Luke 13:1–17

Repent or Perish, The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

A Woman with a Disabling Spirit

Slowly and carefully read the passages of Scripture.

clearly defined but was used by religionists and philosophers to refer to the highest of that which is supernatural.

1.         Jesus is told that some Galileans had been slaughtered by Pilate, the Roman ruler of Judea. The idea being that what happened to these Galileans was due to their being sinners. Galileans were generally looked down upon by Judeans.

2.         Jesus answers that this did not happen because of these Galileans being sinners, but more importantly, unless a person repents, only perishing awaits. “Perishing” is a term meaning being forever being sentenced to hell.

3.         Then Jesus reminds the crowd of 18 inhabitants of Jerusalem that had been killed while repairing a water tower, and then are these 18 worse sinners than others?

4.         The parable of the fig tree, and Israel, the nation, was likened to a fig tree, well, it did not produce fruit in its third year and should be uprooted. But the lead farmer, the vinedresser, argues for waiting a year before doing this extreme measure. The meaning may be that Jesus is hoping that the nation of Israel, instead of rejecting Him, would receive Him. (Jesus makes 3 trips to Jerusalem.)

5.         Over the centuries, with the rise of the Pharisaical teachers, rules for the Sabbath became increasingly severe and limiting. Here a woman who had suffered greatly for18 years is healed by Jesus.

6.         The ruler of the synagogue, would be a Pharisee, complained that the healing was work and no work could be done on the Sabbath.

7.         Jesus says such thinking, and rule keeping, is hypocritical and reminds the leader of the synagogue that he himself will lead animals to the water trough on a Sabbath, which is a form of work, but this is overlooked.

8.         Here a woman who had suffered greatly is healed and Jesus is condemned for doing this work. The condemners are put to shame, possibly a healthy sign, and the crowd who are present, rejoice in this.

Gospel Meditation

Luke 12:49–59

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace. Recite the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.

1.         Jesus openly declares that He does not bring peace but division, so unlike every other world religious system. We know the peace He brings, forgiveness of sin and giving the new birth, but it is not hidden that there is trouble along with it.

2.         Surprisingly the division hits close to home, within the family. Is this reality part of counting the cost of discipleship?

3.         All people groups know how to predict what weather is heading their way, but the hypocrites, those religious professionals (Pharisees & Sadducees) are unable to interpret the times, KAIROS in the Greek. Could Jesus be alluding to more than the divisions of family and friends, but also pointing to demonic forces as well?

4.         Now a most difficult passage, these verses 57 to 59, titled “Settle with Your Accuser” in the ESV, about settling differences with an accuser so that the whole squabble does not place one in prison.

5.         The last verse, #59 reads: “I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.” Now this must refer to having ended up in a prison, but what is the prison?

6.         My answer is it is about the much tragic prison of all, and that is hell itself, where a person, endlessly, experiences grief and pain. Jesus so warns us.

Gospel Meditation

Luke 12:35–48

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace. Recite the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.

1.         There are several titles for this passage, one above and also Watchful Servants and The Alert Slave.

2.         Jesus tells His followers that they must be ready to do the will of their Lord and blessed are those who are serving Him when He returns.

3.         Of great surprise then, those who belong to Jesus, identify Him as Lord, and are born again, will find Jesus Himself serving them.

4.         The timing of His return will not be known to the disciples, so they must always be awake and alert.

5.         Again it is repeated in a slightly different way, that the directive of Jesus is His disciples must be ready since His return is unknown.

6.         Jesus reminds His disciples that masters of households reward those who follow them faithfully.

7.         But woe to the servant who abuses his privileges by mistreating other servants under him, well, the consequences will be dire.

8.         Those who knowingly go against what they knew they ought not to be doing will bear the consequences.

9.         These are Jesus’ directions for His followers, here delivered directly to the twelve apostles.

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Luke 12:22–34

Do Not be Anxious

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace. Recite the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.

1.         Most of what we find in our passage is also found in Matthew 6, a part of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus may have spoken this twice or Luke decides to place it here.

2.         Jesus, understanding the anxiety that existed in the lives of people in general wants to relieve His followers from being burdened by the common worries all people face.

3.         He reminds His disciples how the Creator God cares for living things like the raven, lilies, even the grass of the field. The point is that God cares for the disciples of Jesus.

4.         Jesus is highly aware of the stress people live under and wants His disciples to be free of it and that by not seeking as of first importance that which everyone needs to survive.

5.         Not that the disciples are not to provide for themselves, but there is something that is much greater for them to focus on, and that is the kingdom of God.

6.         In seeking first the kingdom, all the rest will also be added to them, the practical things of life.

7.         “Fear not” Jesus says, and it is fear that underlies anxiety, it is the Father’s good pleasure to give them the kingdom, to be a part of God’s great plan of salvation.

8.         We are to seek as of greatest importance the “treasure” in heaven and then our heart, our personhood, will be in the right place.

Gospel Meditation: Luke 12:13–21

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace. Recite the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.

1.         This parable of the rich fool comes at a time when huge crowds are surrounding Jesus. Someone then, who was standing close to Jesus, asked Him to arbitrate in a dispute between the man and his brother regarding the amount of an inheritance each would receive. Apparently, the father had recently died

2.         Though commonly Rabbis did adjudicate is such instances, Jesus declines to do so.

3.         Jesus begins then to speak truth to this man who He determines is acting out of covetousness. Jesus says to “take care” or carefully think about what is really going on. The inner motive of the man Jesus sees to be based on covetousness, the desire for wealth and thus power.

