《Commentary on the Book of Luke (Vol.2)》
Luke Chapter Thirteen
I. Content of the Chapter
The Teachings and Warnings of the Son of Man the Savior
I. Concerning the repentance:
A. Unless you repent you will all likewise perish (v.1-5).
B. The reason of being left alone is to repent and bear fruits (v.6-9).
II. Concerning the rest:
A. One will have rest after he has been healed (v.10-13).
B. The bond should be loosed on the Sabbath (v.14-17).
III. Concerning the kingdom of God:
A. The appearance of the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed which grew and became a large tree (v.18-19).
B. It is also like leaven which makes it be all leavened (v.20).
C. If one does not strive to enter through the narrow gate, he will not be able to sit down in the kingdom of God (v.21-30).
IV. He lamented over Jerusalem (v.31-35).
II. Verse by Verse commentary
Luke. 13:1 “There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.”
YLT: “And there were present certain at that time, telling him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate did mingle with their sacrifices;”
Literal Meaning: “present at that season” It was the time when the Lord Jesus persuaded men to try their best to settle with their adversaries (See Matt. 12:58-59).
“The Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.” This event was not recorded in other historical materials. Probably, when Pilate was the governor of Galilee, he sent armed forces to slaughter the Galileans when they were offering the sacrifices in order to suppress the revolt of the Galileans so that the blood of those who were killed was mingled with the sacrifices. This kind of action coincided with the evil name of Pilate.
“Told Him” Probably their purpose to tell the Lord Jesus was to ask Him the reason why the Galilean suffered such things and whether they deserved the suffering that they received (See v.2).
Luke. 13:2 “And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?”
YLT: “and Jesus answering said to them, `Think ye that these Galileans became sinners beyond all the Galileans, because they have suffered such things?”
The Background: the Jews commonly held that disasters only happened to the worst sinners (See John. 9:1-2; Job. 4:7; 22:5).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) When men encounter misfortunes, the ordinary men, with the wrong conception and attitude of making pleasure in others’ misfortune, think that they are greatly in sin so that they pay the penalty.
2) In the eyes of God, there is no degree of sins. All the world may become guilty before God because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:19, 23).
Luke. 13:3 “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
YLT: “No I say to you, but, if ye may not reform, all ye even so shall perish.”
Meaning of Words: “repent”: the change of thoughts and minds; “perish”: destroy fully, loose completely, ruin.
Literal Meaning: “I tell you, no.” The Lord here showed that the misfortune is not directly determined by the degree of sins.
“But unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” Though the befalling of misfortune may not be related to the degree of sins, it is related to the corporate wickedness of all men (See Gen. 6:5-6). Therefore it reminds us that unless we repent we will all likewise perish.
“Repent” in the original means the change of views and thoughts instead of the change of behaviors. Men’s thoughts were originally against God and far away from God and now they should completely change and turn to God. “Perish” does not mean that the body will die but that the soul will suffer the everlasting pain after one’s death.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) All men are sinners and they all need to repent, otherwise, they have to face the terrible end.
2) Repentance does not mean the change of behaviors. Therefore it is not to forsake evil to do goodness. Repentance, the change of thoughts, is to turn one’s thoughts to God from all the others besides God.
3) Men’s greatest sin before God is the disobedience to Him. That’s the “sin” we have to confess when we repent. All sins of men originate from the disobedience to God.
4) We should repent when we only care about the religion, doctrines, letters and services and neglect the Lord Himself.
Luke. 13:4 “Or 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?”
YLT: “`Or those eighteen, on whom the tower in Siloam fell, and killed them; think ye that these became debtors beyond all men who are dwelling in Jerusalem?”
The Background: “the tower in Siloam” It was built on the hillside within the city wall in the southeast of Jerusalem and it was next to the poor of Siloam (See John. 9:7).
Literal Meaning: “those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them.” The disaster took place in Jerusalem on that day and the Lord mentioned this to emphasize the argument from v.1 to v.3.
Luke. 13:5 “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.’”
YLT: “No I say to you, but, if ye may not reform, all ye in like manner shall perish.’”
Enlightenment in the Word: concerning the worldly things that had occurred, believers should elevate it to the spiritual realm and see the reason and countermeasure of them with the spiritual sight.
Luke. 13:6 “He 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.”
YLT: “And he spake this simile: ‘A certain one had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit in it, and he did not find;”
Spiritual Meaning: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard” “A certain man” typifies God the Father; “a fig tree” is the type of the kingdom of Israel (See Jer. 24:5; Hos. 9:10) and it could also be applied to the assembly of God and the individual believer.
“He came seeking fruit on it” God cultivates the children of Israel as the man plants the fig tree, hoping to gain fruit to satisfy His need.
There are at least following kinds of “fruit” in the Bible: 1) the fruit of repentance, i.e. the change of behaviors because of the heart of repentance (See 3:8); 2) the fruit of virtue, i.e. the spiritual virtue that is naturally manifested by the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of men (See Gal. 5:22-23); 3) the fruit of life, i.e. the manifestation of the mature life (See John. 15:1-8); 4) the fruit of testimony, i.e. the result of one’s working for the Lord (See Rom. 1:13); 5) the fruit of lips, i.e. giving thanksgiving, praise and glory to God (See Heb. 13:15).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Today, among believers, the condition is probably like that among the children of Israel that many people have a form of godliness but deny its power (2Tim. 3:5)------there is nothing but leaves only------that makes the Lord unsatisfied.
