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Scripture Reading: Luke 13:1-35
In this message we shall consider 13:1-35.
Luke 13:1 says, “Now there were some present at the same time who reported to Him concerning the Galileans, whose blood Pilate mixed with their sacrifices.” The Greek word translated “now” may also be rendered “yet,” “and,” or “furthermore.” We follow other versions to use the word “now,” not to convey the element of time but to indicate continuation. “Now” indicates that 13:1-9 continues the last verses of chapter twelve, dealing further with the matter of repentance. The Lord uses the two incidents in Luke 13:1-5 to remind the Jews that now is the time for them to repent. Otherwise, they will all perish like the victims of those two incidents.
The Lord’s word at the end of Luke 12 indicated that He wanted the Jews to repent. Now in chapter thirteen He continues to speak further concerning repentance. Referring to the case of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate mixed with their sacrifices, He said to those present, “Do you think that these Galileans were sinners beyond all the Galileans because they suffered these things? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you shall all likewise perish.” Then He goes on to refer to a second case, the case of the “eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them” (v. 4). Again the Lord warned the people to repent. He seemed to be telling them, “Don’t think that those people were sinful, and the others were not. Unless you repent, you also will perish.”
In verses 6 through 9 the Lord goes on to tell the parable of a certain man who had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. The word “and” at the beginning of verse 6 indicates that these verses are the continuation of the foregoing verses concerning repentance.
This parable indicates that God as the owner came in the Son to the Jewish people as to a fig tree (Matt. 21:19; Jer. 24:2, 5, 8) planted in God’s promised land as the vineyard (Matt. 21:33) to seek fruit from them. He had been seeking for three years (Luke 13:7), and He did not find any. He wanted to cut them down, but the Son as the vinedresser prayed for them that God the Father would tolerate them until He died for them (dug the ground around the fig tree) and gave them fertilizer (threw on manure), hoping that they would then repent and produce fruit. Otherwise, they would be cut down. The passages in Luke 11:29-32, 42-52, unveiling the Jewish people as an evil generation, confirm this interpretation.
In this parable the Jewish people are regarded by God as a fig tree. When God did not find fruit on the tree, He was thinking to cut it off. But the vinedresser, the Lord Jesus, begged the Father not to do this until, by means of His death, He dug around the tree. Then if the tree still did not bring forth fruit, it could be cut down. This is actually what took place. Because the Jews did not repent, even after the Lord Jesus died and resurrected and the Spirit came, the “fig tree” was “cut down.” This happened in A.D. 70 when Titus brought his Roman army to Jerusalem and destroyed it. That destruction of Jerusalem was the cutting down of the fig tree.
In 13:10-17 we have the case of the Man-Savior healing and releasing a bent-double and Satan-bound woman on the Sabbath. Verses 10 and 11 say, “And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years; and she was bent double and utterly unable to stand erect.” This “spirit” was a demon, one of the spirits of the living creatures who lived in the preadamic age and were judged by God when they joined Satan’s rebellion. The fallen angels work with Satan in the air (Eph. 2:2; 6:11-12), and these demons, unclean spirits, move with him on the earth. Both act evilly upon man for the kingdom of Satan.
Because of a spirit of infirmity, this woman was “bent double.” Literally, the Greek words rendered “bent double” mean “bending together.” This may signify the demon’s oppression over a person to an extreme extent, so that the person is bent toward the satanic world only and is unable to stand erect to look into the heavens.
The Lord Jesus saw the woman who was bent double, utterly unable to stand erect, but forced to look down to the earth as a result of the operation exercised upon her by Satan through his demons. The Lord said to her, “Woman, you have been released from your infirmity; and He laid His hands on her, and instantly she was made erect, and glorified God” (vv. 12-13). Here we see that the woman did not ask the Lord to heal her; rather, He initiated the healing and release of the bent-double and Satan-bound woman.
Verse 14 says, “But the synagogue ruler, being indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, answered and said to the crowd, There are six days in which man should work; therefore come on them and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” Here we see that Satan uses not only the evil spirit to possess the woman, but also the religious ruler to oppose the woman’s release by the Lord. Religion is much used by the usurper to keep God’s chosen people under his oppression. The synagogue ruler, who was very religious, cared for religious regulations and not for the suffering of this woman, who was a descendant of Abraham.
