Luke 13, Part One

The necessity of repentance (vs. 1-5)--It was a common belief in the ancient world that, if something bad happened to a person, it was because they were wicked. The man born blind in John 9, for example; Jesus' disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9:2). All the way back to Job (perhaps 2,000 B.C.) the idea that tribulation was caused by wickedness was the accepted theology. Jesus debunks that theory on several occasions, and this section of Luke is one of them.

He uses two examples. We have no other historical reference to either event, though the first could have referred to a Judas of Galilee, who 20 years before had taught that the Jews should not pay tribute to the Romans. Rome certainly would not have tolerated such a teaching, and Pilate took harsh measures in response. But again, the reference to Judas is only speculation. Of the second example, the fall of the tower of Siloam, again we have no other historical reference to that event. The point Jesus is making here--and He makes it twice--is that sin is not the result of misfortune, but of individual action and accountability, and as a result, everyone must repent. No one is righteous before God on his own merit. We must all humble ourselves before Him and turn away from our iniquities. He commands no less (Acts 17:30).

The parable of the barren fig tree (vs. 6-9)--This parable illustrates the above principle, but apparently on a national level. The owner of the fig tree (God) had planted a tree (the Jewish nation), but had received no fruit from it in its first years of existence and demands it be cut down. Of what use is a barren tree? The vinedresser (Jesus) pleads for one more year, "'And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down'" (v. 9). There was, of course, no fruit, no repentance on the part of the Jews, and thus their previous relationship with God was not going to help them.

Healing on the Sabbath (vs. 10-17)--Jesus runs into this conundrum again. He healed a woman "who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years" (v. 11), but He did it on the Sabbath. The ruler of the synagogue (see the historical note on a synagogue's "ruler" at the end of this post) was indignant about what Jesus had done. I find his statement in verse 14 very interesting: "There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day." He didn't deny that a miracle had taken place! But so obstinate, so prejudiced was he in his religion that he completely missed the significance of the event. Jesus, having put up with this attitude before, was incensed and called the man a "hypocrite." The hypocrisy is evident from the fact that a Jew would "loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?" (v. 15). So, wasn't it right to "loose" a woman of her 18 year infirmity? Aren't humans more important to God than animals? Of course they are. It's noteworthy that Jesus attributes the woman's illness to Satan. Ultimately, all disease can be traced back to sin (see Genesis 3), and Satan being the author of iniquity means he can be rightly accused of being the source of all human ailments, physical and spiritual. Luke closes this section by indicating that Jesus' adversaries were "put to shame," but the "multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him" (v. 17).

Two parables on the kingdom (vs. 18-21)--These two parables are also found in Matthew 13:31-33, and I've already commented on them. Here's what I wrote in that location:

"Both of these parables make the same point: the kingdom of heaven will start small, but grow mightily. The parable of the leaven indicates the subtle way the kingdom grows—we do not know how the seed works within which human heart. But, according to the mustard tree parable, the expansion of the kingdom will be visible."

A note on "the ruler of the synagogue" from Smith's Bible Dictionary: "Officers.—In smaller towns there was often but one rabbi. Where a fuller organization was possible, there was a college of elders, Luke 7:3 presided over by one who was "the chief [ruler] of the synagogue." Luke 8:41, 49; 13:14; Acts 18:8, 17 The most prominent functionary in a large synagogue was known as the sheliach (legatus), the officiating minister who acted as the delegate of the congregation and was therefore the chief reader of prayers, etc., in their name. The chazzan or "minister" of the synagogue, Luke 4:20 had duties of a lower kind, resembling those of the Christian deacon or sub-deacon. He was to open the doors and to prepare the building for service. Besides these there were ten men attached to every synagogue, known as the ballanim, (otiosi). They were supposed to be men of leisure not obliged to labor for their livelihood able therefore to attend the week-day as well as the Sabbath services. The legatus of the synagogues appears in the angel, Reve 1:20; 2:1 perhaps also in the apostle of the Christian Church." That last sentence borders on the absurd, but the rest of the material is valuable.