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The Gospel of Luke Chapter Thirteen
Commentary by Timothy H. Burdick
In the first five verses of Luke 13,
Jesus talks about how tragedy is not necessarily related to
punishment. We tend to be too quick to jump to assumptions
like this. As a blind person, I think that looking on
suffering as only a form of judgment is cruel, and so did
Jesus. “Now there were some present at that time who told
Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with
there sacrifices.
Before we go on, let’s look at what
the people were saying, as recorded in Luke 13:1. The
Galileans, by the way, were noted at the time for their
uprisings. The soldiers knew this and came to them when they
were offering sacrifices, and squelched any unlawful
activity among them, killing some of the Galileans.
Verse two and following continues
with Jesus’ observations about this indicent - ”Do you think
that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other
Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you no! But
unless you repent, you to will all perish. Or those eighteen
who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them - do you
think they were more guilty than all the others living in
Jerusalem? I tell you no! But unless you repent, you too
will perish.”
Now, looking at the section in its
entirety we can see something else. Compare what Jesus is
saying in these verses, with Job Chapter 5, verse 7 - “Yet
man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.”
Jesus also says this about trouble, “That you may be sons of
your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil
and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the
unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45). Therefore we can see from the
Books of Job and Matthew alone, that trouble comes to
everyone. The teaching that it is always related to sin is
and always was - absurd. And it’s not just about the
Galileans – we all need to hear these words.
Two times, Jesus said to the people
unless THEY “repented” of the same kind of things, trouble
will happen to them also. Repenting is a total change of
lifestyle. It is a complete turning from evil ways, to God’s
ways. We learn then to not point an unloving finger at
others, but rather to do some soul searching about
ourselves. Jesus says in Matthew 7:1-2 - “Do not judge, or
you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge
others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it
will be measured to you.” Next, we see Jesus teaching, in
Luke 13:6-9, by using a parable: ”A man had a fig tree,
planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on
it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took
care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming
to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any.
Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ ‘Sir, the man
replied, leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig
around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year,
fine! If not, then cut it down.’”
In the Scriptures, the fig tree
often represents Israel. Jesus is telling this parable to
show how patient and kind God has been in His dealings with
the people of this world in general, and specifically in
this context, with the nation Israel.
The same patience that He has shown
towards Israel, He has shown toward all of us. One example
of God’s patience, can be seen in 2nd Peter 3:9 - “The Lord
is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand
slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to
perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
Next we see Jesus showing mercy on
the Sabbath. Look with me at Luke 13:10-18. “On a Sabbath
Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was
there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years.
She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When
Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her,
“Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then He put
His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and
praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the
Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, ‘There are
six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not
on the Sabbath.” The Lord answered him, “you hypocrites!
Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey
from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should
not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept
bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath
day from what bound her?’” When He said this, all His
opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted
with all the wonderful things He was doing.”
The religious leaders, to reinforce
Sabbath-keeping, had made up all kinds of silly rules. Jesus
on many occasions, broke with tradition to show forth the
mercy of God. Cross reference this with, Mark 3:1-5 - “…He
went into the synagogue and a man with a shriveled hand was
there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse
Jesus, so they watched Him closely to see if He would heal
him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled
hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.” Then Jesus asked
them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do
evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent. He
looked around at them in anger and deeply distressed at
there stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your
hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was completely
restored!”
I think that Jesus gets just as
angry today at our silly rules which limit the work of God
in our lives. The apostle Paul said, “Do not put out the
spirit’s fire” (1 Thessalonians 5:19). But, we do extinguish
the working of the Spirit in so many ways, which prevents
Him from healing the “shriveled hand” in our midst.
Now, let’s try and understand, what
Jesus was saying about the Kingdom of God in Luke 13:18-21 -
“…Jesus asked, “’What is the Kingdom of God like? What shall
I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took
and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree and the
birds of the air perched in its branches.’ Again He asked,
‘What shall I compare the Kingdom of God to? It is like
yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of
flour until it worked all through the dough.’”
First, let’s look at the mustard
seed. But before we discuss it,we should note that Matthew
and Mark say that it was a very “small” seed, while Luke
does not make that distinction. Read Matthew 13:31 and the
verses that follow, and Mark 4:30 and the verses that
follow. The Kingdom of God did indeed start from a very
small seed. But Jesus seems to be talking about abnormal,
unexpected growth, when He speaks of its growth into a tree
that the birds could lodge in. Since the mustard seed is
actually an herb, it would therefore only grow into a medium
size plant. Jesus here is making reference to Daniel Chapter
2, Verse 35 - “Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the
silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time
and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer.
