Chapter 13
Chapter 13 begins with Jesus telling his followers
that they must repent. After hearing
their reports of Pilot killing Galilean worshipers who were making sacrifices
and mixing their own blood with their sacrifices, Jesus warned that those
people had perished like we all would perish if we don’t repent. Jesus mentions the fall of the Tower of
Siloam on 18 workers. They were crushed
and perished. Jesus indicated again that
we all would perish that way if we don’t repent. However, Christ made the point that these people
who were killed were not worse sinners than anyone else. Those two incidents
are only mentioned in the Gospel of Luke, although history tells us that
thousands of people in groups were killed during the rule of Pilot. Pilot was brutal. These two incidents tell us
that horrible things happen to people for no reason at all … and not because
they have done anything to deserve being killed. God doesn’t cause tragic situations out of
spite.
Then we read the parable of the fig tree, which is described
again later in this Gospel. At this
point, the fig tree is used to depict the Kingdom of God. The tree is not in good shape, but the person
caring for it asks for more time to fertilize it and eventually give it one
more year to get healthy. The followers
of Jesus were given more time to ’get it together”!
Jesus has mercy on a woman who has been sick for 18
years with something that prevents her from standing straight. He heals her on the sabbath and that makes
the people talk. No work on the sabbath, not even healing. Jesus talks back to
them and reminds them that they take care of themselves on the sabbath. If they need to chase a cow and secure it,
they do it. That word hypocrite comes up
again!
When I was a little girl, a nice gift to receive was a
necklace with a little glass ball pendant and inside the ball was a mustard
seed. Jesus talks of the mustard
seed. They Kingdom of God is like that
seed. Plant it; it grows; the birds pick
up more seeds and spread them all over.
It is in this chapter that the word leaven is
used again but in a positive way. The mustard
seed and the leavening in bread expand just like the Jesus movement
is going to expand.
Jesus continues to teach in the towns, but He was
making his way to Jerusalem for His final days and He knows it. Pharisees approach him and tell him to get
out because Herod wants to kill him.
Having said that life is short and when we are of an
age of accountability, we need to get right and ready for our next life … My
take-away from this chapter pertains to the horrible events referenced at the
beginning. Tragedies happen every
day.
Sometimes I think we might be
living in the times of Pilate again. Our
24/7 news coverage … on television and through social media … keeps us informed
of all the devastating things that happen.
But when we look back through recent history, there have been Pilates ruling
over and over again. God doesn’t cause
these horrible things to happen, but I hope God continues to help us deal with
them.
Let’s Cook!
I like to prepare chicken for holiday meals. Check out this link for one of my favorites
ways to prepare it. You can also just
search “chicken” on my blog for lots of chicken recipes. Enjoy!
