Luke 13:5

“I tell you, No. But, except you repent, you will all similarly perish.”

And His reply is that that is no different. Whether applying to a Galileans or to inhabitant of Jerusalem the same principle applies. Sudden deaths are not to be seen as necessarily resulting from the sinfulness of the persons involved. And the same warning is given. If they do not want to perish in a similar way they must repent, for in the end all who do not repent will perish everlastingly.

The implication is clear. Firstly that deaths by violence or accident do not necessarily indicate the special sinfulness of the people involved, and secondly that all such should be seen as a warning to be ready for the day of judgment, and as an indication of the fire that He has come to cast on the earth. Like the debtor in the previous verses they need to be reconciled to God before it is too late.

In The Light Of His Warnings They Should Ensure That Their Lives Are Fruitful So That They Will Not Be Cut Down (compare 3:9).

Jesus now applies His warnings that they be reconciled with God while there is yet time (Luke 12:57), and repent before it is too late (Luke 13:1) by means of a parable that applies to them the teaching of John the Baptiser (Luke 3:9). It is a warning that if their lives are not fruitful they will face God's judgment when the proper time comes. Even the fig tree must be ‘made straight' (Luke 13:13).

From this point on we find an interesting sequence typical of Luke, a man who plants a fig tree, a woman who is bent double and is healed, a man who sows a mustard seed in his garden, and a woman who places leaven in flour. Note the distinction between the sexes. Luke constantly seeks to balance the sexes (see Introduction).

Analysis.

a He spoke this parable, “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none” (Luke 13:6).

b “And he said to the vinedresser, Behold, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and have found none” (Luke 13:7 a).

c “Cut it down. Why does it also act as a burden on the ground?” (Luke 13:7 b).

b “And he answering says to him, “Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and feed it with manure” (Luke 13:8 a).

a And if it bear fruit from then on, well, and if not, you shall cut it down” (Luke 13:8 b).

Note that in ‘a' the owner sought fruit and found none, and in the parallel if it still did not bear fruit it should be cut down. In ‘b' he speaks to the vinedresser about its condition, and in the parallel the vinedresser answers him by explaining how he might treat its condition. Central to all in ‘c' is that the tree should come under judgment because it is fruitless.