Parable of the Budding Fig Tree Parable of the Budding Fig Tree The Parable of the Budding Fig Tree is a parable told by Jesus in the New Testament, found in , , and . This parable, about the Kingdom of God, involves a fig tree, as does the equally brief parable of the barren fig tree. According to the Gospel of Luke: Luke presents this parable as eschatological in nature: like the leaves of the fig tree, the signs spoken of in the Olivet discourse of Luke 21:5-28 indicate the coming of the Kingdom of God. An alternate interpretation is that the fig tree represents
Parable of the Ten Virgins and that, instead, it is a parable created by the very early church. A large majority of fellows on the Jesus Seminar, for example, designated the parable as merely similar to something Jesus might have said or simply inauthentic ("gray" or "black"). Other scholars believe that this parable has only been lightly edited, and is an excellent example of Jesus' skill in telling parables. The parable occurs in all ancient New Testament manuscripts, with only slight variations in some words. In the Catholic Church, the parable is the Gospel reading for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time in Cycle A;