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Luke 13

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The Need for Repentance 1–5

1
Now there were some present at that very season who told him of the Galilæans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ​
2
And he answered and said unto them, Think ye that these Galilæans were sinners above all the Galilæans, because they have suffered these things? ​
3
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all in like manner perish. ​
4
Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and killed them, think ye that they were offenders above all the men that dwell in Jerusalem? ​
5
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. ​

Parable of the Barren Fig Tree 6–9

6
And he spake this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit thereon, and found none. ​
7
And he said unto the vinedresser, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why doth it also cumber the ground? ​
8
And he answering saith unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: ​
9
and if it bear fruit thenceforth, well; but if not, thou shalt cut it down. ​

Healing on the Sabbath 10–17

10
And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath day. ​
11
And behold, a woman that had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years; and she was bowed together, and could in no wise lift herself up. ​
12
And when Jesus saw her, he called her, and said to her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. ​
13
And he laid his hands upon her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
14
And the ruler of the synagogue, being moved with indignation because Jesus had healed on the sabbath, answered and said to the multitude, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the day of the sabbath. ​
15
But the Lord answered him, and said, Ye hypocrites, 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 had bound, lo, these eighteen years, to have been loosed from this bond on the day of the sabbath? ​
17
And as 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.

Parables of the Kingdom's Growth 18–22

18
He said therefore, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I liken it? ​
19
It is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his own garden; and it grew, and became a tree; and the birds of the heaven lodged in the branches thereof. ​
20
And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God?
21
It is like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened. ​
22
And he went on his way through cities and villages, teaching, and journeying on unto Jerusalem. ​

The Narrow Door 23–30

23
And one said unto him, Lord, are they few that are saved? And he said unto them, ​
24
Strive to enter in by the narrow door: for many, I say unto you, shall 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, open to us; and he shall answer and say to you, I know you not whence ye are; ​
26
then shall ye begin to say, We did eat and drink in thy presence, and thou didst teach in our streets; ​
27
and he shall say, I tell you, I know not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. ​
28
There shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and yourselves cast forth without.
29
And they shall come from the east and west, and from the north and south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. ​
30
And behold, there are last who shall be first, and there are first who shall be last. ​

Jesus Laments Over Jerusalem 31–35

31
In that very hour there came certain Pharisees, saying to him, Get thee out, and go hence: for Herod would fain kill thee. ​
32
And he said unto them, Go and say to that fox, Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third day I am perfected. ​
33
Nevertheless I must go on my way to-day and to-morrow and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. ​
34
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her own brood under her wings, and ye would not! ​
35
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Luke 13

Verse 1

blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices — The killing of Galilean worshippers at their altar is told nowhere else in Scripture. Pilate governed Judaea and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee (Luke 3:1), and the two were 'at enmity between themselves' (Luke 23:12). The report prompts the teaching of vv.2–5.

Verse 2

sinners above all the Galilaeans — Jesus names the assumption behind the report: that a violent death marks a worse sinner. The disciples ask it of the man born blind (John 9:2), the islanders reason so of Paul and the viper (Acts 28:4), and Job's friend asks 'Is not thy wickedness great?' (Job 22:5).

Verse 3

except ye repent — Metanoeo, to change the mind and turn; Peter's call is 'Repent ye therefore, and be converted' (Acts 3:19). 'Perish' is apollymi, to be lost or destroyed. 'I tell you, Nay' refuses the comparison of v.2 and gives every hearer the same warning.

Verse 4

those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell — A second case, this time an accident with no one to blame. Siloam was the pool at Jerusalem (John 9:7; Neh 3:15, 'Siloah'). 'Sinners' here is opheiletes, a debtor, not the hamartolos of v.2; the word is 'debtors' in Matt 6:12.

Verse 5

ye shall all likewise perish — The warning of v.3 is given again after the second case, so the death at the altar and the death under the tower carry one lesson. It matches the call of Ezek 18:30: 'Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.' The parable of the fig tree follows.

