Scripture reading: Luke 12:49-51; 54-56

Exegesis of Luke 13:1-17

 

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.”

  • “Galileans…tower of Siloam” – These two events are otherwise unknown to us in the historical record. But the first is consistent with Pilate’s tenor of rule, the second was typical of first century Roman building standards.
  • “Unless you repent, you too will all perish…” – Unless you honestly deal with your sins and turn from them, you will reap negative consequences (e.g., Deut 28:1-68).
  • Caveat: Jesus is not saying that there is a one-to-one correspondence between our personal sins and personal tragedies (cf. Jn 9:2). This is closer to the pagan concept of do ut des. The fact is, bad things happen to innocents (Eccl 9:11).
  • Jesus’ main point here is to keep ”short accounts” with God. Maintain always a spirit of repentance: humble, quick to confess, hungry for righteousness (1 John 1:9).

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.’”

  • “Fig tree” – a common symbol for Israel in OT times (Mic 7:1-2). A farmer plants, cares for it, and has a right to expect fruit from it. He has every right to prune, graft or remove it if it doesn’t bear fruit.
  • “one more year and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it” – despite the fact that Israel was going to reject and murder His Son, He was going to give Israel one last chance. In the meantime, God would “fertilize” Israel. How would he do that?
  • God fertilized Israel for almost forty years! What was Israel’s response?
  • God finally sent judgment through the Roman legions in AD 70. God had warned Israel through John the baptizer their time was almost up (Lk 3:9). He warned them through Jesus (Lk 11:50-51). Now, he finally, reluctantly brings judgment. And it is catastrophic (end of biblical Judaism: no more temple, priesthood, sacrifices, land).
  • Takeaway from vv. 1-9: God is incredibly patient. But, don’t take him for granted. Don’t postpone obedience. Live a life of repentance. 

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.

  • This is the third Sabbath controversy recorded by Luke (6:1-5; 6:6-11).
  • The affliction involves a person with what appears to be a type of spondylitis which is demonically induced. The Bible teaches that some sicknesses have a demonic component (Lk 9:39; 11:14; 8:29), others apparently not (e.g., Mt 4:24).
  • A few things to note: 1) This episode involved a woman – often overlooked in this culture, but Jesus calls her out, 2) She doesn’t ask to be healed, highlighting Jesus’ proactive compassion, 3) She responds with immediate praise to God!
  • The synagogue ruler was responsible for keeping order. There was debate about whether the Sabbath law against work (Ex 20:8-11; Deut 5:12-15) precluded healing.
  • Sabbath observance was one of the primary signs of Israel’s covenant with Yahweh. Its neglect was one of the reasons God exiled Israel to Babylon tin the 6th BC. So, the Pharisees became hyper-focused on making sure that never happened again.
  • The Mishna (3rd C AD) recognized thirty-nine classes of prohibited work. There were some ridiculous extremes as well as some creative work arounds.
  • Jesus’ response: “You hypocrites!” You find creative ways to take care of your property on the Sabbath but make no allowances to care for another human being.
  • The main point of the text is to underscore the vast gulf between those whose hearts were hard, convinced they were right and had no need of repentance, and those whose hearts were soft, open to God, hungry for righteousness.
  • “humiliated… delighted” – an example of Jesus causing division (12:51-53).

Takeaway

What is the condition of your heart right now? Are you humble, teachable, hungry for God, thirsty to be more of who God wants to make you in Christ? Even Christians can become hard of heart. God invites us to re-commit to living life in simple, humble dependence on him (James 4:7-10).