Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” 6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?'" 8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”
We're not sure what these people wanted Jesus to do here - possibly pick sides of who was right and who was wrong: were these Galileans terrible criminals who resisted arrest in the temple, or was Pilate being his typical vicious self? Instead, Jesus turns the question on them, and adds another about this tower which fell: were they both judgments on these people for their sin? His main point is this: Be concerned about your own sinfulness, not theirs. As yourself this: "Is there any fruit of repentance in your life?" Like the farmer looking for fruit, God had been giving a call for repentance to which many refused to respond; there was no fruit, and that would lead to judgment. Stop judging others and examine yourself.
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