LUKE 13 PARABLE: “LET IT ALONE THIS YEAR ALSO”
Luk 13:6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.
Luk 13:7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?
Luk 13:8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:
Luk 13:9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.
Luk 13:10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
In view of what the Lord set forth in Luke 13:7–10, it is my understanding that the period of time during the opening chapters of the Book of Acts when God gave “repentance to Israel” did amount to the “this year also” that He spoke about in the parable; or in other words it did amount to a literal general one year period of time from when the “repentance to Israel” commenced with the events of “the day of Pentecost” in Acts 2 to when it concluded with the Lord being seen by Stephen to no longer be sitting but standing, as related at the end of Acts 7. Since the “these three years” in the parable are the literal general time of the Lord’s ministry during which God ‘sought fruit’ from Israel and its vain religious system, so also would the “this year also” be the literal general time during which it would be ‘let alone’ and given further attention, and thereby be given a further opportunity to “bear fruit.”
Act 7:51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
Act 7:52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
Act 7:53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
Act 7:54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
Act 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
Act 7:56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
Act 7:57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
So then based upon this it is also my understanding that this is how we know that the time from Acts 2 to the end of Acts 7 lasted a year. Because the “this year also” information in Luke 13 is a literal general span of time, it then provides us with the ability to know that the time from Acts 2 to the end of Acts 7 was a year. As far as the record of the opening chapters of the Book of Acts is concerned, it testifies to the reality of this by what God has Luke record concerning Stephen and the final opportunity that was given to Israel to ‘repent’ through his indictment.
Act 6:7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
Act 6:8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
Act 6:9 Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.
Act 6:10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
In Acts 6:9 where the account begins to describe God’s use of Stephen, the verse makes special mention of those who belonged to “the synagogue, which is called *the synagogue* of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.” This synagogue is significant because it is composed primarily of ones who are not native to the land of Israel or to Jerusalem, but who come to Jerusalem when required by the law, as for the day of Pentecost. Hence this particular synagogue is mentioned in Acts 6:9 not simply because they were the ones who were “disputing with Stephen,” but also because since this particular synagogue was ‘in operation,’ so to speak, it testifies that a year had now transpired since the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. And of course this tallies with what the Lord had said in Luke 13.
Keith Blades
Enjoy The Bible Ministries