Seder 93: Luke 13:6-9---The Parable of the Unproductive Fig Tree

 In the parable of Luke 13:6-9, a man has a fig tree in his vineyard that has not borne fruit for three years.  When he asks his vinedresser to cut it down, the vinedresser recommends giving the tree one more year while he applies some additional fertilizer.  

In Luke's narrative, the parable appears right after a discussion of people in Judea and Galilee who have suffered misfortune.  Jesus explains that those people were not worse than anyone else; they had not been singled out for punishment.  But anyone who did not repent would be subject to judgment.  

The parable reminds us of John the Baptist's words in Luke 3:9 as part of his call to repentance:  "Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

The context of the parable in Luke 13 and some elements of the parable suggest that the parable is, at least in part, saying something about national judgment.  Certainly a fig tree and a vineyard can be symbols for Israel in the prophets (Isa 5:1-7; Jer 24:1-8; Hosea 9:10; Micah 7:1).. 

It is possible, though, to take the search for symbolism too far, trying to find some kind of symbolic meaning in every detail of the parable.  This is a hermeneutic inappropriate for the parable genre.  Scholar Allan W. Martens gives an example, noting that some have stretched things too far in proposing that

• vineyard = Israel
• fig tree = Jerusalem
• vinedresser = Jesus
• three years = Jesus' ministry

But we can say that the parable is about the need for repentance, a message applicable to all readers of the parable.   

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on November 22, 2025, Kyle Kettering asked another question about the parable:  Is the parable implying that the interceding vinedresser is more merciful than the fig tree's owner?  In other words, is the one symbolized by the vinedresser more merciful than God?  

Certainly the answer is no.  Those who have played the intercessory role, like Abraham (Ge 18:23-33), Moses (Ex 32:10-12), and Jesus (Lk 23:34), do so because God is merciful (Lk 6:35-36).  Kyle urged us to bear fruit and help others to do so.  

Seder 20: Comparing Abraham and Job

 In her book Subversive Sequels in the Bible, Judy Klitsner identifies a number of parallels in the biblical narrative and places the parallel accounts in conversation with each other.  

One of her examples comes from Genesis 22, where God tests Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac.  At the end of the chapter are listed some names of the children of Abraham's brother Nahor.  Three of these names also show up in the book of Job, but not in many other places:

• Uz is Nahor's first son (Ge 22:21), and Job lived "in the land of Uz" (Job 1:1).
• Buz is Nahor's second son, and Elihu in the book of Job is a "Buzite" (Job 32:6).
• Chesed is another son of Nahor (Ge 22:22), and in Job 1:!7, some Chaldeans (plural of Chesed) make a raid on Job's camels. 

There are also parallels between Abraham and Job themselves:

• Both feared God (Ge 22:12; Job 1:1).
• Both compare themselves to "dust and ashes" (Ge 18:27; Job 42:6).
• Both are old and contented when they die (Ge 25:8; Job 42:17).

Their narratives contrast two different ways to react to the prospect of a sudden loss.  Abraham responds to God's directive in uncomplaining obedience, while Job vocally questions God.  Their widely divergent responses have recently been discussed in Richard Middleton's book, Abraham's Silence;  The Binding of Isaac, the Suffering of Job, and How to Talk Back to God.  

Seder 16: Genesis 18:22-33---How Many Are Required to Transform a Culture?

 Abraham's bold intercession in Genesis 18:22-33 is recognized as one of the great prayers of the Bible.  Acting as a counsel for the defense in the trial of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham asked God to consider sparing the cities of the plain if a sufficient number of loyal followers of God were there.  

Walter Kaiser points out that Genesis 18:22 contains one of eighteen places in the Tanakh where scribes deliberately altered the Hebrew text for theological reasons.  The MT says that Abraham "still stood before the Lord," while the original text said that the Lord stood before Abraham.  The original wording may suggest God's openness and willingness to be "put on trial" by Abraham.  Abraham, trusting both in God's justice and God's mercy, asked rhetorically in verse 25, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?"  