2) If we only stress on the doctrines, words and letters and neglect the reality of the spiritual life, probably, in the eyes of the Lord, we are Christians who have nothing but leaves.
3) The Lord gave Himself to be men’s real provision and He is a strong contrast to the fig tree which does not have the reality but the appearance.
Luke. 13:7 “Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?'”
YLT: “and he said unto the vine-dresser, Lo, three years I come seeking fruit in this fig-tree, and do not find, cut it off, why also the ground doth it render useless?”
Literal Meaning: “for three years” someone held that it indicated that it had been three years since the Lord Jesus began to preach when He was thirty years old (See 3:23).
“Use up the ground.” It means to consume the nutrients of the soil, usurp the sunshine and take up the room.
Spiritual Meaning: “the keeper of his vineyard” is the type of the Lord Jesus. God the Father sent His beloved Son to the world to preach the word of the kingdom of God among the Jews.
“For three years.” It means that it has been given the ample time.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) If believers do not bear the spiritual fruit, in the eyes of God, they “use up the ground” and waste their whole life in the world, unavoidably they will be punished by God in future.
2) The Holy Trinity keeps working in believers with the aim that we could bear fruit to satisfy Him. Those who hold that it is enough that one has been saved through the faith of the Lord and won’t perish in future are the most selfish Christians because they have not considered the satisfaction of God.
Luke. 13:8 “But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.”
YLT: “`And he answering saith to him, Sir, suffer it also this year, till that I may dig about it, and cast in dung;”
Meaning of Words: “fertilize”: organic manure.
Spiritual Meaning: “he” is the type of the Lord Jesus who intercedes for us before God (See Heb. 7:25).
“Let it alone this year also” “This year” does not indicate the year in the calendar but the time limit of God’s forbearance and grace. To all the people of Israel and the assembly, the time limit indicates the dispensation of grace and to the individual believer, it indicates the years when men are alive.
“Until I dig around it” It typifies that the Lord removes our hardened hearts so that the root of life will have room to extend.
“Fertilize it” “Manure” is detested by men and on one hand it symbolizes the offense of the cross (See Gal. 5:11). On the other, it symbolizes the nutrients of life.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) God is full of mercy in righteousness and His goodness leads us to repentance (See Rom. 2:4).
2) Nobody could be sure whether the days of one’s life fall within “this year” or “using up the ground” (See v.7) before the Lord for the chance has passed. May all believers take the chance at present and bear the fruit of life.
3) Today is the chance that the Lord has kept for us for the further and deeper work of the cross in us so that we could bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit (See Gal. 5:22-24).
Luke. 13:9 “And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’”
YLT: “and if indeed it may bear fruit ; and if not so, thereafter thou shalt cut it off.’”
Spiritual Meaning: “you can cut it down” It predicts that the children of Israel will be rejected by God for a while and the failing Christians will be punished by God in future and they do not partake in the enjoyment of the kingdom.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) If believers do not bear fruit, we will be taken away, cast out and withered (John. 15:2, 6).
2) The value of the existence of all is to let the Lord of all have enjoyment and satisfaction, otherwise, their existence is meaningless.
3) The fruit that we could give the Lord is the measurement of Christ in us. We should pray the Lord to work in us to increase “Christ” in us, lest we may be abandoned.
Luke. 13:10 “Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.”
YLT: “And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath,”
The Background: “He was teaching in one of the synagogues” “Synagogue” came into being after the Jews were carried away captive to Babylon. There was no holy temple in foreign countries. The Jews wanted to gather together to worship God and listen to the word of God and then synagogue emerged as the time required. The Lord Jesus taught men in the synagogue because there were many people there.
Spiritual Meaning: “synagogue” symbolizes all religions which the Judaism represents.
Luke. 13:11 “And 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.”
YLT: “and lo, there was a woman having a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and she was bowed together, and not able to bend back at all,”
Meaning of Words: “bent over”: bent together, bent double.
Literal Meaning: “was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.” It is different from humpback and she bent down from the waist and her chest even overlapped her legs.
Spiritual Meaning: “who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years” It indicates that she “has been bound by Satan for eighteen years” (See v.16).
“Could in no way raise herself up” It symbolizes that those who have been bound by the devil could only look down at the earthly things and could not look up into heaven.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) If our eyes of hearts only look at the earthly things and do not look up into the heavenly things (See Col. 3:1-2), probably, we may be bound by the devil.
2) It is proved that he who has been pressed by sin, the world, life, morality, religion, the Law and other burdens and “could in no way raise himself up” is under the power of Satan.
Luke. 13:12 “But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, ‘Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.’”
YLT: “and Jesus having seen her, did call [her] near, and said to her, `Woman, thou hast been loosed from thy infirmity;’”