Verse 6

a fig tree planted in his vineyard — 'The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel' (Isa 5:7), and the owner here 'sought fruit… and found none', as he 'looked that it should bring forth grapes' in Isa 5:2. Hos 9:10 sees Israel as 'the firstripe in the fig tree'; Jer 8:13 says of Israel, 'nor figs on the fig tree'.

Verse 7

cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? — 'Dresser of his vineyard' is ampelourgos, found only here in the New Testament. 'Cumbereth' is katargeo, to render useless: the tree takes up the ground. The sentence echoes the Baptist's, that every tree without good fruit 'is hewn down, and cast into the fire' (Luke 3:9).

Verse 8

let it alone this year also — 'Let it alone' is aphiemi, the verb usually rendered 'forgive'; here it asks that the sentence wait one more year. 'Dung' is koprion, found elsewhere only in Luke 14:35. The delay matches the longsuffering of 2 Pet 3:9, 'not willing that any should perish'.

Verse 9

after that thou shalt cut it down — The parable ends without saying whether the tree bore fruit. 'Cut it down' is the same verb (ekkopto) as in v.7, and it is now the sentence that falls if the year of v.8 yields nothing. John 15:2 gives the vine's form: 'Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away'.

Verse 10

teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath — Luke says of Jesus at Nazareth that 'as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day' (Luke 4:16). Here he is teaching when the woman comes in (vv.11–12). The anger in v.14 is aroused by the healing that follows, and the teaching is not mentioned again.

Verse 11

a spirit of infirmity eighteen years — Astheneia is weakness, and Luke has already named women 'healed of evil spirits and infirmities' (Luke 8:2). Verse 16 gives the cause, 'whom Satan hath bound'. 'Bowed together' (synkypto) is found only here in the New Testament, and 'in no wise' (panteles) is the 'uttermost' of Heb 7:25.

Verse 12

thou art loosed from thine infirmity — Apolelysai is a perfect tense: the release is already complete at his word, before the laying on of hands in v.13. Jesus names her condition as a bond to be loosed, which is the language he returns to in vv.15–16 with a different verb, luo, for the ox, the ass and the woman.

Verse 14

the ruler of the synagogue — Archisynagogos, the title borne by Jairus (Luke 8:49). He answers 'with indignation' but speaks to 'the people', quoting the six days of the commandment, 'Six days shalt thou labour' (Ex 20:9). 'Ought' is dei, the word Jesus turns back on him in v.16.

Verse 15

loose his ox or his ass from the stall — 'Stall' is phatne, the manger of Luke 2:7, 12 and 16, the only other places Luke uses it. Jesus argues from the daily care of animals on the sabbath to the woman; he makes a like appeal in Luke 14:5, 'an ass or an ox fallen into a pit'.

Verse 16

a daughter of Abraham — The phrase occurs only here; of a man Jesus says 'a son of Abraham' of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:9). 'Bound' (deo) and 'bond' (desmos) answer to 'loosed' in v.12. 'Ought' (dei) answers v.14: if men 'ought to work' on six days, she 'ought' to be loosed on the sabbath.

Verse 18

Unto what is the kingdom of God like? — Two short parables follow, the mustard seed (v.19) and the leaven (v.21), both given in Matt 13:31–33, and the first also in Mark 4:30–32, where it opens 'Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God?' 'Resemble' is homoioo, to liken, from the root of 'like'.

Verse 19

a grain of mustard seed — In Mark 4:31 the seed is 'less than all the seeds that be in the earth'. A great tree lodging 'the fowls of the air' is a figure Scripture has used before: the LORD's own planting in Ezek 17:23, 'under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing', and a great king's dominion in Dan 4:12.

Verse 21

three measures of meal — The same quantity Abraham told Sarah to make ready for his visitors (Gen 18:6, 'three measures of fine meal'). 'Hid' is enkrypto, found only here and in the same parable at Matt 13:33. Leaven is used elsewhere of what spreads for ill, 'the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy' (Luke 12:1).

