Luke 13

A Warning to Israel; Healing on The Sabbath; Kingdom Parables; Jesus Grieves Jerusalem

In this section, Jesus warned Israel of their need to repent, demonstrated His power over physical and spiritual oppression, described the slow but sure growth of His kingdom, and grieved His people’s unwillingness to recognize Him.  

A strong emphasis of this chapter is Israel’s failure to accept God’s kingdom in the form of a humble Healer.  Jesus was defeating the powers of Satan and delivering His people from oppression, but His ministry did look like they expected.  They simply didn’t recognize Him. 

A Warning to Israel: Repent or Perish

Murder in Galilee and Tragedy in Jerusalem

Vs. 1 - At that time, some people came and reported to him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.

Vs. 4 - Or those eighteen that the tower in Siloam fell on and killed—do you think they were more sinful than all the other people who live in Jerusalem?

Two recent tragedies were fresh in the minds of the Jewish people. One was caused by Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, when he killed a number of Galilean Jews while they were offering sacrifices at the temple in Jerusalem. The other was caused by the collapse of a tower that killed a number of Jerusalem citizens. Some Jews thought that because the victims of these tragedies met such terrible deaths, they must have been worse sinners than others.              - Don Fleming

Commentators note that no extra-biblical record of these events has been identified.  But according to Luke, when some people expressed concern over recent tragedies, Jesus acknowledged the tragedies and addressed the common Jewish belief that suffering was always the result of sin.

It seems understandable that Israel, under a covenant of conditional blessings and curses, would connect prosperity with obedience and suffering with sin.  But individual sin has never been purported in scripture as the exclusive cause of human suffering. 

Unless You Repent

Vs. 3, 5 - Unless you repent, you will all perish as well.

Many of the Jews in Jesus’ day believed that tragedy or accident was the direct result of some personal sin (cf. John 9:1-3). Thus they concluded that the Galileans who had perished must have been great sinners. They based this view on a faulty theory of divine retribution (Job 4:7; Job 8:20; Job 22:4-5). Jesus repudiated this theory and viewed the death of the Galileans as the consequence of sin generally. 

Jesus asserted that people who experience calamities are not necessarily worse sinners than people who do not. More important, all people face God’s judgment unless they repent.

Jesus stressed the error of their view by placing the word "no" (Gr. ouchi) first in the sentence for emphasis. He then drew a conclusion. Everyone needs to repent because everyone is a sinner, and all sin brings judgment.                    - Thomas Constable

Jesus explained that these tragedies were not caused by specific sin.  Those who died were sinners but no more sinful than anyone else around them.  Jesus' answer directed the people away from questions about the guilt of others and towards their own need for mercy. 

Parable of The Barren Fig Tree 

This parable should not be confused with the incident in which Jesus cursed a fig tree (Matthew 21:19; Mark 11:13-14) or the shorter parable He told about a fig tree (Matthew 24:32).            - Thomas Constable

Vs. 6 - And he told this parable: A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it and found none.

The fig tree is often used as a symbol for the nation of Israel.  Though young fig trees are slow to begin bearing fruit, three years was a sufficient length of time for trees to become mature and thus fruitful.        - A. Boyd Luter

Israel had been unfaithful and worthless to God, like a fig tree that never produced fruit. God had been patient, but now he was giving the nation one last chance to repent and accept the Messiah. If the people persisted in their stubbornness, judgment would fall upon them.              - Don Fleming

This parable as a whole is very similar to Isaiah 5:1-7, though there the plant in view was a grapevine. The fig tree was another popular symbol of Israel. By referring to a fig tree and a vineyard together Jesus left no doubt that He was speaking of Israel. God expected to find the fruit of repentance in Israel but found virtually none. He had not found fruit in it for a long time, so He planned to judge it because it was not fulfilling its purpose.             - Thomas Constable

Vs. 8-9 - “But he replied to him, ‘Sir, leave it this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. Perhaps it will produce fruit next year, but if not, you can cut it down.’”

This parable illustrated the need for repentance, but it also drew attention to God’s grace in allowing time for repentance.  God was gracious with Israel and gave it more time to bear fruit. The implication seems to be that Israel was in this grace period during the ministry of Jesus. His ministry stirred up the nation and infused elements that should have resulted in fruit. Israel’s response to Him would determine her national fate. Therefore repentance was crucial immediately since the grace period was relatively short.    - Thomas Constable

In the parable, one more year is given to see if the tree will now bear fruit. The point was that the tree did not deserve to continue because of its lack of fruit. The nation of Israel was deserving of immediate judgment. However, God was allowing more time for them to repent.              - Brent Kercheville

Healing A Disabled Woman on The Sabbath

One of The Synagogues

Vs. 10 - As he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath

All four of the Canonical Gospels situate Jesus’s ministry within synagogues. According to Mark 1:39, Jesus “went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.”

