Luke
13:1–9 There
are tragedies that cause people to ask “Why?” “Why would God allow such
horrible things to happen?” We know that life is hard and filled with sorrow. Job
said, “Man who is
born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble.” (Job 14:1) Solomon
wrote that a man’s “…days
are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart
takes no rest…” (Ecclesiastes 2:23) Often
we are at a loss for words, but in our text that we will study tonight, we see
that Jesus gives us how we are to respond to such tragedies. What we will study
this time in How to Respond to a Tragedy…01. The Blood of the
Galileans (Luke 13:1-3); 02. The Tower of Siloam (Luke 13:4-5); and 03. The Parable of the Fig Tree (Luke 13:6-9).
01. The Blood of the
Galileans (Luke 13:1-3)
Luke 13:1 “There were present at that season”
Here we see Dr. Luke connecting what we studied last time in Luke
12:54–59 where Jesus rebuked the crowds
because they did not Understand the Times, for they
could foretell the weather but they did not realize that the Son of God, their
long-awaited Messiah, was standing in their midst. Our text today continues the
response of Jesus to the crowds, this time looking at the call for repentance,
because as we saw last time, Jesus warned that you have the length of
your life to settle with God, so don’t wait, because we are never guaranteed
another breath (Luke 12:58)!
Luke 13:1 “some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood
Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.” After Jesus rebukes the
crowd for not understanding the times, and encourages them to get right with
God before it is too late, some in crowd must have thought that one of these
signs was the killing of the
Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices, and
they were hoping that Jesus would interpret it. No one knows for sure exactly
what event these people in the crowd are referring to. Some think that this
tragic event is mentioned by Gamaliel in Acts 5:37 after Peter and the apostles where
released from prison by the angel of the Lord (Acts 5:17–21) and then told not to keep
teaching about Jesus when they were found in the Temple and brought before the
Sanhedrin (Acts 5:22–33). This
Judas of Galilee mentioned in Acts 5 did not want to pay tribute to Caesar,
and over time he gathered quite the following. Most likely this took place
during Passover, because that was the only time when the people of Israel would
sacrifice their own animals in the Temple. So while the followers of Judas of
Galilee were sacrificing their animals, Pilate sent his soldiers in and killed
the followers of Judas of Galilee, thus in a way, mixing their blood with
their sacrifices. These people in the crowd brought up this tragic event
possibly with the hope of playing on the emotions of Jesus who was known as a
Galilean (Luke 23:6; along with Peter cf. Luke 22:59), and to
elicit from Jesus a rebuke against Pilate and the Roman occupation, or to get
Jesus to say that the reason these Galileans were slaughtered was because of
some sin, so God used Pilate as a punishment.
But Jesus does not see this situation in the same light, as the
people in the crowd do, not of the unjust occupation by Rome. But Jesus sees it
not as something political, but instead religious, focusing on the sin of all
mankind, not just the sins of those Galileans who perished.
Luke
13:2 “worse
sinners than all” (ἁμαρτωλοι παρα παντας [hamartōloi para pantas]).
Παρα [Para] means “beside,” placed beside all
the Galileans, and so beyond or above (with the accusative).[1]
Luke 13:3 “I tell you, no;” This is an emphatic denial of
the Pharisaical false teaching, and introduces His hearers, as well as us to
His call to repentance.
