Repent or Perish
13 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 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? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 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?’
8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”
Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman on the Sabbath
10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 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. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”
15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 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?”
17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast
18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.”
20 Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds [Or about 27 kilograms] of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
The Narrow Door
22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”
He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 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.’
26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’
27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
28 “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. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”
Jesus’ Sorrow for Jerusalem
31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”
32 He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ 33 In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!
34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 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, and you were not willing. 35 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.’[Psalm 118:26 ]”
NOTES:
13:1–5 The death of the Galileans at the hands of Pilate (Lk
13:1) and the accidental death of those on whom the tower fell (Lk 13:4) are
presented by the Lucan Jesus as timely reminders of the need for all to repent,
for the victims of these tragedies should not be considered outstanding sinners
who were singled out for punishment.
13:1 The slaughter of the Galileans by Pilate is unknown
outside Luke; but from what is known about Pilate from the Jewish historian
Josephus, such a slaughter would be in keeping with the character of Pilate.
Josephus reports that Pilate had disrupted a religious gathering of the
Samaritans on Mount Gerizim with a slaughter of the participants (Antiquities
18:86–87), and that on another occasion Pilate had killed many Jews who had
opposed him when he appropriated money from the temple treasury to build an
aqueduct in Jerusalem (Jewish War 2:175–77; Antiquities 18:60–62).
13:4 Like the incident mentioned in Lk 13:1 nothing of this
accident in Jerusalem is known outside Luke and the New Testament.
13:6–9 Following on the call to repentance in Lk 13:1–5, the
parable of the barren fig tree presents a story about the continuing patience
of God with those who have not yet given evidence of their repentance (see Lk
3:8). The parable may also be alluding to the delay of the end time, when
punishment will be meted out, and the importance of preparing for the end of
the age because the delay will not be permanent (Lk 13:8–9).
13:10–17 The cure of the crippled woman on the sabbath and
the controversy that results furnishes a parallel to an incident that will be
reported by Luke in 14:1–6, the cure of the man with dropsy on the sabbath. A
characteristic of Luke’s style is the juxtaposition of an incident that reveals
Jesus’ concern for a man with an incident that reveals his concern for a woman;
cf., e.g., Lk 7:11–17 and Lk 8:49–56.
13:15–16 If the law as interpreted by Jewish tradition
allowed for the untying of bound animals on the sabbath, how much more should
this woman who has been bound by Satan’s power be freed on the sabbath from her
affliction.
13:16 Whom Satan has bound: affliction and infirmity are
taken as evidence of Satan’s hold on humanity. The healing ministry of Jesus
reveals the gradual wresting from Satan of control over humanity and the
establishment of God’s kingdom.
13:18–21 Two parables are used to illustrate the future
proportions of the kingdom of God that will result from its deceptively small
beginning in the preaching and healing ministry of Jesus. They are paralleled
in Mt 13:31–33 and Mk 4:30–32.
13:22–30 These sayings of Jesus follow in Luke upon the
parables of the kingdom (Lk 13:18–21) and stress that great effort is required
for entrance into the kingdom (Lk 13:24) and that there is an urgency to accept
the present opportunity to enter because the narrow door will not remain open
indefinitely (Lk 13:25). Lying behind the sayings is the rejection of Jesus and
his message by his Jewish contemporaries (Lk 13:26) whose places at table in
the kingdom will be taken by Gentiles from the four corners of the world (Lk
13:29). Those called last (the Gentiles) will precede those to whom the
invitation to enter was first extended (the Jews). See also Lk 14:15–24.
13:32 Nothing, not even Herod’s desire to kill Jesus, stands
in the way of Jesus’ role in fulfilling God’s will and in establishing the
kingdom through his exorcisms and healings.
13:33 It is impossible that a prophet should die outside of
Jerusalem: Jerusalem is the city of destiny and the goal of the journey of the
prophet Jesus. Only when he reaches the holy city will his work be
accomplished.
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