After God agreed that he would spare the cities if there were as many as ten righteous people there, the defense rested.  Abraham left the matter in the hands of the righteous judge.  

A reason for Abraham to request that the cities be spared is the fact that a righteous remnant can transform a culture.  We see this later in history, when the early Christians, a minority in the pagan Roman Empire, transformed that culture over the course of several centuries.  Peter in 1 Peter 2-3 instructed early Christians in Asia Minor in ways to do that in their circumstances.  

In the case of the cities of the plain, there just weren't enough righteous people present to salvage those towns.  Lot was there, but he doesn't seem to have had any help. 

Seder 16: 1 Peter 3:1-7---Following Sarah's Example

 In his first epistle, Peter writes to Jewish Christians in Asia Minor (1:1), people who may be both literally and spiritually "sojourners and exiles" (2:11).  He counsels them to be willing to suffer for the sake of the Gospel, following in the footsteps of Jesus.  

One group that Peter addresses consists of wives whose husbands "do not obey the word" (3:1).  If they live righteous lives, he says, they may win over their husbands.  

He says that a beautiful character is a better adornment than beautiful clothes or jewelry, and he instructs these women to follow the example of Abraham's wife Sarah.  Sarah, Peter states, "obeyed Abraham, calling him lord.  And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening" (3:6).

In saying that Sarah called Abraham "lord," Peter is referring to Genesis 18:12, which gives Sarah's reaction when she hears that she will be giving birth to a son in a year.  At that point Sarah laughs and says, "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?"  This verse gives an indication of Sarah's respect for Abraham, since she referred to him as "my lord."  

Genesis 18 does not give much in the way of examples of Sarah's obedience to Abraham.  (We're not told, for example, what happened with the bread Abraham told her to make in verse 6.) So what might Peter have had in mind when he wrote of her obedience?  

New Testament scholar Troy Martin noted in a 1999 paper that the Testament of Abraham, a Jewish work from either the first century BC or the first century AD, pictures Sarah addressing Abraham as "my lord Abraham" several times.  So apparently by the Second Temple Period, the brief reference in Genesis 18:12 had grown into a tradition about Sarah's respect for Abraham.

Scholar Mark Kiley has argued, in a 1987 paper in the Journal of Biblical Literature, that some relevant examples of Sarah's obedience are to be found in Genesis 12 and 20, where Sarah obeyed Abraham's request that she not reveal she was his wife.

In those situations in Egypt and Gerar, Abraham and Sarah were "sojourners and exiles," people in a vulnerable situation away from home.  Abraham in those cases was, like the husbands in 1 Peter 3:1,  "not obeying the word."  But Sarah chose to honor her husband's misguided request, placing her future in God's hands when she was abducted by foreign rulers.  Those were frightening situations for Sarah, and she needed to trust God to get through them..   

1 Peter 3:1-6 has been misapplied by some who have unbalanced views about submission of wives to husbands.  We should remember that the Bible teaches mutual submission among Christians (Eph 5:21).  Peter goes on in verse 7 to address husbands:  

"Likewise husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered."  

Here Peter instructs husbands to honor their wives, and he places men and women on an equal footing, "joint heirs" of eternal life.  In the case of Abraham and Sarah, we know that Abraham often honored Sarah's wishes, as in the case of their parting ways with Hagar and Ishmael (Ge 21:8-14).  Since Abraham loved Hagar and Ishmael, this was not an easy thing for him to do.  We note that Abraham's prayers in Genesis 20 were "not hindered."  

In his epistle, Peter teaches a way of sacrificial love in imitation of Jesus, for men and women in all circumstances in life.  

Seder 13: Abram's Faithfulness

 Genesis 15 begins with the phrase, "After these things....", a phrase that also appears in Genesis 22:1, 20.  Joseph Soloveitchik suggests that this phrase marks transitions in Abram's life and divides his life into four periods.  The second one is covered in Genesis 15-21, chapters that feature God's covenant with Abram.

