Luke 13.22-35

22 Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he went, always pressing on toward Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?”

He replied, 24 “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail. 25 When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26 Then you will say, ‘But we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 And he will reply, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil.’

28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you will be thrown out. 29 And people will come from all over the world — from east and west, north and south — to take their places in the Kingdom of God. 30 And note this: Some who seem least important now will be the greatest then, and some who are the greatest now will be least important then.”

31 At that time some Pharisees said to him, “Get away from here if you want to live! Herod Antipas wants to kill you!”

32 Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish my purpose. 33 Yes, today, tomorrow, and the next day I must proceed on my way. For it wouldn’t do for a prophet of God to be killed except in Jerusalem! 34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. 35 And now, look, your house is abandoned. And you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Comments

These may seem like random little stories put together, but Luke was anything but random. The question that introduces today’s reading is the theme here. A man in the crowd wanted to know if Jesus was preaching the same sort of religious exclusivism that the Pharisees (and other groups like the Essenes) were known for. Just like he did with the lawyer asking who is neighbor was, Jesus answered a general, theoretical question with a specific, practical answer. Will it be few or many? You just work hard making sure you get through the door. Because some people will be left outside. People who will complain that they had shared a meal with Jesus. Luke has given us several accounts of Jesus eating with Pharisees. This is his subtle way of also telling the questioner that, ironically, the ones excluding others are going to be excluded.

And then, look, Pharisees show up! Warning Jesus about Herod. It might seem like the Pharisees were looking out for Jesus, but at no point have they treated Jesus well, even when he was in Galilee enjoying the favor of the synagogue leaders. Plus, the Pharisees have been holding a grudge against Jesus since he called them out at one of those meals (11.53). Add to that what Luke told us in 9.9 – that Herod wanted to see Jesus – and the fact that Jesus was already on his way out of Herod’s jurisdiction, and it becomes evident that the warning here was bogus. Were they trying to get Jesus to leave? He already was. Were they trying to get him to be quiet? Or scare him? Provoke him into acting in some way unprophetlike?

No chance. Just like he told the man at the beginning of this passage, Jesus had his own door to walk through. It was both narrow and incredibly hard work. And nothing could deter him from that work. The main message of Luke’s Gospel is embedded in these (not at all) random stories. Work hard getting through the narrow door of the kingdom. Don’t be left outside with the religious folk. Be sure that you are following Jesus in the hard work he did and the narrow door he went through.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale HousePublishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Luke 13.1-21

1 About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. 2 “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? 3 Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. 4 And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? 5 No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”

6 Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. 7 Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’

8 The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. 9 If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.’”

10 One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, 11 he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” 13 Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God!

14 But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. “There are six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd. “Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.”

15 But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water? 16 This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?”

17 This shamed his enemies, but all the people rejoiced at the wonderful things he did.

18 Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? 19 It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.”

20 He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? 21 It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

Comments

Today’s reading is unique to Luke’s Gospel though the fig tree parable here does remind one of the stories in Mark and Matthew of Jesus cursing a fig tree. I noted before how that was a prophetic act regarding the condition of the Temple and Jesus’ judgment of those who had made it a thieves’ hideout. Here the Temple is not in view and Jesus isn’t cursing anything. Instead, he talks about a fig tree that has had three years to bear fruit and has not. The gardener is given another chance to help the tree become fruitful. While the fig story here is less sharp it is also more broadly applied: anything that does not bear fruit or tries to block the fruit of the kingdom will be cut down.

What does it mean to bear fruit? Luke answers this with the first healing story we’ve read in a while. We know we are bearing fruit when we are releasing people from bondage. The number 18 is a subtle connection between the people killed by the tower falling and the woman who had suffered for so many years. The same question that was asked of the victims of the tower or Herod could have been asked of her: why was she bent over all the time? What had she done to deserve such punishment? No more or less than anyone else, which is not to say she was sinless, but that our sin is no barrier for the healing, delivering power of Jesus.

The healing, delivering power of Jesus comes one small prayer at a time. It starts small with praying for just one person to be healed and/or delivered. It grows, not by changing to some other strategy when the time and size are ‘right,’ but by praying for more people to be healed, more people delivered, more people set free – each of them one at a time. The synagogue leader didn’t want healings on the Sabbath. Let that stuff happen during the week when everyone is working. But if everyone is working, then how could they come to the Temple for prayer? We should be careful that our religious practices and our theologies don’t get in our way and prevent us from producing the fruit of the kingdom of God. We should also follow the gardener’s example – give special attention to feeding ourselves the spiritual nutrients that lead to fruit production. Cultivate your roots today, make sure they are digging deep to the living waters of the Spirit. Then you will be like a tree planted by the riverbank. 

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale HousePublishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.