4.         Jesus then tells a parable about a rich man who did very well as a farmer, in fact did so well at raising crops that he needed to tear down his present barns and build bigger ones in order to store the produce.

5.         The farmer boasts that he will now be able to live fabulously, as an “epicurean” whose motto was, “relax, eat, drink, and be merry.”

6.         However, he does not know that he will not live another day, and then, who will enjoy the wealth. Obviously, it would be the brother whom he was looking to cheat.

7.         Jesus says it is better to be rich “toward God.”

Gospel Meditation

Luke 12:1–12

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace. Recite the Lord’s Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.

1.         Jesus warns His disciples of accusations the Pharisees are spreading among the crowds of people coming to hear Jesus teach and preach.

2.         Despite the efforts of the pharisees, nothing of what they attempt will remain hidden, thus go unpunished.

3.         So then, Jesus says that His disciples will spread His word far and wide.

4.         Yes, those who oppose the words of Jesus will cause fear, but He says that His disciple are not to be afraid. Afterall, Christians can only lose their lives; they will not be prevented from being in His presence. And these only fear God.

5.         Jesus’ followers, though many, are all of value––not one is forgotten––this is the encouragement Jesus gives to all who follow Him.

6.         Indeed, all who proclaim Jesus to the world, these will the Son of Man, Jesus Himself, declare as His own.

7.         On the other hand, and here is where fear is real,  that those who reject Jesus as Lord will be denied salvation.

8.         Now then, Jesus goes on to say that those who speak negatively about Himself will be forgiven, but those who speak against the Holy Spirit and His working, cannot be forgiven.

9.         Jesus then assures His followers who will suffer for His sake that they have nothing to fear as the Holy Spirit will be present to defend them.

Gospel Meditation

Luke 11:37–54

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Recite

the Lord’s Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and

yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passage above and

the Bible passages listed under the title, “Scripture

Reading.”

1.    Pharisees, a religious party, not priests, and lawyers, also known as scribes, the professionals, these held enormous influence throughout Israel, and ruled over the synagogues.

2.    For a second time, a pharisee invites Jesus into his house for a meal. Jesus does not conform to the pharisee’s extra-biblical demands and so invites an attack on Himself.

3.    Jesus proceeds to mention three woes, or warnings, to the pharisee. The pharisees may be careful with their extreme rule keeping, but essentially, they miss the whole point of what is said in the Hebrew scripture.

4.    Following the three woes spoken to the pharisee, Jesus next turns to a one of the lawyers, or scribes, who must have also been at the meal. And Jesus issues three woes to this person as well.

5.    The pharisee and the lawyer lay upon the common person burdens that are difficult if not impossible to perform, while at the same time, do not observe such themselves.

6.    Jesus, out of His agape love for these religious persons, confronts them with their hypocrisy. Yet, their response is an ongoing effort to challenge and harass Jesus, “lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.” (Verse 54)

Luke 11:27–36

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Recite the Lord’s Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passage above and the Bible passages listed under the title, “Scripture Reading.”

1.    Here are three separate statements by Jesus, and it is likely that He said these, and others, any number of times.

2.    The brief account titled here in the ESV “True blessedness,” comes following a nameless woman praises Jesus by alluding to the mother who bore Him, and this from a very feminine perspective.

3.    This is followed by an account when Jesus was ‘enjoying’ considerable and favorable attention. He relies upon His audience’s understanding of the Book of Jonah, especially about Jonah being inside a great fish for three days. Jonah is one of the Twelve Minor Prophets, and Jonah 4:1–10 is especially relevant.

4.    Jonah was sent to the Gentile city, Nineveh, which was reigned over by a woman titled “Queen of the South,” and who had travelled to Jerusalem to hear King Solomon. And the people of Nineveh repented upon hearing the words of Jonah.

5.    Jesus said the people of that city Nineveh, at the end time judgment, will fare far better than the current Jewish generation because “something greater than Jonah is here.”

6.    Now a parable about a lamp that is lit, it is not covered over but put where the light will shine.

7.    Jesus warns His followers that the light in them must shine out into the darkness.

Luke 11:14–26

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Recite the Lord’s Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passage above and the Bible passages listed under the title, “Scripture Reading.”

1.           From ancient days there were exorcists who errantly thought they were casting demons out of people. Then along came Jesus who in actuality did cast out demons, and in our passage is the story of such a situation. His ministry was obvious, but Jesus’ opponents said it was by the power of the chief demon, Beelzebul, that He did this work.

2.           This charge must be made or those who were rejecting Jesus would have to admit Jesus’ authenticity and superiority.  

3.           Jesus, in defense, points out that if the Satan casts out demons, then Satan is divided against itself. Then Jesus indicates that the Jewish exorcists cast out demons by the power, or trickery, of the chief demon Beelzebul.

4.           Jesus then states that those who charge Him of being in league with Satan are against Him. He also charges that what their “sons” do is by the working of Beelzebul.

5.           With that, Jesus states that if it is by the finger or power of God that He casts out demons, and the “if” word means that He does cast out demons by the power of God, then the “kingdom of God” has come upon then, right there and then.

6.           Then a warning to the false exorcists, that their work merely results in a worse demonization of those who come to them.