Repent or Perish⤒🔗

¹Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. ²Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? ³I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. ⁴Or 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? ⁵I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

⁶Then he told this 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. ⁷So 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. ⁹If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”Luke 13:1-9

When Christ was speaking about the coming judgment, “there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices” (13:1-9). Talk about judgment, did you hear about the Galileans killed by Pilate?

We do not know to what incident they were referring. But it was a massacre perpetrated at the temple when a group of Galileans came to offer sacrifices to the Lord. Apparently Pontius Pilate had not trusted these Galileans and he had them killed in the temple court where the offerings were made. It was a rather shocking event.

The people blamed Pontius Pilate, of course. But the Galileans were also considered to be bad people. They were probably complicit in some wicked plot. The general thinking was that these Galileans deserved what they got. Extreme calamity, like the murder of the Galileans, was connected to great sinfulness. The underlying message to Jesus was: better be careful, Galileans are not very popular in Jerusalem.

The Lord sees through the clumsy attempt to make him afraid. He says, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way?” (13:2)

Officially it was blamed on Pontius Plate. But the Galileans must have been guiltier than others to get such an extreme punishment. The Lord says, “I tell you, no!” Sinners are not “others” who perhaps have done something wrong. “I tell you, no!” This is a very strongly-worded statement. Galileans are not worse sinners than others.  It reminds me of an old (Dutch) saying: “Slinging mud at others does not make you cleaner.”¹Mud is never soap.

Still, the Lord digs a bit deeper. There is a better example. What about “those eighteen who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them?” This is also an incident that happened in Jerusalem of which we do not read elsewhere. Do you think that those crushed were guiltier than the other people living in Jerusalem? “I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (13:4,5)

In the falling of the tower of Siloam, there was no party that could directly be blamed. No Pilate, this time. Therefore it must have been God who let this tower fall down on these people in Jerusalem. It is an act of God.  And is the falling of the tower not of the same importance as the massacre by Herod, perhaps even of greater significance? Is it not the same message: repent or perish? The Lord says: don’t think for a moment that you are better than these people. The most common way people try to defend themselves against allegations is by saying that their neighbor is much worse. But changing the topic will not work.

It says, “Then he told this parable” (13:6). He explains why judgment has not yet come on all. A man had planted a fig tree and every year he looked for fruit but did not find any. Finally his patience ends, and he says to the man who took care of the vineyard, “Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?” God does not have ornamental shrubs and trees, but only fruit trees that bear fruit.

But the vineyard keeper intercedes. He says, Sir, “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.” (12:6-9)

Is God not merciful and patient? Does he not keep coming to find fruit? Yes, eventually judgment comes. But it comes only when all other avenues have been taken. God is long-suffering. But one day the master will return and give to each according his deeds.

We should not mistake the master’s patience for weakness. Judgment will come to those who do not repent. An example of this is the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

Healing on the Sabbath Day (Luke 13:10-17)←⤒🔗

¹⁰On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, ¹¹and 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. ¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” ¹³Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

¹⁴Indignant 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.”

¹⁵The 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? ¹⁶Then 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?”

¹⁷When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing. Luke 13:10-17

A huge point of contention between the Pharisees and our Lord was the matter of keeping the Sabbath. Here is where the Jewish leaders marked their line in the sand. However, Christ was not seeking to destroy the Sabbath but to rehabilitate it. He wanted it to be observed as a day of joy, healing, restoration and happiness.

The event takes place on a Sabbath, when Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues. We do not read where and when this took place but it will have been close to the previous events of chapter 13.

We read that a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. It does not say “evil” spirit or demon, but I take this (as in previous cases) to have been an evil spirit. The woman was bent over and could not straighten up at all (13:11). Her life had been one of great pain and constant anguish, impossible for us to comprehend.