The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the
rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and
filled the whole earth.”
In that day, the popular concept
among the Jews, was that the Kingdom of God would be
massive, overthrowing Roman rule, and bringing in world
peace. In contrast to this view, Jesus talks here about its
humble beginnings.
Some have conjectured, that the
birds nesting in the branches of this tree means that all
are welcome. However, look with me at what Jesus said the
birds stood for in the parable of the sower. Matthew 13:4
begins, “As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the
path, and the birds came and ate it up.” In verse 19 Jesus
explains what these birds mean to His disciples. “When
anyone hears the message about the Kingdom and does not
understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was
sown in his heart.”
By letting the Bible speak for
itself, needless and idle speculation can be avoided. There
has been much evil and corruption in the branches, in the
theology and doctrines of the various parts of the church,
and I am sure that that is what Jesus was referring to.
In verse 23, we see someone in the
crowd asking a similar question to what you might hear
today. ”Someone asked Him, ‘Lord, are only a few people
going to be saved?’”
Many people ask this: “is Jesus the
only way to God?” What about all of the people who haven’t
heard about Him? Maybe you have the same question in the
back of your mind.
You can know that God is both
faithful and just. He will judge according to the light that
men have. Look with me at two Scriptures; first Psalm 19:1-3
- “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim
the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech
or language where their voice is not heard.” God constantly
and always speaks to man through His glory in creation.
Since God has plainly revealed Himself in this manner, see
what Paul has to say in Romans chapter 1 verse 20 - “For
since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities -
His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly
seen, being understood from what has been made so that men
are with out excuse.”
Notice how Jesus answers. Instead of
getting trapped in theological debates, He gives us positive
steps to take and helps us to understand: “Make every effort
to enter through the narrow door, He said, because many I
tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once
the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will
stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘sir, open the door for
us.’ But He will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come
from.’ Then He goes on in Luke 13:26-27, to talk about them
that have seen Him, but remain absorbed within evil
lifestyles - ”Then you will say, ‘we ate and drank with you
and you taught in our streets.’ But He will reply, ‘I don’t
know you or where you come from. Away from Me, all you
evildoers!”’
Luke 13:28 discusses the loss that
people will feel upon not entering the Kingdom, along with
the joy that Abraham the father of the prophets, and the
prophets themselves will experience. ”There will be weeping
there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham Isaac and
Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you
yourselves thrown out.
Luke 13:29 expands upon his original
thought talking about the feast that all believers will
partake of. “People will come from east and west and north
and south, and will take their places at the feast in the
Kingdom of God.” Verse 30, shows us that God’s priorities
and values do not always line up with ours. “Indeed there
are those who are last who will be first, and first who will
be last.”
Many times, we want to be in the
limelight, but often in the Scriptures, God uses people who
step out of obscurity for just a moment in their lives. To
see this look at Judges Chapter 6, Verse 15 - “’But Lord,’
Gideon asked, ‘how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest
in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.’”
Many people think that Jesus was
some kind of victim. Luke 13:31-33, however, show that He
was following a timetable, and that He knew exactly what was
happening. “At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and
said to Him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod
wants to kill you.” He replied, ”Go tell that fox, I will
drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on
the third day I will reach my goal. In any case, I must keep
going today and tomorrow and the next day - for surely no
prophet can die outside of Jerusalem.”
Just as Jesus wept over Jerusalem,
He weeps over any of us who lose our way. And just like
Jerusalem, we go our own way ignoring His tearful voice. To
get the most out of this verse, insert your name, where it
says “Jerusalem.” ”O (your name), (your name), you who kill
the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have
longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers
her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.”
Lastly, Luke 13:35 describes the
emptiness of those who have rejected Him. “Look, your house
is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see Me
again until you say, blessed is He who comes in the name of
the Lord.”
If you do not know Him today, you
are experiencing the same emptiness that the people of that
day felt. But just like He told the people that they would
not see Him until they welcomed Him, He will not come into
your life until you invite Him. Ask Him in and He will fill
your life to overflowing with His goodness and His love.
Thank you for reading this, and
please join me next time for Chapter Fourteen.
Friday Study Ministries
The First Church On The Net
www.FridayStudy.org
www.FirstChurchOnTheNet.org
"While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
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