgment for all people. This sorting process is way humbling

and scary.

Today, we focus on the fish, which represent people. Have you

considered how diverse humanity is? In Nigeria alone, more than

120 dialects are spoken. Culture is dramatically diverse within the

country in which you live. In the Parable of the Net, the spread of

the gospel is in our hands. Note that in Scripture, no angel was ever

sent to preach the gospel to others—it is literally in our hands.

This devotional focuses on the Parable of the Net in Matthew

13:47-50, which reads,

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into

the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew

it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but

threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels

will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw

them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and

gnashing of teeth” (ESV). I have organized the next four

devotionals by focusing on the Net, the Fish, the Sorting, and the

Terrible Place. Now we concentrate on the Net.

The Messiah and His kingdom—this connection is the backdrop of

all of Scripture since the fall of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:15). The

Parable of the Net (Matthew 13:47-50) reinforces this connection.

Why does Jesus give us such a wealth of ten parables in Matthew

13? The key is found in Matthew 13:10-17, where Jesus teaches

through a chiasm (i.e., a literary structure in which ideas are

presented and then repeated in reverse order). J