In verses 15 and 16 the Lord answered the ruler of the synagogue, “Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away, and give it a drink? And this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound — consider it — eighteen years, should she not be released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” The fact that this woman was a daughter of Abraham indicates that she was one of God’s chosen people. However, she was bound by Satan. This indicates that the demon’s possession of people is Satan’s binding of them. Hence, the casting out of the demon is the defeat of Satan (Matt. 12:29). It was fitting for this woman to be released from that bond on the Sabbath day, for the Sabbath was ordained by God for man to rest (Gen. 2:3), not for man to remain under bondage.
Why is this case put here by Luke? In answering this question, we need to remember that this took place as the Man-Savior was approaching Jerusalem, where the atmosphere was extremely religious. I believe that the Lord Jesus entered into the synagogue and initiated the healing of this woman in order to show His disciples that He had no intention of keeping the dead forms of religion and the deformed Sabbatical regulations. He purposely broke those regulations so that His disciples would know that He had come not to keep the regulations that hold people in their suffering, but to break the deformed regulations so that the suffering ones may be released by His jubilee blessing.
When the Lord Jesus healed the woman who had been bound by Satan and bent double, He brought the jubilee to her. In chapter four He had declared the jubilee, in which the captives would be released and the oppressed would be set free. This case, therefore, is a fulfillment of the proclamation of the jubilee in chapter four. The Lord’s intention was to let the disciples know that He was going to Jerusalem, not to observe religious regulations but to break them purposely so that the people might be brought into the jubilee.
In 13:18-21, probably much to the disciples’ surprise, the Lord again spoke concerning the kingdom of God. However, here He does not speak of the kingdom in a positive sense. Up until now, the Lord’s word concerning the kingdom in Luke has been positive. But here He talks to the disciples concerning the kingdom in a negative way, teaching them about the kingdom as a grain of mustard (vv. 18-19) and as leaven (vv. 20-21).
In verses 18 and 19 the Lord says, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I liken it? It is like a grain of mustard, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree; and the birds of heaven roosted in its branches.” The fact that this mustard seed grew into a tree indicates that it did not grow into something according to its own kind. According to Genesis 1, the things created by God are according to their own kind. An apple tree, for example, should be according to the apple tree kind. But here the mustard seed does not grow after its kind, but instead grows into another kind. This is the breaking of the principle ordained by God in His creation. If we see this, we shall not interpret this parable in a positive sense.
Some teach that the mustard becoming a large tree is a positive development. But according to the history of Christianity, there has not been such a positive development. In fact, this parable is a prophecy that has been fulfilled in the history of Christianity. Actually, today’s Christianity is not something after its kind. The church, which is the embodiment of the kingdom, should be like an herb to produce food. But it became a “tree,” a lodge for birds. This means that, contrary to the law of God’s creation that every plant must be after its kind, its nature and function were changed. This took place when Constantine the Great mixed the church with the world in the first part of the fourth century. He brought thousands of false believers into Christianity, making it Christendom, no longer the church. Hence, this parable corresponds to the third of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, the church in Pergamos (Rev. 2:12-17). The church, according to its heavenly and spiritual nature, should be like a mustard, sojourning on earth. But since its nature has been changed, the church became deeply rooted and settled in the earth as a tree, flourishing with its enterprises as the branches to lodge many evil persons and things. This has formed the outward organization of the outward appearance of the kingdom of God.
In Luke 13:19 we are told that the birds of heaven roosted in the branches of this tree. In 8:5 and 12 the birds of heaven are related to the Devil. Therefore, the birds of heaven here must refer to Satan’s evil spirits with the evil persons and things motivated by them. They lodge in the branches of the great tree, that is, in the enterprises of Christendom.
