097. Chapter 38 - Warnings Concerning the Judgment Day
Chapter 38 - Warnings Concerning the Judgment Day Luke 12:35-59;Luke 13:1-21 The Second Coming
Luke presents at this time in Jesus’ ministry teaching concerning the second coming. A discourse on repentance points also to the final judgment. A controversy over healing on the sabbath follows with only a general connection to the idea of the final judgment. The scenes and discussions which follow through chapter 14 carry forward this same solemn consideration of the judgment, but the fitting together of John’s account with the Synoptics generally brings forth the conclusion that John’s account of Jesus at the Feast of Dedication is to be placed immediately after Luke 13:21. Such conclusions, however, are tentative, and there is a strong unity in Luke chapters 12 through 14.
Watchfulness
Watchfulness for the second coming is the theme which Jesus pursues as He introduces parables of waiting servants and wise stewards. It is a natural development of thought from preceding sermons on trust in God and disregard for earthly luxuries. “Let your loins be girded about” (Luke 12:35). The long flowing garments characteristic of the East impeded swift movement. In running a race or going into battle, the belt was tightened with the long robe tucked up to kilt length. The disciples were to arrange their lives for swift, determined action. “And your lamps burning” because they did not know at what time the Lord would come again. “And be ye yourselves like unto men looking for their lord, when he shall return.” The master of the household is about to return from the marriage feast of a friend, and these his servants were to be watching constantly for his return and keeping themselves ready to do his instant bidding. The wedding was not his own else we should expect it to have been here or at least his servants to have been invited.
One wonders how much the multitudes or even the apostles understood about these references to His coming again. It was being dinned into the minds of the apostles that He was about to die at the hands of His enemies. Further than this terrifying realization it was very hard for them to go. They were being taught what was expected of them as the gradual revelation of the gospel of redemption was unfolded to them. It must have been quite ordinary for puzzled hearers to have questioned one another as to what the deep hidden meanings had been in the sermon. Be Ye Ready
“Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching” (Luke 12:37). And what could these servants have hoped to accomplish by watching for His coining? He would come in His own good time whether they were watching or not. They would be able to give a good account of how they had used their time and opportunities according to their obedience to His commands. Their instant readiness would demonstrate the fidelity they had shown throughout His absence. “He shall gird himself...and serve them” (Luke 12:37). The same energy and enthusiasm urged upon the servants in doing His will was shown by the Master in honoring the faithful servants. They had been watching to be ready to serve Him. Their reward was that He served them. Next Jesus gave the little parable of the master whose house was sacked by robbers because He did not know when the robbery would take place and did not take care to be ready for such violence at all times. The parable led to a sharp warning, “Be ye also ready: for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Luke 12:40). This is a clear prediction of His coming again after a considerable absence. How much they understood would depend on how much teaching they had received and how keenly they discerned the trend of events. Jesus followed these revelations with severe commands to discern the signs of the times (Luke 12:54-59).
Peter’s Perplexity
“And Peter said, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even unto all?” (Luke 12:41). This shows how puzzled Peter was and how difficult the sermon must have been for less-informed hearers. The promise of future glory given at Caesarea Philippi had indicated special honor to Peter. The apostles had since quarreled as to who should he greatest. Now Peter asked how many were included in the promise of reward at the return of Christ. Jesus gave him to understand that all the faithful, great and small, would be honored. Every man would be held responsible for his opportunities. Peter may have had in mind a subdued protest as to how Jesus could expect the multitude to understand this obscure teaching about His second coming. Even the apostles were still under prohibition to tell of the revelations at Caesarea Philippi and on the Mount of Transfiguration.
Delay of Second Coming
Observe the subtle intimations that the second coming was not to be so soon as some would expect. The reference to “the second watch”and “the third watch” (Luke 12:38) and “my lord delayeth his coming” (Luke 12:45) point to a long delay. Instead of declarations that the second coming was to be immediate, exactly the opposite is implied. They were commanded to be watching no matter how long the delay. Jesus was teaching His close disciples. Those who were farther off could learn according to their desire and effort. Jesus gradually passed from His preceding revelations about His death and resurrection to the second coming. Humiliation would be succeeded by exaltation, and exaltation by His return to reward.
