1There were present at that time some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2And Jesus answered and said to them, Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 4Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 6He also spoke this parable: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it encumber the ground? 8But he answered and said to him, Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9And see if it produces fruit. But if not, after that you can cut it down. 10And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. 12But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, Woman, you are freed from your infirmity. 13And He laid hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. 14But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, There are six days in which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed in them, and not on the Sabbath day. 15The Lord then answered him and said, Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? 16So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound, lo, eighteen years, to be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath? 17And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him. 18Then He said, What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 19It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and threw in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches. 20And again He said, To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened. 22And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23Then one said to Him, Lord, are there few who are saved? And He said to them, 24Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us, and He will answer and say to you, I do not know you, where you are from, 26then you will begin to say, We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets. 27But He will say, I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity. 28There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves being thrust outside. 29And they will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. 30And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last. 31On that same day certain Pharisees came, saying to Him, Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You. 32And He said to them, Go, tell that fox, Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I am being perfected. 33Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be allowed to happen for a prophet to perish outside of Jerusalem. 34O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her, how often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! 35Behold, your house is left to you desolate! And truly, I say to you, You shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 THE LESSON, "REPENT OR PERISH," SUGGESTED BY TWO RECENT INCIDENTS, AND ILLUSTRATED BY THE PARABLE OF THE BARREN FIG TREE. (
Luke 13:1-
Luke 13:9)
Galileans--possibly the followers of Judas of Galilee, who, some twenty years before this, taught that Jews should not pay tribute to the Romans, and of whom we learn, from
Acts 5:37, that he drew after him a multitude of followers, who on his being slain were all dispersed. About this time that party would be at its height, and if Pilate caused this detachment of them to be waylaid and put to death as they were offering their sacrifices at one of the festivals, that would be "mingling their blood with their sacrifices" [GROTIUS, WEBSTER and WILKINSON, but doubted by DE WETTE, MEYER, ALFORD, &c.]. News of this being brought to our Lord, to draw out His views of such, and whether it was not a judgment of Heaven, He simply points them to the practical view of the matter: "These men are not signal examples of divine vengeance, as ye suppose; but every impenitent sinner--ye yourselves, except ye repent--shall be like monuments of the judgment of Heaven, and in a more awful sense." The reference here to the impending destruction of Jerusalem is far from exhausting our Lord's weighty words; they manifestly point to a "perdition" of a more awful kind--future, personal, remediless.
4 tower in Siloam--probably one of the towers of the city wall, near the pool of Siloam. Of its fall nothing is known.
6 fig tree--Israel, as the visible witness of God in the world, but generally all within the pale of the visible Church of God; a familiar figure (compare
Isa 5:1-
Isa 5:7;
John 15:1-
John 15:8, &c.).
vineyard--a spot selected for its fertility, separated from the surrounding fields, and cultivated with special care, with a view solely to fruit.
came and sought fruit--a heart turned to God; the fruits of righteousness; compare
Matt 21:33-
Matt 21:34, and
Isa 5:2, "He looked that it should bring forth fruit"; He has a right to it, and will require it.
7 three years--a long enough trial for a fig tree, and so denoting probably just a sufficient period of culture for spiritual fruit. The supposed allusion to the duration of our Lord's ministry is precarious.
cut it down--indignant language.
cumbereth--not only doing no good, but wasting ground.
8 he answering, &c.--Christ, as Intercessor, loath to see it cut down so long as there was any hope (see
Luke 13:34).
dig, &c.--loosen the earth about it and enrich it with manure; pointing to changes of method in the divine treatment of the impenitent, in order to freshen spiritual culture.
9 if . . . fruit, well--Genuine repentance, however late, avails to save (
Luke 23:42-
Luke 23:43).
after that, &c.--The final perdition of such as, after the utmost limits of reasonable forbearance, are found fruitless, will be pre-eminently and confessedly just (
Pro 1:24-
Pro 1:31;
Ezek 24:13).
11 WOMAN OF EIGHTEEN YEAR'S INFIRMITY HEALED ON THE SABBATH. (
Luke 13:10-
Luke 13:17)
spirit of infirmity--Compare
Luke 13:17, "whom Satan hath bound." From this it is probable, though not certain, that her protracted infirmity was the effect of some milder form of possession; yet she was "a daughter of Abraham," in the same gracious sense, no doubt, as Zaccheus, after his conversion, was "a son of Abraham" (
Luke 19:9).
12 said . . . Woman . . . and laid--both at once.
14 with indignation--not so much at the sabbath violation as at the glorification of Christ. (Compare
Matt 21:15) [TRENCH].
said to the people--"Not daring directly to find fault with the Lord, he seeks circuitously to reach Him through the people, who were more under his influence, and whom he feared less" [TRENCH].