I do not get the impression that she interrupted people but just happened to be there in this synagogue. She does not appeal to the Lord, but he notices her right away. It does not take long, then, for the Lord to focus on her. “When Jesus saw her, he called her forward” (13:12). She may have been somewhat embarrassed or afraid. Most handicapped people try not to get noticed; trust me, I know. But the Lord Jesus says to her, without any further ado, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” (13:12) “Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.” (13:13)

This was an immense sign. After having been bent over for 18 years, her whole body, her spine, muscles, and nerves that had been all ruined, were instantly healed. There was no medical way that she could be healed. If we had been there to witness it, we, too, would have been totally amazed.

“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.” (13:14)

Healing was seen as work and therefore not fitting on a Sabbath. But for the Lord the Sabbath was a day of restoration, joy, and praise. What better day, ordained by God to rejoice in his creative and renewing power, than the Sabbath? There was no way that the Lord would ever let the Sabbath be used except to restore God’s children, spiritually, mentally, and physically.

The ruler of the synagogue showed quite some nerve in telling the people that Jesus’ action was wrong. But he received an immediate rebuttal from the Lord, “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?” (13:15) Of course they do!  Is that not in a sense also a form of work?

But again the Lord’s digs deeper. “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?” Notice the fine pastoral expression: this daughter of Abraham, a covenant child, has a more gracious place than an ox or an ass. She was bound for eighteen long years. Christ knew how long she suffered, he saw her not as a write-off, but a woman to be healed on the greatest day in Israel, the Sabbath.

Of course, this served only to infuriate the Jewish leaders even more. We read that all his opponents were humiliated. Not humbled (which is a good thing) but humiliated (which is bad thing), leading them to be all the more hostile.

This pericope²ends on a very positive note, “but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.” (13:17) Still, we know that the delight of the people will turn to rejection.

The Parables of the Kingdom (Luke 13:18-30)←⤒🔗

¹⁸Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? ¹⁹It 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.”

²⁰Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? ²¹It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

²²Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. ²³Someone 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. ²⁵Once 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. ²⁹People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. ³⁰Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”Luke 13:18-30

Luke gives us two short parables at this point about the “kingdom of heaven”, which was a key theme in John the Baptizer’s and Jesus’ preaching. The theme of the kingdom was probably “new” to many hearers, and therefore needed some elucidation.

The Mustard Seed and the Yeast←↰⤒🔗

In these two short parables the Lord compares the kingdom of God to a mustard seed and yeast. The word “then” connects these parables to the preceding account of the healing of the crippled woman. The miracles of healing are strong signs that the kingdom of God is breaking its way into the world.

Jesus describes how this works. The Lord says: “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to?” (13:18) Repeating the question in different forms makes the matter all the more important.

These two parables have this in common: in both cases something small grows into something larger in a way not really visible to the perception of the eye. Great things sometimes have small beginnings and amazing growth.

The first example is that of a mustard seed, which Matthew calls “the smallest” seed; yet when it grows it is the largest of the garden plants and becomes the highest tree. The second example is of yeast which is kneaded into a large amount of flour, and it becomes a large clump of dough. (Matthew 13:31-33) Growth occurs there where you might not see it or expect it.

Enter Through the Narrow Door←↰⤒🔗

We read that “Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem” (13:22). Now he is in Judea en route to Jerusalem. We can leave undecided whether this is Christ’s earlier visit to Jerusalem or his last one.

Someone asks him, “Lord, are only a few going to be saved?” (13:23) We do not know who this person was. Perhaps this question was a reaction to Christ’s teaching about the coming judgment.

The man calls Jesus “Lord” and this indicates that he was probably a committed follower of Christ. The Lord does not rebuke him; we may conclude that his question was meant sincerely.

The question is how many will be saved. Perhaps the man had concluded that when judgment came many would perish. The man had seen how the Jewish leaders were plotting against the Lord and that the crowds milling about were not there for all the right reasons. Therefore his question, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” (13:23) Things did not look very positive to him; he sees few rather than many in the right groove.Notice that the Lord does not really answer the question directly. He says, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.” (13:24). Our Lord’s response typically puts the matter where it belongs: ‘you make every effort to enter…’

The Lord compares the entrance to a “narrow door.” This may mean that it is not easy to find and when found is very narrow. When a lot of people try to go through the door at the same time, the opening will be jammed and people will perish.

