Luke 13.1-9 provides several messages about our pressing need to hear Jesus’ call.

Some people asked about the Galileans who had been tortured by Herod.  This was evidently a recent news item, and there seemed to be an underlying question about whether it was their own fault.  Jesus made it clear that it was not that they were worse sinners than others, and he used it as a call for the people with him right then to repent. 

He reminded them of the eighteen who were crushed when a tower fell over in Siloam.  “Do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?  No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

The parable that follows continues the theme.  A man’s fig tree had produced no fruit after being in his vineyard for three years.  It was just using up the ground; he wanted to cut it down.  But the gardener suggested some work he could do to restore it, so the owner agreed to a one-year extension.  The application for those listening to Jesus was that they had had an adequate amount of time to respond to Him.  The one year signifies that their grace period would be extended, but the extension was limited.