Luke
13:3 “but
unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” The
Pharisees taught and believed much like the health and wealth teachers today,
who espouse that tragedy is a direct result of specific sin. In general the Pharisees believed that calamity was a punishment
for sin. It could, therefore, be argued that these men were greater sinners
than other Galileans. The Pharisees’ beliefs were based on
their misunderstanding of several Old Testament passages, among which are Deuteronomy
28–30; Job 4:7; Job 8:20; Job 22:1-30; Psalm 1:4; Psalm 37:37; Ezekiel 18:26.[2]
Jesus denies this false teaching that these Galileans, who were
slaughtered by Pilate were guilty of some secret sin. More than likely there
were other men in the Galilee who were far worse sinners, especially those who
were hostile to Jesus and His Apostles. The slaughter of the Galileans, along
with any other tragedy that occurs today are not necessarily signs of God’s
judgment on those people involved. As we saw last time, the signs of the times
say that we are all on our way to appear before the Judge and that you
have the length of your life to settle with God (Luke 12:58). We are called to repent and
believe that the Kingdom has come in Jesus, which is what John the Baptist
proclaimed in Luke
3:3 and Luke 3:8-9. Repentance comes from having
Godly sorrow for your sin (Psalm 51:17; 2 Corinthians 7:10),
and trusting that He will forgive you of your sins (Isaiah 1:18; 1 John 1:9). Later
on in this same chapter, Jesus states that it is necessary for Him to die to
rescue mankind from their sins (Luke 13:33). Once Adam sinned,
suffering is a natural result from sin (Genesis 3:16-19) and is carried out in all of
mankind on a daily basis. The
point is then that natural calamities afford no proof that those who suffer in
them are any worse sinners than anybody else; far more important is the fact
that all sinners face the judgment of God unless they repent[3]
(Revelation
20:11-15 at the Great White Throne Judgment). Jesus reinforces the point by adding a second example of His
own.[4]
02. The Tower of Siloam (Luke 13:4-5)
Here we see that Jesus
emphasizes His response to the crowd about the Galileans by bringing up a
second example of His own. This time His example though was of a sudden
accident that couldn’t have been foreseen.
Luke 13:4 In Luke 13:2 and Luke 13:4, both “these Galileans” and “those eighteen” are demonstrative
pronouns, which means that the Galileans who were slaughtered and the eighteen
who were killed by the tower falling on them were well known to those listening
to Jesus speak. The tower in Siloam was in Jerusalem, near where the
wall on the South and on the East connect, which was also the location of the
pool of Siloam (John
9:1–2).
Luke 13:4 “that they were worse sinners than all other men” that they
were sinners to a greater degree than all the other people[5] Notice that the false
teaching of the Pharisees, thinking that tragedy is the punishment of some sin,
has influenced the disciples (John
9:3–12). So we see that the pool of Siloam is where
Jesus instructed this blind man to go wash, and was as Edersheim puts it, “…perhaps
in connection with that construction of an aqueduct into Jerusalem by Pilate,
which called forth, on the part of the Jews, the violent opposition, which the
Roman so terribly avenged. As good Jews, they would probably think that the
fall of the tower, which had buried in its ruins these eighteen persons, who
were perhaps engaged in the building of that cursed structure, was a just
judgment of God!” [6] We as followers of
Jesus should never say after a tragedy that “they deserved it”, as has been
publicly said by John
Hagee, Pat
Robertson, etc. As
we saw what Jesus said last time in Luke
12:57, that we are to judge righteously. Our response as followers of Jesus ought to be “there
but for the grace of God go I” for if we are honest, we would admit that we
deserve far worse. And
then we can thank God for sending us His Son, while we were still sinners, on
our way to Hell (Romans
5:8).
Luke 13:5 “5 I tell you, no; but unless you
repent you will all likewise perish.” The point is then that natural
calamities afford no proof that those who suffer in them are any worse sinners
than anybody else; far more important is the fact that all sinners face the
judgment of God unless they repent.[7]
03. The Parable of the Fig Tree (Luke 13:6-9)
Jesus now speaks a parable to
all those who are hearing Him.
Luke 13:6 “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his
vineyard,” It was not unheard of to have a fig tree in the midst of
a vineyard, for we see the two mentioned together in the Old Testament (cf. Joel 2:22; Micah 4:4;
Hosea 9:10;
Zechariah
3:10). The fig tree and vineyard are common symbols of Israel
in the Old Testament (cf. Isaiah 5:1–7; Jeremiah 8:13; Jeremiah
24:1–10; Hosea 9:10; Micah 7:1).
Luke 13:6 “and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.” This certain man was expecting fruit on the tree when
he came. Jesus here pictures the certain man, the owner of the fig tree and
vineyard, as God.
Luke 13:7 “the keeper of his vineyard” here is a picture of
Jesus.
Luke 13:7 “for three years I have come” (τρια ἐτη ἀφʼ οὑ ἐρχομαι [tria etē aph’ hou erchomai]). Literally,
“three years since (from which time) I come.”…The three years are counted from
the time when the fig tree would normally be expected to bear, not from the
time of planting. The Jewish nation is meant by this parable of the barren fig
tree.[8]
The vineyard is possibly a picture of the church.