In Luke 13:20 and 21 the Lord says, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened.” Some teach that the leaven here is positive. According to their concept, the leaven signifies the power of the gospel spreading throughout the earth. But in the Bible leaven does not have a positive denotation. On the contrary, especially in the four Gospels, it has a negative significance. The Lord Jesus, in particular, does not use the word leaven in a positive sense, but always in a negative sense. Elsewhere in the New Testament leaven signifies evil things (1 Cor. 5:6, 8) and evil doctrines (Matt. 16:6, 11-12).
The church, as the practicality of the kingdom of God with Christ — the unleavened fine flour — as its content, must be unleavened bread (1 Cor. 5:7-8). However, the Catholic Church, which was fully and officially formed in the sixth century and which is signified by the woman here, took many pagan practices, heretical doctrines, and evil matters and mixed them with the teachings concerning Christ to leaven the whole content of Christianity. What is described in Luke 13:20 and 21 corresponds to the fourth of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, the church in Thyatira (Rev. 2:18-29).
“Meal,” which is used for making the meal offering (Lev. 2:1), signifies Christ as food both to God and man. “Three measures” is the quantity needed to make a full meal (Gen. 18:6). Hence, to hide the leaven in three measures of meal signifies that the Catholic Church has fully leavened in a hidden way all the teachings concerning Christ. This is the actual situation in the Roman Catholic Church. It is absolutely against the Scripture, which strongly forbids putting any leaven into the meal offering (Lev. 2:4-5, 11).
The two parables in 13:18-21 indicate that the jubilee has come, but has lost its nature. The kingdom of God is the reality and content of the jubilee. Without the kingdom of God there is no jubilee. We have emphasized the fact that the jubilee is a matter of releasing the captives and of recovering the right to the enjoyment of the Triune God. The same is true of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is the return of the captives and the recovery of the divine inheritance. But as these parables indicate, at a certain time the jubilee, the kingdom, lost its nature. On the one hand, it has developed into something that is not after its kind; on the other hand, it has become leavened, that is, its contents have been corrupted. Such a change in nature of the jubilee actually indicates the loss of the jubilee. Where is the jubilee among so many Christians today? As we consider today’s situation, we see that in Christendom the real nature of the jubilee has been lost.
In his Gospel Luke writes in such a way as to cover different points related to the jubilee. Therefore, our understanding of the Gospel of Luke must be governed by the principle of the jubilee. The proclamation of the jubilee in chapter four is a governing principle both for Luke’s writing of this book and our understanding of it. Whatever is mentioned in chapters four through twenty-four is related to the jubilee either directly or indirectly. This means that everything in these chapters is related directly or indirectly to the kingdom of God, with the release of the captives and the recovery of the divine inheritance.
This jubilee, the kingdom of God, was brought in through the death and resurrection of Christ and can be seen in Acts and the Epistles. Not long afterward, probably before the end of the first century, the jubilee began to be lost. Eventually, as indicated by these two parables in Luke 13, the jubilee changed its nature and was lost.
In 13:22-30 we have the Lord’s teaching on the way to Jerusalem concerning the entrance into the kingdom of God. After a number of aspects related to the jubilee have been covered, there is the need for us to know the way to enter into the jubilee, the way to enter into the kingdom of God. The record in 13:22-30 is according to Luke’s way of putting various points together to show us aspects of the jubilee. Now he presents us a portion that reveals the way to enter into the kingdom of God as the jubilee.
Luke 13:22 and 23 say, “And He was passing throughout the cities and villages, teaching and making His way toward Jerusalem. And someone said to Him, Lord, are there only a few who are being saved?” Although this question is rather foolish or ambiguous, the Man-Savior answered it in a very clear way: “Struggle to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able” (v. 24). This is not merely to be saved; this is to enter into the full jubilee, to enter into the full enjoyment of the kingdom of God, not only in this age but also in the age to come.
In verse 25 the Lord continues, “From the time when the Master of the house is risen and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock on the door, saying, Lord, open to us; and He will answer and say to you, I do not know you. Where are you from?” Here the words “I do not know you” do not mean, “I am not familiar with you. You are not known to Me.” Instead, these words mean, “I don’t appreciate you, I don’t approve you, I don’t give you any praise.”