At this point God comes to Abram in a vision, as he would later to other prophets.  Commentator John Sailhamer sees Abram portrayed as a forerunner of Jeremiah, who later would be given a message about Judah's exile and return.  God reveals to Abram that his descendants would endure slavery in Egypt before settling in the land promised to them (vv 12-16).  

But before receiving that revelation, Abram asks God about something that is troubling him.  God has promised him numerous descendants (Ge 13:16), but he is still childless.  God assures Abram that the promise will be carried out (Ge 15:2-5).  The narrator then reports in verse 6, "And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness."

Abram's belief was not something that occurred in an instant.  He grew in faith as he walked with God over many years.  James the brother of Jesus saw Genesis 15:6 exemplified by Abram's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac. In this case Abram's obedient actions demonstrated his faith (James 2:14-26).  

Language similar to Genesis 15:6 appears in Ps 106:30-31, where it is applied to Phinehas.  When Phinehas took decisive action to stop the apostasy at Baal Peor, "that was counted to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever" (verse 31). 

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on January 27, 2024, Kyle Kettering explored the meaning of Genesis 15:6.  He noted that this verse marks the first appearance in Scripture of tzedakah, the Hebrew word for "righteousness."  Looking at other places where the word is used (Ge 18:19; Dt 6:25; 24:13, e.g.), we can see that the word often designates "right deeds or actions that accord with God's desire and plan."  Psalm 106:3 declares, "Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!"

By Jesus' time, the word had come to be used specifically for deeds of charity.  Jesus uses the word this way in Matthew 6:1-4.  

Kyle observed that righteousness is a goal of man's relationship with God, and that trust is an essential component of biblical righteousness.  As Hebrews 11:6 says, "without faith it is impossible to please him." Habakkuk famously wrote that "the righteous shall live by his faith" (Hab 2:4).  The ESV footnote observes that "faith' In Habakkuk 2:4 means "faithfulness."    

In Romans 4, Paul holds up Abraham as example on one who was deemed righteous based on his faithfulness, not on specific deeds of the Torah.  

In the phrase "he counted it to him as righteousness," there are technically two ways to identify the antecedents of the pronouns "he" and "him."  We almost always think of "he" as God and "him" as Abram, but the other way around makes sense as well.  Certainly Abram deemed God to be righteous as well.

Seder 19: Gen 21---Isaac is Born

When Sarah was 90 and Abraham was 100 their son Isaac was born, just as God had promised. The name Isaac means "he laughs", and with his birth their previous laughter of incredulity (Gen 17:17; 18:12) was transformed into laughter of joy (Gen 21:6-7).  

Abraham had much for which to be thankful when he "called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God" at Beersheba (v 33).  God had told him that his family would become a great nation (Gen 12:2), one through whom all nations would be blessed (Gen 12:3).  Isaac's miraculous birth was an important part of this plan of God.  

Abraham would have had lots of questions about how God's plan would unfold, but he was becoming aware of the basic outlines of the Gospel.  

In Jerusalem several months before his death, Jesus said, ''Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day.  He saw it and was glad" (John 8:56).  Abraham had faith in God's promise, including the coming of a Redeemer.  

Those to whom Jesus was talking would not have had a problem with the idea that Abraham looked forward to the Messiah, but they questioned what Jesus was saying about himself, calling the time of the Messiah's coming "my day".  What connection did Jesus have with Abraham? (v 57)

Jesus answered, "Before Abraham was, I am" (v 58).  Jesus was saying that he was the Everlasting God made flesh.  We rejoice with Abraham in seeing the day of the Messiah. 

Seder 17: Gen 18-19---The Trial of Sodom and Gomorrah

One biblical passage that may puzzle readers at first is Gen 18:20-21, where God says, "How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin!  I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know."

At this point in the narrative, God has just demonstrated his omniscience by reading Sarah's mind (vv 12-15), so there is no question that he knows what is going on in Sodom and Gomorrah.  But it seems that he wants to model, for Abraham and all his descendants (vv 17-19), how to conduct a proper judicial proceeding, with a public trial based on the eyewitness testimony of multiple witnesses.  (One scholar who has explored this approach to Gen 18-19 is James Bruckner.)  Conducting such a trial also gives the people of Sodom and Gomorrah one more opportunity to repent.