Luke 13:7 “Cut it down” (ἐκκοψον [ekkopson]). “Cut it out,” the Greek has
it, out of the vineyard, perfective use of ἐκ [ek] with the
effective aorist active imperative of κοπτω [koptō], where we
prefer “down.”[9]
Luke 13:7 “does it use up the ground?’” (την γην καταργει [tēn gēn katargei]). Makes the ground
completely idle, of no use (κατα, ἀργεω [kata, argeō].[11]
Luke 13:8 In the
New Testament we see that Jesus is the Mediator between God and man (Romans 8:34;
1 Timothy
2:5-6; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2).
Christ, as Intercessor, loath to see it
cut down so long as there was any hope (cf. Luke 13:34).[12]
Luke 13:9 “And if it bears fruit, well.” Genuine repentance, however late, avails to save (Luke 23:42-43).[13] Jesus, as our Mediator
speaks in this parable to his Father, who accepts the intercession. Here we see
that God spares us by His grace mediated by His Son so that we may have the
full amount of time for repentance and at the same time warning us that we
should not tarry in getting right with the magistrate (Luke 12:58).
Luke 13:9 “But if not, after that you can cut it down.’”
Here in this parable Jesus shows us that God’s justice towards man is delayed
by His patience, for He waits a long time before He condemns. The mediation of Jesus extends the time of
grace for mankind, but eventually the patience of God must come to an end and
justice needs to be carried out (2 Peter 3:9–12). We saw this during the ministry
of John the Baptist in Luke 3:1–14. This is figurative language that
John uses here. What he means by this is that the coming of the Messiah
(HaMashiach) would test the reality of the repentance of man. Those who do not
visibly show fruits of repentance would be condemned. John was not cautious or
even indirect when he spoke. He spoke the truth, said it like it was and did it
because he loved the people and God, like the great prophets of old. Today, the
general perception in church is not to rock the boat, let’s try to just “love
one another” and be okay with people’s sins because we are all not perfect.
Let’s try to understand one another and not confront sin. Or as Dr. Walter
Martin used to say, “We are suffering today from an endemic disease: this disease in the
Christian world is known by its Latin name as Nonrockaboatus. What it really means is- whatever you do, no rocka
de boat! The Nonrockaboatus mentality must stop.”
We
see this in Luke
3:10–14, with John the Baptist. These
people were the ones who were convicted by what John was preaching. So they
asked how they should demonstrate the genuineness of their repentance. John gives them specific ways in which they can show
that they are truly repentant and sincere.
To sum up what we have studied
here in our text:
1. All of mankind has sinned and
fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:21-26; John
3:18).
2. God in His grace calls
sinners to repent and live (Ezekiel 18:32).
3. Repentance and eternal life
are made possible because of the suffering of our Mediator on the cross and His
raising from the dead (Luke 24:46-47;
1 Corinthians 15:3–5).
4. Those who reject such a
caring offer of grace and mercy are under the all-powerful wrath and judgment
of God (Matthew 25:31-46; John 3:36).
5. Consider the goodness and
severity of God (Romans
11:22–25).
[1] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 13:2). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[2] Marshall, I. H. (1978). The Gospel of Luke: a commentary on the Greek text (p. 553).
Exeter: Paternoster Press.
[3] Marshall, I. H. (1978). The Gospel of Luke: a commentary on the Greek text (p. 554).
Exeter: Paternoster Press.
[4] Marshall, I. H. (1978). The Gospel of Luke: a commentary on the Greek text (p. 554).
Exeter: Paternoster Press.
[5] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 743). Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
[6] Edersheim, Alfred. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah
[Grand Rapids; Hendrickson, 1953,], Bk 4, Ch 7, p1133
[7] Marshall, I. H. (1978). The Gospel of Luke: a commentary on the Greek text (p. 554).
Exeter: Paternoster Press.
[8] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 13:7). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[9] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 13:7). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[10] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 13:7). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[11] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 13:7). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[12] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the
Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 112). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[13] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the
Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 113). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
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