15 the Lord--(See on
Luke 10:1).
hypocrite!--How "the faithful and true Witness" tears off the masks which men wear!
his ox, &c.--(See on
Matt 12:9-
Matt 12:13; and
Luke 6:9).
16 ought not, &c.--How gloriously the Lord vindicates the superior claims of this woman, in consideration of the sadness and long duration of her suffering, and of her dignity notwithstanding, as an heir of the promise!
18 MISCELLANEOUS TEACHINGS. (
Luke 13:18-
Luke 13:30)
mustard seed . . . leaven--(See on
Mark 4:30-
Mark 4:32). The parable of "the Leaven" sets forth, perhaps, rather the inward growth of the kingdom, while "the Mustard Seed" seems to point chiefly to the outward. It being a woman's work to knead, it seems a refinement to say that "the woman" here represents the Church, as the instrument of depositing the leaven. Nor does it yield much satisfaction to understand the "three measures of meal" of that threefold division of our nature into "spirit, soul, and body," (alluded to in
1Thess 5:23) or of the threefold partition of the world among the three sons of Noah (
Gen 10:32), as some do. It yields more real satisfaction to see in this brief parable just the all-penetrating and assimilating quality of the Gospel, by virtue of which it will yet mould all institutions and tribes of men, and exhibit over the whole earth one "Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ." (See on
Rev 11:15).
23 Lord, &c.--one of those curious questions by talking of which some flatter themselves they are religious.
said unto them--the multitude; taking no notice of the man or his question, save as furnishing the occasion of a solemn warning not to trifle with so momentous a matter as "salvation."
24 Strive--The word signifies to "contend" as for the mastery, to "struggle," expressive of the difficulty of being saved, as if one would have to force his way in.
strait gate--another figure of the same. (See on
Matt 7:13-
Matt 7:14).
for many . . . will seek--"desire," that is, with a mere wish or slothful endeavor.
and shall not be able--because it must be made a life-and-death struggle.
25 master of the house is risen up and hath shut to the door--awfully sublime and vivid picture! At present he is represented as in a sitting posture, as if calmly looking on to see who will "strive," while entrance is practicable, and who will merely "seek" to enter in. But this is to have an end, by the great Master of the house Himself rising and shutting the door, after which there will be no admittance.
Lord, Lord--emphatic reduplication, expressive of the earnestness now felt, but too late. (See on
Matt 7:21-
Matt 7:22).
26 See on the similar passage (
Matt 7:22-
Matt 7:23).
eaten and drunk, &c.--We have sat with Thee at the same table. (See on
Matt 7:22).
taught in our streets--Do we not remember listening in our own streets to Thy teaching? Surely we are not to be denied admittance?
27 But he shall say, &c.--(See on
Matt 7:23). No nearness of external communion with Christ will avail at the great day, in place of that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. Observe the style which Christ intimates that He will then assume, that of absolute Disposer of men's eternal destinies, and contrast it with His "despised and rejected" condition at that time.
28 (See
Matt 8:11-
Matt 8:12). Also see on
Matt 13:42.
31 MESSAGE TO HEROD. (
Luke 13:31-
Luke 13:35)
and depart hence--and "go forward," push on. He was on His way out of Perea, east of Jordan, and in Herod's dominions, "journeying towards Jerusalem" (
Luke 13:22). Haunted by guilty fears, probably, Herod wanted to get rid of Him (see on
Mark 6:14), and seems, from our Lord's answer, to have sent these Pharisees, under pretense of a friendly hint, to persuade Him that the sooner He got beyond Herod's jurisdiction the better it would be for His own safety. Our Lord saw through both of them, and sends the cunning ruler a message couched in dignified and befitting irony.
32 that fox--that crafty, cruel enemy of God's innocent servants.
Behold, I cast out devils and I do cures--that is, "Plot on and ply thy wiles; I also have My plans; My works of mercy are nearing completion, but some yet remain; I have work for to-day and to-morrow too, and the third day; by that time I shall be where his jurisdiction reaches not; the guilt of My blood shall not lie at his door; that dark deed is reserved for others." He does not say, I preach the Gospel--that would have made little impression upon Herod--in the light of the merciful character of Christ's actions the malice of Herod's snares is laid bare [BENGEL].
to-day, to-morrow, the third day--remarkable language expressive of successive steps of His work yet remaining, the calm deliberateness with which He meant to go through with them, one after another, to the last, unmoved by Herod's threat, yet the rapid march with which they were now hastening to completion. (Compare
Luke 22:37).
I shall be perfected--I finish my course, I attain completion.
33 it cannot be that a prophet, &c.--"It would never do that," &c.--awful severity of satire this upon "the bloody city!" "He seeks to kill me, does he? Ah! I must be out of Herod's jurisdiction for that. Go tell him I neither fly from him nor fear him, but Jerusalem is the prophets' slaughter-house."
34 O Jerusalem, &c.--(See on
Matt 23:37;
Matt 23:39).