On Line Bible Study - For the Week January 24-30, 2011

Lesson 477

Luke 13: ¹ Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. ² Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? ³ I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

⁶ Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. ⁷ So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

⁸ “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. ⁹ If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

Remember that just before this passage Jesus has posed a question: Luke 12:56 How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?

This section is found only in Luke's Gospel. Perhaps the question regarding the Galileans is put to Christ as a way of inquiring as to whether "this is the time". In reading Darrell Bock's commentary on Luke, I learned that "mixing blood" is an idiom that refers to two things happening simultaneously. An example he gives from the Midrash speaks of the mixture of circumcision blood and Paschal blood - an indication that whoever eats the Passover should be circumcised. So, while on the way to offer sacrifices, these Galileans were executed - that is probably how the text is to be understood.

The situation presented to Jesus may be more a question about divine punishment for sin than anything else. Neither violence from human hands (as is the case with the Galileans) or natural disasters (such as the tower at Siloam collapsing) are to be interpreted as punishment. Rather, says Jesus, the question is this: Have you repented?

We don't know exactly what either the slaying of the Galileans or those killed by the tower's collapse refers to. If they are specific historical events we don't know what they are. But the more pressing issue has to do with our understanding of how precarious our situation is! In the parable about the fig tree Jesus drives the point home that the time is short.

If we take the gospel seriously, one thing that should not catch us off guard is the brevity of life. Doesn't "repentance" have everything to do with the choices we make today? Doesn't it have everything to do with the priorities we set for ourselves? Repentance is the invitation to keep the main thing the main thing. The call to repentance means God gives us permission to reflect and rejoice in life. It's not only 'permission' - it's an invitation. The repentant life, rightly understood, is the most joyful and fruitful life of all.