Synagogues in the Gospels are generally depicted as gathering places belonging to local communities where Jesus could interact with the assembled people. By taking part in synagogue gatherings, Jesus was engaging with the common Judaism practiced in the early Roman period.        - Jordan J. Ryan

This is the last time we ever hear of Jesus being in a synagogue. It is clear that by this time the authorities were watching his every action and waiting to pounce upon him whenever they got the chance.          - William Barclay

Eighteen Years

Vs. 11 - a woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit for over eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.

Luke noted that this woman’s disability was somehow related to spiritual forces.  Like most people Jesus encountered, her need for healing may have been more than just a physical one. 

On The Sabbath

Vs. 13 - Then he laid his hands on her, and instantly she was restored and began to glorify God.

There are several thematic connections that tie this pericope with what has preceded and show its role in the development of Luke’s argument. Jesus had just called the nation to repentance. Now He showed that change was possible with His power. He had pictured Israel in need of fruit. Now He illustrated His restorative powers. He had called the people to believe in Him (Luke 12:54-59). Now He gave them a sign that He was the Messiah.             - Thomas Constable

Vs. 14 - But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, responded by telling the crowd, “There are six days when work should be done; therefore come on those days and be healed and not on the Sabbath day.”

Luke already recorded (Luke 6) multiple occasions when Jesus was confronted by religious leaders about His Sabbath activities.  Now again, another leader of the synagogue demonstrated a failure to understand the meaning of the mandate, the love in the law.  

Vs. 15-16 - But the Lord answered him and said, “Hypocrites! Doesn’t each one of you untie his ox or donkey from the feeding trough on the Sabbath and lead it to water? Satan has bound this woman, a daughter of Abraham, for eighteen years—shouldn’t she be untied from this bondage on the Sabbath day?”

Using a typical Rabbinic method of arguing from the lesser to the greater, Jesus accuses those who hold this position of hypocrisy.  If one cares for the physical needs of animals on the Sabbath, then it follows that one should care for the physical needs of people.            - Thomas Schreiner

His opponents had missed the whole point of this holy day. Had they understood it, they would have seen that deeds of mercy such as His were not merely permitted-they were obligatory.                 - Morris

Kingdom Parables (Matthew 13:24-43; Mark 4:30-34)

Both Matthew and Mark recorded these kingdom parables on a different occasion in Jesus’ ministry.  They were likely common teachings that Jesus used on multiple occasions.  But most commentators also note that Luke seemed more concerned with content than chronology.  

As elsewhere, Luke recorded Jesus teaching lessons and using illustrations and expressions that the other Gospel writers wrote that He used in other contexts. Jesus’ repetition is understandable in view of His itinerant ministry and His great skill as a teacher.             - Thomas Constable

Luke noted that Jesus offered some of these parables in response to questions the people posed about the nature of the kingdom of God.  He also may have grouped the teachings and events of this section together in an effort to illustrate how many of God’s people failed to recognize His kingdom because it came to them in the form of a humble Healer.  The kingdom would have small, unassuming beginnings; its significant growth would be slow but sure. 

Parable of A Mustard Seed (Matthew 13:31-32)

Vs. 18-19 - He said, therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like, and what can I compare it to?  It’s like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the sky nested in its branches.”

Parable of Yeast (Matthew 13:33)

Vs. 20-21 - Again he said, “What can I compare the kingdom of God to?  It’s like leaven that a woman took and mixed into fifty pounds of flour until all of it was leavened.”

Because Jesus did not clearly explain the meaning of these short parables, scholars provide a multitude of interpretations.  But many see one clear message in both analogies:  Despite popular belief to the contrary, the kingdom of God would grow from small to great, slowly but surely. 

The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast teach the same lesson. The rule of God has manifested itself in Jesus' ministry. However, the kingdom has not been ushered in with apocalyptic power. It seems small and powerless, like the proverbial small mustard seed and the yeast hidden in flour. Nevertheless, the eventual spread of the kingdom is sure.  As a mustard seed grows into a tree, and as yeast spreads through the dough, so too the kingdom of God will rule over all.                   - Thomas Schreiner

Other commentators see a different emphasis in these parables. 