The evidence is presented in Gen 19, when two angels arrive in Sodom.  The first person to be examined is Lot, who shows great hospitality to his guests (vv 1-3), much as Abraham had in Gen 18.

However, that night an angry mob came to Lot's house, demanding that Lot surrender his guests to them.  Lot could not dissuade the mob from its evil intentions, and the angels finally immobilized them by striking them blind.(vv 4-11).

At this point the evidence was in, and the cities of the plain were destroyed after Lot and his two daughters escaped to safety.

As readers we struggle to make a fair evaluation of Lot.  Lot initially settled at Sodom because of the wealth in that region (Gen 13:10-13).  Was he wrongly valuing wealth and ignoring the spiritual problems there?  The fact that he offers his virgin daughters to the mob (Gen 19:8) suggests that his own morality has been compromised by his time in Sodom.

The Genesis narrative implicitly compares Lot to Abraham in a number of places, and the comparisons tend to be unfavorable to Lot.  For example, while Abraham is a father of many nations (Gen 17:4-6), Lot is the father of two, and they both begin with acts of incest (Gen 19:30-38).  Lot is saved from the cataclysm partly for Abraham's sake (v 29). He seems to be an example of 1 Cor 3:15, someone who is saved but whose work does not survive the fire.

On the other hand, Lot can be seen as a kind of Noah figure, maintaining a righteous witness before a corrupt society.  The apostle Peter later described Lot as "a righteous man greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the lawless" (2 Peter 2:7).

Rob Wilson shared further reflections on Lot, Christian witness, and "radical hospitality" in a sermon on Seder 17 given on July 11, 2020.

Seder 16: Genesis 18---Abraham's Mysterious Visitors

Genesis 18 begins by mentioning an appearance of God to Abraham.  Historically there have been two main interpretations of Genesis 18:1.  In one reading, the verse speaks of God coming to see Abraham, perhaps to comfort him after his recent circumcision.  According to this interpretation, three men arrive while Abraham is communing with God.  In verse 3 Abraham says to God, in effect, "Don't go away.  I need to take care of these visitors, but I'll be back."  He treats the men with great respect and rushes to prepare a banquet for them (Gen 18:1-8).

We soon learn that these are not ordinary visitors During the meal God announces again that Abraham and Sarah would soon have a son (vv 10-15), even though Sarah is past menopause.

God has a second momentous announcement to share with Abraham.  It is time to deal with the great evil coming from the nearby towns of Sodom and Gomorrah (vv. 16-21).  After this announcement, "the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD" (v 22).

Chapter 19 then begins by noting, "The two angels came to Sodom in the evening."  So two of the men are, in fact, angels.  What about the third?  One possibility is that the third is also an angel but is not needed at Sodom.  Perhaps he goes to Gomorrah instead, or on to whatever his next assignment is.  

Another possibility is that the third is the Lord who had announced the coming birth of Isaac and stayed behind to talk with Abraham.  In this scenario, Genesis 18:1 is saying that the visit of the three men constitutes an appearance of God, and he addresses one of the three men in verse 3.  

In this second reading, the third visitor's coming might have been a Christophany, an advance appearance of the Messiah.  Many Christians through the centuries have affirmed this interpretation, going back at least to Justin Martyr (c. 150 AD), who proposed it in Chapter 56 of his Dialogue with Trypho.

Those who identify the third man as the Messiah often point to Gen 19:24:  "Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven."  This verse seems to mention two "Lords", one presumably on earth and the other one in heaven.

The text does not tell us when Abraham recognized the special nature of his two visitors.  If he did not realize this at first, then his lavish hospitality is all the more remarkable.  Heb 13:2 seems to be a reference to Abraham and his visitors:  "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."

On the other hand, if he quickly picked up on the fact that his visitors were more than human, then he can be credited with excellent powers of spiritual discernment.

In a sermon on July 4, 2020, David Waddle reflected on Abraham's example in Genesis 18, both his remarkable hospitality and his faithful intercession for Sodom.