Matthew writes as follows: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13,14) That is surely an answer that applies also to Luke 13, where Jesus says: I tell you, many will try to enter, and will not be able to.

The Lord adds to this the parable of a man who has his house securely locked at night. The Lord again makes it very personal, “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.’” (13:24, 25)

But people will protest. “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you and you taught in our streets’”. Come on, you do know us, remember? “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.  Away from me, all you evildoers.’”

This is a fearsome prospect. To be cast out of God’s presence and to be consigned to hell is too difficult to ponder. This is not an idle threat. The Lord is very serious here.

The Lord does makes very clear what the plight of the ungodly will be, “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth” (13:28).  This will be especially the case because they will see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but themselves thrown out.

As a matter of fact, people will come from east and west and north and south and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. (13:29) The walls of division will be torn down (Ephesians 2:14) and people from everywhere will be members of Christ’s household.

It will even be true that those who are last (the Gentiles) will be first and those who are first (the Jews) will be last (13:29). Here we see the contours of the holy Catholic Church built on the foundation of prophets and apostles. This is the new reality of the Kingdom of heaven, where ancestry and pedigree do not play a role but only faith in Christ leads to inclusion in the kingdom of God.

Jesus’ Sorrow Over Jerusalem (Luke 13:31-35)←⤒🔗

³¹At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”

³²He 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.’ ³³In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day — or surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

³⁴“O 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, but you were not willing! ³⁵Look, 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.’”Luke 13:31-35

Earlier I dealt with the Pharisees’ unsolicited advice that Jesus leave Galilee because Herod was starting to show interest in whom the Lord might be. But he said that he would be yet in Galilee for a short time and would then indeed go to Judea and Jerusalem.

Our Lord said, “For surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem.” The city of Jerusalem was the capital of Israel. It was “the city of David” that contained the temple, the altars and the palace. It is Zion where God lives in the holy of holies.

Unfortunately Jerusalem is also the place where many prophets were murdered. The place has a bad history and infamous reputation. It is also the place where Jesus will be condemned and executed. To be sure, Golgotha was a little way out of the city, but Golgotha and Jerusalem were in very close visible proximity.

For our Lord who would suffer and die, Jerusalem is the place to go. But he does experience much anguish over this beloved city. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not wiling.”(13:34).

This means that Christ at more than one occasion was in Jerusalem. Time and again he tried to unite its citizens in one faith. But Jerusalem was not willing. Please note that Jerusalem’s sin is not inability but unwillingness. Sin that leads to God’s judgment is the constant unwillingness to repent. Some try to justify their sins by saying: well, I can’t do otherwise. But that does not hold water in the Bible. Christ said: sin is a matter of unwillingness. And the longer we are unwilling, the more we are unable to break with sins that have become a part of our lives.

At this moment, before his final journey to Jerusalem he expresses his sorrow over the city. Later after he has entered the city, he will once more lament the city’s stubbornness.  (19:41-44) In both cases he makes clear that the city will be destroyed, “Look, your house is left to you desolate” (13:35). “They will not leave one stone on another” (19:44). This happened at the fall of Jerusalem in 70. A.D.  The next time they will see Jesus is when he comes on the Day of Judgment.

Questions←⤒🔗

1. What did Pilate do with some Galileans in Jerusalem? How did Jesus regard this incident?
2. What happened at Siloam? Why does Christ use this example?
3. What is the message of the parable of the vineyard?
4. What can we say about God’s patience? What mistake can easily be made when patience is shown?
5. What did the healing of the crippled woman lead to in the synagogue?
6. What does it mean to be called a “daughter of Abraham”?  Can we say today of ourselves that we are children, sons or daughters, of Abraham?
7. How does the kingdom of heaven grow? How can we promote this kingdom in our daily lives?
8. Why does the Lord not directly answer the question how many people will be saved? How can we be included in the kingdom of heaven?
9. What was the sin of “Jerusalem”? Are you in danger of this sin?