The parable of the tree teaches the growth of the Kingdom into a great power; and the second, the parable of the leaven, its corruption.           - Morgan

A Narrow Door (Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23)

Vs. 23-24 - “Lord,” someone asked him, “are only a few people going to be saved?”

He said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because I tell you, many will try to enter and won’t be able.”

Matthew recorded this teaching as a part of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).  

Matthew 7:13-14 - Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.

As Jesus moved through the towns of the Jordan Valley, he stressed that people should believe in him without delay, because they would not have the opportunity to hear from him again. Many were concerned with theoretical questions about who would or would not be saved. Jesus explained that people individually should first be sure of their own salvation, because on the judgment day many who thought they were in God’s kingdom would find themselves left outside.        - Don Fleming

Many commentators interpret this “narrow door” analogy to represent the way of faith in Jesus.  Many would attempt to enter the kingdom of God but fail to identify following Jesus as the appropriate entrance.  Few of God’s chosen people would recognize Jesus as this Door. 

Vs. 27-28 - But he will say, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you’re from. Get away from me, all you evildoers!’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth in that place, when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves thrown out.

Vs. 30 - Note this: Some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last.

Jesus predicted that many ethnic Jews, physical descendants of the famous fathers of faith, would tragically find themselves excluded from God’s kingdom because of their refusal to follow Jesus through the “narrow” door.  Some of Israel, the first to know God, will weep as “unknown” in His kingdom. 

Many Jews, though they were the original people of God’s covenant, will be excluded due to their unbelief, while many believing Gentiles will share the banquet in full fellowship because they have accepted God’s offer of reconciliation in Jesus.  There will be much anguish among excluded Jews.       - A. Boyd Luter

Jesus Grieves Over Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37-39)

Always Pressing On

Vs. 22 (NLT) - Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he went, always pressing on toward Jerusalem.

Jesus “pressing on” towards Jerusalem was a Lucan emphasis.  Scholars believe Jesus made multiple visits to the holy city during his years of public ministry, but Luke was highlighting Jerusalem as His final destination, the place where He would complete His redemptive plan. 

Except in Jerusalem

Vs. 31 - At that time some Pharisees came and told him, “Go, get out of here. Herod wants to kill you.”

There is not sufficient evidence to show whether these Pharisees were friends or foes of Jesus.  Jesus, however, is not impressed with Herod’s threats.            - Thomas Schreiner

Did Herod Antipas really want to kill Jesus? He kept trying to see Jesus (Luke 9:9), and when he finally did he was very glad for the opportunity hoping that Jesus would perform a miracle (Luke 23:8). However he proceeded to mock Jesus and to treat Him with contempt (Luke 23:11). It appears that the Pharisees were overstating Herod’s hostility at this time. Their warning posed a temptation for Jesus to depart from His Father’s will for Him, but He did not yield to it.                - Thomas Constable

Vs. 33 - Yet it is necessary that I travel today, tomorrow, and the next day, because it is not possible for a prophet to perish outside of Jerusalem.

While prophets were surely martyred elsewhere, Jesus viewed dying outside Jerusalem as inconsistent with the tradition of prophets who had died there at the hands of the Jews (1 Kings 18:4; 1 Kings 18:13; 1 Kings 19:10; Jeremiah 26:20-23; Nehemiah 9:26; cf. Acts 7:52).             - Thomas Constable

As A Hen Gathers Her Chicks

Vs. 34 - “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

The reference to Jesus’ destination in Jerusalem reminds him that the city has rejected his message, as it has rejected the message of the prophets in former times.            - Thomas Schreiner

Jesus’ lament constituted a formal rejection of Israel for her rejection of her Messiah (cf. Matthew 23:37-39). Jesus used Jerusalem figuratively (i.e., in metonymy) for the whole nation. However, Jesus rejected her with a broken heart. He continued to offer Himself to the nation, but its fate was now irrevocable.                    - Thomas Constable

Blessed Is He Who Comes

There are a variety of interpretations of what Jesus meant by “you will not see me until the time comes.”  He quoted Psalm 118 and described a future time when His chosen people would recognize and receive Him as their Messiah. 

Psalm 118:26 - He who comes in the name of the Lord is blessed. From the house of the Lord we bless you.