Luke
Chapter
13
Luke
13:1-5
1 There were present at that season some that
told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had
mingled with their sacrifices.
2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners
above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such
things?
3 I tell you, Nay:
but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the
tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all
men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
5 I tell you, Nay:
but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Repentance is an important part of
Christianity!
Some
who were there at this time asked about fellow Galileans who were murdered when
Pilate ordered them killed as they, against Roman orders, were attempting to
offer sacrifices. The pure-blood Jews were jealous of half-breed Jews such as
the Galileans.
However,
Christianity is not determined by ancestral heritage! Jews taught that
Galileans were not worthy of God’s blessings!
But, none is worthy! Being worthy is not the point! We receive His
blessing based on Christ’s sacrifice and not based on our worthiness!
At
the time this happened, prior to an understanding of grace, salvation for
non-Jews was considered completely out of the question!
Christ
told the crowds that unless they repented they too would perish in their sins!
Christ
then referred to the tower in Siloam, and area within Jerusalem! Apparently
some who became rebellious against Rome took refuge in the tower. The Romans
collapsed the tower killing those within!
Jesus’
point was that the tragedy did not befall them simply because their sins were
greater than the sins of other Jews!
However,
He was also quick to point out that unless those within His hearing repented,
they too would die in their sins!
What
was the great sin of those who listened?
They
rejected the Messiah, the Savior and Lord! All who do so will find their part
in the Lake of Fire! Grace does not change that!
Confession
of Christ Jesus as Lord is not an option!
Luke 13:6-17
6 He spake
also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and
sought fruit thereon, and found none.
7 Then said he unto the dresser of
his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree,
and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the
ground?
8 And he answering said unto him,
Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:
9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it
down.
10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
11 And, behold, there was a woman which
had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in
no wise lift up herself.
12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman,
thou art loosed from thine infirmity.
13 And he laid his
hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
14 And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation,
because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and
said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them
therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath
day.
15 The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
16 And ought not this woman, being a
daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath
day?
17 And when he had said these things, all his adversaries
were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were
done by him.
Jesus
told a parable about, “A man who planted a fig tree in his vineyard. He came to see its
fruit, but found none.
“Then he told the gardener, ‘I
come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and find none! So, cut it down! Why
let it continue to deplete the soil?’
“The gardener said, ‘Lord, let
it grow another year until I shall dig around it, and fertilize it. And
if it bears fruit, all will be well,
but if not you will cut it down.’”
This
shows the Father’s patience with Israel! The tree represented Israel!
Upon
Jesus’ return every eye shall see Him, and those who asked that He be put to death
shall openly weep when they understand that they sacrificed their Messiah!
On
one Sabbath, Christ was teaching in a synagogue when a woman who had a “spirit
of infirmity” for eighteen years came to seek Him.
Christ
said to her, “Woman, you are free from your illness!”
He
laid his hands on her, and
immediately she was made straight, and glorified God!
The
leader of the synagogue spoke with indignation, because of the healing, which
happened on the Sabbath! That leader told those in attendance that there are
six days in which men ought to work! And only on one of those days should
people seek healing! Healing was considered to be a “work!” The Jews lived
without sympathy, except for their personal sympathy!
The
Lord responded, “You are a hypocrite! Don’t each of you, when his animal needs water on
the Sabbath releases that animal and leads him to water?
“And, shouldn’t this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom
Satan has bound for eighteen years, be freed from this bondage on the Sabbath?”
Those
lost and sin-filled Jewish leaders would rather allow a daughter of Israel to
suffer than to break one of their man-made commandments!
After
that Christ accused His Jewish adversaries of acting in shame, but the ordinary
folks rejoiced because of all the wondrous things that were done by Him. That
reaction showed the separation of hearts of the common folk from that of the
leaders of Judaism!
Luke
13:18-30
18 Then said he, Unto what is the
kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble
it?
19 It is like a grain of mustard
seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a
great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.
20 And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken
the kingdom of God?
21 It is like leaven, which a woman
took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
22 And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and
journeying toward Jerusalem.
23 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved?
And he said unto them,
24 Strive to enter in at the strait
gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
25 When once the master of the house
is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to
knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and
say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
26 Then shall ye begin to say, We
have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
27 But he shall say, I tell you, I
know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
28 There shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the
prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves
thrust out.
29 And they shall come from the east,
and from the west, and from the
north, and from the south, and
shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
30 And, behold, there are last which
shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.
Then Jesus said, “What is the kingdom
of God like? And, to what shall I compare it?”
At that Christ answered His own question, “It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man planted in
his garden! It grew, and became a great tree! Birds came and took up residence
in its branches!”
