The Fig Tree Explained

Jesus answered: 'Verily I say unto you, the owner is God, and the vinedresser is his law. God, then, had in paradise the palm and the balsam; for Satan is the palm and the first man the balsam. Them did he cast out because they bare not fruit of good works, but uttered ungodly words that were the condemnation of many angels and many men. Now that God hath man in the world, in the midst of his creatures that serve God, all of them, according to his precept; and man, I say, bearing no fruit, God would cut him down and commit him to hell, seeing he pardoned not the angel and the first man, punishing the angel eternally, and the man for a time. Whereupon the law of God saith that man hath too much good in this life, and so it is necessary that he should suffer tribulation and be deprived of earthly goods, in order that he may do good works. Therefore our God waiteth for man to be penitent. Verily I say unto you, that our God hath condemned man to work so that, as said Job, the friend and prophet of God: "As the bird is born to fly and the fish to swim, even so is man born to work."'

'So also David our father, a prophet of God, saith: "Eating the labours of our hands we shall be blessed, and it shall be well with us."'

'Wherefore let every one work, according to his quality. Now tell me, if David our father and Solomon his son worked with their hands, what ought the sinner to do?'

Said John: 'Master, to work is a fitting thing, but this ought the poor to do.'

Jesus answered: 'Yea, for they cannot do otherwise. But knowest thou not that good, to be good, must be free from necessity? Thus the sun and the other planets are strengthened by the precepts of God so that they cannot do otherwise, wherefore they shall have no merit. Tell me, when God gave the precept to work, he said not: "A poor man shall live of the sweat of his face"? And Job did not say that: "As a bird is born to fly, so a poor man is born to work"? But God said to man: "In the sweat of thy countenance shalt thou eat bread," and Job that "Man is born to work." Therefore [only] he who is not man is free from this precept. Assuredly for no other reason are all things costly, but that there are a great multitude of idle folk: if these were to labour, some attending the ground and some at fishing the water, there would be the greatest plenty in the world. And of the lack thereof it will be necessary to render an account in the dreadful day of judgement.'