Basis of Judgment
“And that servant, who knew his lord’s will, and made not ready...shall be beaten with many stripes” (Luke 12:47). This passage clearly teaches degrees of punishment in hell. The few stripes are also eternal punishment, but the doom of the greater sinner will be more terrible. “Shall cut him asunder” means to kill (Luke 12:46), but hell is itself a living death so that the figurative declarations of the parable must represent degrees of punishment in hell. This is also plainly the teaching of Matthew 11:21-24. The basis of judgment is the conduct of life in light of opportunities to know God’s will. In the beginning God made Himself and His will known to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The amount of knowledge of His will their descendants have had has been relative with the successive revelations God has given. “To whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required” (Luke 12:48). This somber paragraph has its joyous note, for it speaks of “the wise and faithful steward” and his reward: “Blessed is that servant.” The Conflict
“I came to cast fire upon the earth; and what do I desire, if it is already kindled?” (Luke 12:49). Jesus seems to revert to the opening thought of the sermon — the bitter opposition of the Pharisees In fact He may have had them particularly in mind since He had warned that those with the greatest opportunities would be held responsible for these divine privileges. Jesus declared that such opposition was to be expected. The fire of division and strife against the devil is cast upon the earth by Christ’s coming; the good and the evil join battle to the death. It may mean the fire of holiness, which incites the devil and his followers to more deadly opposition. His Death The predictions of His second coming and the judgment day are joined to further references to His death. Since the Greek uncials carry no punctuation marks, there are various opinions as to the rendering of “What do I desire...?” (1) If the punctuation of the a.v. and the a.s.v. are followed, then the meaning seems to be, “What more could I desire, if it be already accomplished?” The conflagration was already kindled in the deadly hatred of God’s enemies and their plots to destroy His Son. He had come for the very purpose of revealing the dreadful character of sin and to cause man to hate it and to redeem man from it. The resulting intensification of the conflict was an unavoidable feature of His coming. Even though it meant the cross for Him, what more could He desire than that He had already joined battle with the devil and his helpers?
(2) DeWette, Weiss, etc. hold that an exclamation point should follow: How I wish it were already kindled!” This rendering does violence to the Greek in translating what as how, and ignores the conditional construction: If it is (3) Origen, Meyer, etc. insert a question mark thus: “What will I? Would that it were already kindled!” This translation is also a harsh treatment of the Greek, and the fire has already been kindled in the fierce opposition He is meeting.
Suffering Awaited
“But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it he accomplished!” (Luke 12:50). This is obviously an advance in thought from the present persecution to His approaching death. It will he noted that interpretations (2) and (3) above would make this statement parallel to the preceding one instead of an advance upon it.
Having used the metaphor of fire, Christ now uses the metaphor of water. The one sets forth the result of His coming as it affects the world, the other as it affects Himself. The world is lit up with flames, and Christ is bathed in blood: Mark 10:38. His passion is a flood in which He must he plunged (Plummer, Commentary on Luke, p. 334). The meaning of baptidzo as immerse is very clear in this passage, even when used in this figurative sense. He is to he overwhelmed in the suffering which culminates in His death. The word straitened means limited. Here it signifies “oppressed, afflicted until it be accomplished.” The sojourn in the flesh was full of suffering and caused Him to look up to the peace and blessedness of heaven, which He had surrendered in order to come to earth to redeem man. A touch of homesickness for heaven seems to sweep over Christ occasionally. At the foot of the Mount of Transfiguration, immediately after He had been talking with Moses and Elijah of His approaching death, He had cried out, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I bear with you” (Matthew 17:17). Jesus yearns for the time of waiting to be over and for the actual accomplishment of His mission to die for a lost world. The burden of waiting until the divine time for Him to die was heavy upon Him.