In verses 26 and 27 the Lord goes on to say, “Then you will begin to say, We ate in Your presence and drank, and You taught in our streets; and He will say, I tell you, I do not know where you are from; go away from Me, all you workers of unrighteousness!” The Lord’s word here refers to the Jews and indicates that what the Jews were doing was unrighteous.
In verse 28 the Lord says, “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth there when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you being cast outside.” Here “weeping” indicates regret, and “gnashing of teeth” indicates self-blame. The Lord’s word about being outside the kingdom of God refers to the future, to the millennium. During the millennium, many Jews will be cast out of the kingdom of God.
In 13:23 the Jews asked about salvation. But the Lord answers concerning participation in the kingdom of God in the millennium, which will be the most enjoyable part of God’s full salvation before the enjoyment of the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth (Rev. 21:1-3a, 5-7; 22:1-5).
Verses 29 and 30 conclude, “And they will come from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. And behold, there are the last who will be first, and there are the first who will be last.” In verse 29 “they” refers to the Gentiles. Gentiles will come from east and west and from north and south and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. This will take place in the kingdom age, in the millennium. In verse 30 the “last who will be first” refers to the saved Gentiles, who will receive the Savior before some of the saved Jews and will participate in the kingdom of God in the millennium. The “first who will be last” refers to the believing Jews who will believe in the Lord later than the Gentile believers (Rom. 11:25-26). The word in this verse is applied in another sense in Matthew 19:30; 20:16; and Mark 10:31.
In 13:31-35 we have a description of the Man-Savior journeying uninterruptedly toward Jerusalem. Verse 31 says, “In the same hour some Pharisees came up, saying to Him, Get out and go from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” This is a threat made by the opposers in their jealousy. But, as we shall see, the Lord was not threatened.
The Lord said to them, “Go and tell this fox, Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I am perfected” (v. 32). The Greek words translated, “I am perfected” may also be rendered “end My course” or “reach My goal.” The Lord’s response indicates that He had a set schedule to carry out His ministry, to end His course, and to reach His goal, through His death and resurrection, and that no one, especially not Herod, could stop Him from accomplishing it.
Here the Lord seems to be saying, “I shall reach My goal. I shall accomplish what I intend to do. I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow and then on the third day, in resurrection, I will be perfected and reach My goal. Don’t bother Me or threaten Me. I am the sovereign One, and you can do nothing. Who is Herod? He is a fox. You may be afraid of him, but I am not, because he is under Me. Tell him that I have My schedule. According to this schedule, I will finish My work, reach My goal, and be perfected.”
In verse 33 the Lord said, “However, I must journey today and tomorrow and on the following day, because it is not acceptable for a prophet to perish outside of Jerusalem.” The Lord was not prevented by the threat from journeying to Jerusalem to accomplish His redemptive death. Rather, He was bold to proceed there (Mark 10:33) to reach the goal of His ministry.
In verse 33 the Lord seems to be saying, “I must journey today, tomorrow, and the following day because it is necessary for Me to die in Jerusalem. It is not acceptable for a prophet to perish outside of Jerusalem. Do not interrupt Me or frustrate Me. I have a goal, and My goal is to die in Jerusalem. I am on the way to reach My goal.”
In 13:34 and 35 the Lord says, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I desired to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her own brood under her wings, and you did not want to! Behold, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you shall by no means see Me until the time comes when you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” It has always been God Himself who cared for Jerusalem like a bird fluttering over her young (Isa. 31:5; Deut. 32:11-12). Hence, when the Lord Jesus said, “I desire to gather your children together just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,” He indicated that He was God Himself.
In verse 35 the Lord says, “Behold, your house is left to you.” Since “house” is singular, it must denote the house of God, the temple (19:46-47). It was the house of God, but now it is called “your house” because they had made it a den of robbers.
In verse 35 the Lord also says, “You shall by no means see Me until the time comes when you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” This will be the Lord’s second coming, when the remnant of Israel will turn to believe in Him and be saved (Rom. 11:23, 26).
In 13:31-35 the Lord refers to His resurrection and to His coming back. When the Lord returns, He will bring in the jubilee. Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord, the One who will bring in the enjoyment of the jubilee in the millennium!