Verse 22

journeying toward Jerusalem — Poreia, a journey, found in the New Testament only here and James 1:11. The direction was set at Luke 9:51, when 'he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem', and it is stated again at Luke 17:11 and Luke 18:31, 'Behold, we go up to Jerusalem'.

Verse 23

are there few that be saved? — The asker is one unnamed hearer, and 'few' is oligos. Jesus answers with a command about entering in v.24. Matt 7:13–14 gives the same teaching of the strait gate and ends 'few there be that find it'.

Verse 24

Strive to enter in at the strait gate — 'Strive' is the verb of a contest for a prize, which Paul uses of 'every man that striveth for the mastery' (1 Cor 9:25), and Timothy is told, with the same verb, 'Fight the good fight of faith' (1 Tim 6:12). 'Strait' is stenos, narrow, found only here and in Matt 7:13–14.

Verse 25

hath shut to the door — Apokleio, to shut fast, found only here in the New Testament. The master of the house rises and shuts it himself; those outside who knock with 'Lord, Lord, open unto us' are answered 'I know you not whence ye are'. The foolish virgins meet the same words in Matt 25:11–12.

Verse 26

We have eaten and drunk in thy presence — They plead what they did beside him: meals shared and teaching given in their streets. 'In thy presence' is enopion, before the face. The plea in Matt 7:22 rests on prophesying, casting out devils and 'many wonderful works', and is met with 'I never knew you' (Matt 7:23).

Verse 27

workers of iniquity — The command echoes Ps 6:8, 'Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity'. 'Iniquity' is adikia, unrighteousness. The answer 'I know you not whence ye are' is the one given in v.25, now given after the plea of v.26. Matt 7:23 has 'depart from me, ye that work iniquity'.

Verse 29

from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south — The four quarters recall the LORD's gathering of his people in Ps 107:3 and Isa 43:5–6. 'Sit down' (anaklino) is to recline at table, with the patriarchs and prophets of v.28. Matt 8:11 has the saying with 'many shall come from the east and west'.

Verse 30

last which shall be first — Jesus says this elsewhere in other settings: after Peter's question about reward (Matt 19:30; Mark 10:31) and after the labourers in the vineyard (Matt 20:16). Here it follows the table of v.29, where those from the four quarters are seated and the hearers themselves are 'thrust out' (v.28).

Verse 31

Herod will kill thee — Herod was tetrarch of Galilee (Luke 3:1) and had beheaded John, and he 'desired to see' Jesus (Luke 9:9). 'Will' is thelo, the verb of willing, which returns as 'would' in v.34. The Pharisees speak 'the same day' as the teaching on the narrow door.

Verse 32

that fox — Alopex, found in the New Testament only here, Matt 8:20 and Luke 9:58. 'Cures' is iasis, which Acts uses for healing in 4:22 and 4:30. 'Shall be perfected' is teleioo, to complete, the verb of Heb 2:10, 'perfect through sufferings', and of John 17:4, 'I have finished the work'.

Verse 33

it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem — Endechetai, 'it is admitted', found only here in the New Testament. 'Must' is dei, the word of vv.14 and 16; the necessity is the course that ends in Jerusalem, as Luke 18:31–33 sets out: the prophets' writings 'shall be accomplished'.

Verse 34

as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings — Ornis, hen, is found only here and in the parallel at Matt 23:37, and 'brood' (nossia) only here. The wings recall the LORD's covering of his people (Ps 91:4; Ruth 2:12). 'Would' is thelo, the verb of 'Herod will kill thee' in v.31, and 'ye would not' answers it.

Verse 35

your house is left unto you desolate — The same sentence stands in Matt 23:38. 'Left' is aphiemi, the verb of 'let it alone' in v.8. 'Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord' is Ps 118:26, which the crowd takes up in Luke 19:38, and Matt 23:39 repeats the promise with 'till ye shall say'.