In Luke 13 the Lord’s words, spoken in view of Israel’s rebellion and rejection of Himself, expose the unfruitfulness of their stubborn disobedience:

“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. 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? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down” (Luke 13:6-9).

One more year, after the three years of our Lord’s earthly ministry, that unfruitful tree is to be cut down if it does not produce “good fruit.” The Twelve Apostles, with Peter leading them, sought to bring Israel to Messiah with all the signs and wonders of Pentecostal power; calling upon his nation, Peter said:

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

“And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

“Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution [restoration] of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:19-21).

But they would not repent, and stood by that awful deed of Christ’s crucifixion, committing that unpardonable sin of which the Lord had warned in Matthew 12:31,32.

One more year, pushes the “fall” of Israel past Pentecost, AD 33, into the year of our Lord, AD 34! And this is the evidence that proves that “the dispensation of the grace of God” began with the conversion of Paul in Acts 9. Thus Paul writes Timothy:

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

“Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him [Christ] to life everlasting” (ITim.1:15,16).