He was trying to win them.  “Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.” - Luke 13:8 (NKJV) 

He works with us.  “Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, ‘Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none.’”  - Luke 13:7 (KJV)