Luke 13:1–17

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

⁶ Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. ⁷ So 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. ⁹ If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

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

¹⁴ Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

¹⁵ The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? ¹⁶ 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?”

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

I remember it was shortly after I had been given a punishment for something I did that was wrong. I sat by myself thinking, “My parents are so mean. They don’t love me.” This is an all too familiar response that children have to being punished for doing wrong. I can remember thinking of my friends that didn’t get the kind of punishments I did. Their parents let them do whatever they wanted. Looking back now, I understand that none of this was true.

My mom once said to me in a lighthearted way, “Kirby I hope you get children that test you in all the ways you have tested me.” She didn’t mean to curse me or anything like that, she meant, “You will see one day when you have your own kids.”

Well, Mom, it happened. There are many times one of my children will come to me and say, “Mom is being mean.” I ask how, and he recounts an incident where she “raised her voice” at him for something he was doing. To be fair, my children have said the same thing when I have confronted their misbehaviour. I have to remind my children that it is okay for parents to address a situation directly and firmly when they are not doing what they are supposed to.

Kids may want a parent who lets them always have their own way. They may not want the parent who addresses them very directly, but that might be the parent they need.

People often feel that way about God. “Why does he punish people?” or, “Why do I have to change my ways?” It is easy to think it would be better if we didn’t get reprimanded, but if we are honest, we will see the benefits of how God addresses our lives.

The passage today makes one thing clear: There is judgement for sin.

We don’t have many more details about these two tragedies. The first one could have taken place when Pilate seized money from the temple treasury to help finance the aqueduct. ¹When people protested, some scholars tell us that Pilate had Roman soldiers in civilian clothes mingle among the mob and kill people. The tower of Siloam that fell is hard to pinpoint.

As Jesus’ ministry continues, the religious leaders had one objective, to get people to turn on Jesus. They did this either by trying to get the Jews to turn on him, or get the Roman state after him. This is why they bring up these tragedies. If they can get Jesus to say something bad about Rome, then he will have trouble with Rome. If the Jewish leaders can stump him religiously, then the Jewish people might turn on him.

Jewish people would sometimes relate anything bad that happened as a result of sin. For example, the story of the blind man in John 9, or when Job’s friends blamed his trials on sinning. Did these two tragedies happen because of individual sin, or national sin? Jesus wisely ignores the politics and gets to the root of the problem: sin itself. This is not a question of who has sinned. The point is that sin is present. ²

We often want to compare sins, to make ourselves feel better, and to give ourselves excuses, “At least I am not like that sinner.” But Jesus leaves no room for excuses. The tragedies mentioned reveal that life comes to an end, and that means an immediate appointment before God. ³Your sin will be dealt with. If you have not dealt with your sin on earth in repentance, God is going to deal with it after our time here has ended, but the consequences are far greater. ⁴

Being a Calgary fan for so many years, the death of the Gaudreau brothers was difficult. I eventually had to stop watching the tributes and videos. It was too heart wrenching. In that sudden tragedy, I have been reminded that we never know when we will stand before God.

In verse 6, hope starts to build.

This little parable probably finds its roots in Micah 7. It affirms what has already been established in this passage so far: there is limited time to repent. The parable also paints a beautiful portrait of God’s heart. He wants people to repent; he is graciously, patiently waiting so that people have this opportunity. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9 NIV).

Some believe that this parable also addresses the fruit of our lives. When we repent there should be a change. Repentance is not just a feeling of regret. Repentance is agreeing that a change of direction is required.⁵

Consider the parable from another angle. Imagine we have the role of the caretaker. The caretaker does not see any fruit for a long time, but still faithfully fertilizes the tree and cares for it. So many people have been faithfully evangelizing people they love, and yet they don’t see any fruit, and they don’t see any steps toward God. We need to be diligently tending the lives that God brings across our path, in hope that they will want to repent, and change their lives by following Jesus.

The end of the passage shows the love, compassion and grace of our Saviour when we come to him. Here, a woman bound by demonic force for eighteen years has been crippled. The Jewish leaders cannot handle it. They rebuke Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. Jesus’ response is simple: The Old Testament law allows you to care for your animal in special circumstances, shouldn’t it also allow you to care for a human being?

How the people respond to the evidence of Jesus’ authority is interesting. The people were delighted, and the woman who was healed praises God. The Jewish leaders act differently. It doesn’t say the Jewish leaders were angry, but rather, they were humiliated. I imagine that they knew in their hearts that they should have extended the hand of mercy and care to the woman. The leader’s hearts were so hard that in the face of Jesus’ evident authority through this miraculous healing, they were unable to change. They were unable to admit they were wrong, that they were sinners, and they needed to repent.

Through this account of healing, we see a physical manifestation of what God wants to do in all of our lives. If we come to him, he will free us from Satan’s clutches. He will straighten us out and change us. For the woman it was a physical change; maybe this is you. Is there an infirmity with which Satan has been troubling you? Jesus can free you. He can touch your sickness, your sore back, your stiff joints and heal you. Never discount this. Jesus longs to bring both physical and spiritual healing to our lives.

Many people don’t like the Jesus that spoke of sin, judgement and repentance. There is no ambiguity in this passage. Jesus said the tough things that people needed to hear. In the NIV Application Commentary, Darrell L. Brock writes, “Yet all too often we try to package Jesus for our culture today as if sin were a minor topic on his agenda.” He goes onto say, “To remove accountability to God for sin is to remove one of the realities that make grace so powerful.”⁶

Darrel Brock is right. The grace of God is powerfully revealed when we realize that we are sinners who need to repent.

I love this passage because it shows so much of the Jesus I have come to know through the years I’ve walked with him. In these verses of Luke’s Gospel, there is the direct Jesus who calls out my sin and challenges me to repentance. There is the gentle, gracious Jesus, who longs for me to come to him and be healed from Satan’s grasp. Sure, he is not a Jesus that gives in to me or grants my every wish, but this much is certain, he is the Jesus I need.

Are you angry at God for something that has happened in your life?

Have you repented for your sins?

Have you been making excuses for your sinfulness?

Have you chosen to accept Jesus as your Saviour and Lord?

Heavenly Father, I don’t know why some tragedies in life happen, but I know in all of them you are still a God who loves me and cares for me. Show me how you are loving me in all the circumstances of life. God, I confess that I am a sinner and need the saving grace that is only found in Jesus Christ. I ask forgiveness. I accept Jesus as not only my Saviour, but also my Lord. I will change through the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit in my life and set my course on becoming more like Jesus. Thank you for your Holy word, the Bible, that is living and active and still speaks to our lives today. Amen.

Bock, Darrell L.. Luke (The NIV Application Commentary Book 3). Zondervan Academic. Kindle Edition.

Garland, David E.. Luke-Acts (The Expositor's Bible Commentary Book 10). Zondervan Academic. Kindle Edition.

Wiersbe, Warren W.. Be Compassionate (Luke 1-13): Let the World Know That Jesus Cares: Let the World Know That Jesus Cares, NT Commentary: Luke 1-13 (The BE Series Commentary). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.

Footnotes

^{2. Bock, Darrell L.. Luke (The NIV Application Commentary Book 3) (p. 366). Zondervan Academic. Kindle Edition.}

^{3. Brock, 365.}

^{4. Brock, 365.}

^{5. Brock, 370.}

^{6.Bock, Darrell L.. Luke (The NIV Application Commentary Book 3) (p. 370). Zondervan Academic. Kindle Edition.}

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