The Gospels · New Testament
Luke 13
Luke 13: repentance, a bent woman loosed, and the narrow door
General context
Some present tell Jesus of Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asks whether those Galileans were sinners above the rest, answers his own question with a call to repent, and puts the same question about the eighteen killed when the tower in Siloam fell. He then tells a parable of a fig tree on which the owner has found no fruit for three years, which the dresser of the vineyard asks to keep one more year. Teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath, he calls a woman who has been bowed together eighteen years, says she is loosed from her infirmity, and lays hands on her; she is made straight and glorifies God. The ruler of the synagogue objects that healing belongs to the six working days, and Jesus answers with the ox and ass that are loosed and watered on the sabbath. He likens the kingdom of God to a grain of mustard seed and to leaven hidden in three measures of meal. Journeying toward Jerusalem, he answers a question about how many are saved with the strait gate and the shut door. Certain Pharisees tell him Herod will kill him, and he answers about that fox and speaks over Jerusalem.
Cited passages: Luke 13:1, Luke 13:2, Luke 13:3, Luke 13:4, Luke 13:5, Luke 13:6, Luke 13:7, Luke 13:8, Luke 13:9, Luke 13:10, Luke 13:11, Luke 13:12, Luke 13:13, Luke 13:14, Luke 13:15, Luke 13:16, Luke 13:17, Luke 13:19, Luke 13:21, Luke 13:22, Luke 13:23, Luke 13:24, Luke 13:25, Luke 13:27, Luke 13:29, Luke 13:31, Luke 13:32, Luke 13:33, Luke 13:34, Luke 13:35
Luke 13 (KJV)
1There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilæans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
2And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilæans were sinners above all the Galilæans, because they suffered such things?
3I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
4Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
5I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
6He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.
7Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?
8And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:
9And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.
10And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
11And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.
12And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.
13And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
14And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.
15The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
16And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?
17And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.
18Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?
19It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.
20And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God?
21It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
22And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.
23Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,
24Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
25When 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, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
26Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
27But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
28There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.
29And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
30And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.
31The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.
32And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.
33Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.
34O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!
35Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
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Historical context
The chapter names Pilate and Herod without describing either beyond the action attached to him. The killing of the Galileans reaches Jesus as a report brought by others, and the text does not narrate the event itself. The eighteen who died under the tower in Siloam are mentioned only inside Jesus' question, and none of them is named. The woman's condition is described twice, by the narrator as a spirit of infirmity of eighteen years and by Jesus as a binding by Satan. The ruler of the synagogue is unnamed, and so are the people who bring the report in the opening verse. Verse 22 supplies the setting marker for this section, a journey through cities and villages toward Jerusalem. The warning that Herod intends to kill him comes from certain of the Pharisees, and the text does not say whether the warning is accurate.
Cited passages: Luke 13:1, Luke 13:2, Luke 13:4, Luke 13:10, Luke 13:11, Luke 13:12, Luke 13:14, Luke 13:16, Luke 13:17, Luke 13:22, Luke 13:31, Luke 13:32, Luke 13:33, Luke 13:35
Literary context
Two questions about sudden deaths receive the same answer word for word, and the repetition is the point on which the opening turns. The fig tree parable follows immediately and converts the warning into a granted delay, one more year of digging and dunging. In the synagogue scene the ruler counts six days and Jesus counts eighteen years, and the argument moves from an animal loosed for water to a daughter of Abraham loosed from a bond. The two kingdom comparisons are matched, a man with a seed and a garden, a woman with leaven and meal. The shut door passage ends by inverting order, last becoming first. The closing address to Jerusalem lands after the narrator has already said he is journeying there, and the last line hands the crowd's future greeting back to them.
Cited passages: Luke 13:3, Luke 13:5, Luke 13:6, Luke 13:7, Luke 13:8, Luke 13:9, Luke 13:11, Luke 13:14, Luke 13:15, Luke 13:16, Luke 13:18, Luke 13:19, Luke 13:20, Luke 13:21, Luke 13:22, Luke 13:24, Luke 13:25, Luke 13:30, Luke 13:34, Luke 13:35
Key moments
- Except ye repent (Luke 13:3). Jesus answers his own question about the Galileans with a call to repent.
- One more year for the tree (Luke 13:8). The dresser of the vineyard asks to dig about the fig tree and dung it.
- A bent woman made straight (Luke 13:13). Jesus lays hands on the woman and she is made straight and glorifies God.
- Loosed on the sabbath (Luke 13:16). Jesus argues that a daughter of Abraham should be loosed on the sabbath day.
- Leaven hidden in meal (Luke 13:21). He likens the kingdom of God to leaven a woman hides in three measures of meal.
- The door is shut (Luke 13:25). The master of the house rises, shuts the door, and says he does not know them.
- Words over Jerusalem (Luke 13:34). He speaks of gathering Jerusalem as a hen gathers her brood, and of refusal.
For reflection
The dresser asks for one more year before the fig tree is cut down, and the parable stops without saying what the tree did with the year. What difference does the unfinished ending make to the two warnings that come just before it?