Those chosen by God to become part of what we know as
Christianity live in Christ and live by means of the imputed faith OF Christ!
Human faith is never sufficient to bring on salvation! We
are saved by God’s grace through the imputation of Christ Jesus’ faith to those
who have been chosen! In the above comparison the tree represents the Kingdom
of God while the birds represent mankind! Christ Jesus Himself tells us that
all of mankind shall eventually come to rest in the Kingdom of God!
Again He said, “To what else shall I
compare the kingdom of God?
“It is like yeast, which a
woman hid in three bushels of flour. Eventually all the flour was affected by
the yeast!”
In this parable, the leaven represents the grace of God the
Father and the faith of God the Son! The flour is mankind! As it is told here,
the yeast (Grace and faith) eventually affects the entirety of mankind!
As Christ journeyed toward Jerusalem, He taught in the towns
as he travelled.
One day, a traveling companion asked Him, “Lord, how many shall be saved?”
He replied, “Strive to enter the
strait gate!”
We must put that response about striving into context.
Matthew, Mark, John, and Luke while written during the New Testament age were
written about the last days of the Old Testament. Striving to enter is an Old
Testament concept! Christians do not strive to enter, we have been chosen,
appointed, and anointed to become heirs of salvation in Christ!
Christ continued, “Many will seek to
go in and shall not be able.”
That points to the teaching of free will that pervades the
Old Testament! During the Old Testament age man used his free will to gain the
benefits of believing in God! Free will is limited to the power that is within
the individual! Most drug addicts do not have the free will to gain control
over their addiction! Put simply: Free will does not work well at all!
The Old Covenant did not work well, because it depended on a
human being to make at least half of the covenant work! The New
Covenant/Testament is not an agreement between a perfect God and an imperfect
man! Instead, it is a covenant between God the Father and God the Son!
Heb 9:16-17
16 For where a testament is,
there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
17 For a testament is
of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
The Testator (the man Christ Jesus)
died on the cross and yet as God the Son He lives though His resurrection!
Christ not only validated the covenant through His death, but He became a co-administer with God the Father by means of His
resurrection!
Christ further warned, “Once the
master of the house has risen, shut the door you all will stand outside and
knock at the door pleading, ‘Lord, Lord, open
the door?’ But, He shall say, ‘I don’t know you! Where are you all from?’”
The question is not, “Do you know Christ?” Instead it is,
“Does Christ know you?”
He then said, “Then you all shall
say, ‘We have dined with You,
and You have taught in our streets!’
“But, He (The Lord Jesus) shall say, ‘I tell you, I
don’t know where you come from, so leave Me alone all you workers of iniquity!’
“There shall be great sorrow when
you all shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the
kingdom of God, and you yourselves
cast out!
“Others shall come from the east,
west, north, and south, and shall sit at rest in the kingdom of God!
(This is a reference to the coming of Gentiles into the Kingdom!)
“The last shall be first, and the
first shall be last!”
Many, but not all Jews shall be last in the Kingdom because
they rejected their own Messiah while some lowly Gentiles are elevated because
they gladly accepted Him! Jews had the first opportunity, but most of them
refused Him!
Not all Gentiles will gladly acknowledge Christ Jesus as
Lord, only a remnant will acknowledge Yahshua HaMessiach as Lord!
Luke
13:31-35
31 The
same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out,
and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.
32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and
tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.
33 Nevertheless I must walk to day,
and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of
Jerusalem.
34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest
them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children
together, as a hen doth gather
her brood under her wings, and
ye would not!
35 Behold, your house is left unto
you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not
see me, until the time come
when ye shall say, Blessed is
he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
That very same day some Pharisees
came to Jesus and told Him to leave the area, because Herod might kill Him! We
must understand that Jesus was not murdered! Instead, he freely offered His
life as a sacrifice in the same manner that young lambs were offered for
sacrifice under Levitical law!
However, instead of retreating in fear, Christ Jesus offered
a commanded them, “Go and tell that fox (Herod) that I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow,
and the third day I shall be
perfected (finished/Gr. teleioō-τελειόω [My mission]).”
In that statement Christ told both Herod and the Pharisees
that following His crucifixion, He would rise! I doubt that they understood!
Further Christ Jesus told them, “Nevertheless, I must walk (work) today, tomorrow, and the following day, because it cannot be that a prophet perishes outside of the
Jerusalem (area). O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which kills the prophets, and stones those that
are sent to you, how often I would have gathered your children together, as a
hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is now left desolate! And, truthfully I
tell you that you all shall not see me again, until the time come when you shall say, ‘Blessed is He
that comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Truly the house of Israel has been desolate for many
centuries! That warning was a prophetic statement! The next time most of those
Israelites will see Christ will be in the resurrection!