Jesus First
“Think ye that I am come to give peace in the earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division” (Luke 12:51). Instead of the worldly glory and luxury which the Jews had pictured for the Messiah, Jesus was enduring suffering and death. He predicted that those who followed Him must expect the same. The devil, who was leading the fierce opposition against Him, would also bring this same suffering upon them. The devil saves his hardest opposition for those who go forth to battle against him. Since Jesus had descended to earth to inaugurate God’s final campaign to redeem man from Satan, His coming would inevitably draw the lines of division clear and strong. “They shall be divided, father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter...” (Luke 12:53). In the same home some would stand for God; others would line up with the devil. It is most important that this verse be kept in mind as Jesus expands this thought in Luke 14:26 with the declaration: “If any man come to me, and hateth not his father Christ must rank first no matter how difficult human relations may become. The Sign of Jonah
“When ye see a cloud rising in the west, straightway ye say...” (Luke 12:54). The Mediterranean lies to the west; the Arabian desert lies to the east and south. The south wind brings dry, parching heat; the rains come from the west. This paragraph represent the final appeal of the discourse. Jesus cries out for the multitude to discern the signs of the times and turn to God before it is too late. The judgment day is again in view: “Ye hypocrites, ye know how to interpret the face of the earth and the heaven; but how is it that ye know not how to interpret this time?” (Luke 12:56). Jesus does not say that their weather predictions were infallible, but in general they were able to tell the direction of the wind and the possible weather. They should have been able to comprehend the teaching of Jesus and the inevitable conclusions from His miracles. “And why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?” (Luke 12:57). Even without the patient reiteration and heaping up of the miraculous evidence which Jesus offered, they should have been able to discern from the very beginning of His ministry that He was the Christ and the kingdom of God was at hand, even as John the Baptist had predicted. Their own hearts should have convinced them.
Purgatory? The brief parable of making peace with an adversary before being cast into prison as a punishment for the wrongdoing is also found in the Sermon on the Mount. Here in Luke it fits into a general discussion of the day of judgment. The parable implies that the man had wronged his adversary and should have made amends rather than allow the situation to grow more critical until it finally resulted in his imprisonment. “Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the very last mite” (Luke 12:59). This declaration implies that the offender has been guilty of defrauding his adversary. Since a man in prison cannot earn money to pay off debts, this statement is a very emphatic manner of saying that there is to be no escape from the prison of hell. There is no implication of purgatory in Luke 12:59. “Coming out thence” is mere scenery in the parable. If may come out thence means “may come out from hell,” then all may come Out. Universalism results. This contradicts the manifold passages of Scripture that clearly predict eternal punishment for the wicked. If anyone attempts to use this verse to prove purgatory, then it proves too much. But the points of the parable are not to be identified as in an allegory. The fundamental principle is the certainty of final punishment if a person does not repent in this life.
Repentance A discourse on repentance follows in Luke’s account. Again we see the concentration on the final day of judgment. “Now there were some present at that very season who told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices” (Luke 13:1). The reference is probably to some incipient political revolution such as was common in this turbulent period. Examples are the insurrection under Judas in Galilee about a.d. 6, and that of the Samaritans in a.d. 36. The rebellion to which these hearers would refer was doubtless a less important outbreak. That the men slain were Galileans was typical of the seething political plots of the Zealots, who were concentrated in Galilee. No extant historical works mention this event. It was doubtless such an incident as was frequent and expected during the later Roman occupation. Some speculate that this outrage was the cause of the estrangement between Pilate and Herod (Luke 23:12). Keim supposes that Barabbas was imprisoned at the time of this bloody outbreak. It might have occurred at the preceding Feast of Tabernacles. But these are mere guesses. There is no necessity that it was a recent event because these who questioned Jesus brought up a historical event. Pilate brought troops up to Jerusalem at the great feasts to keep order, and from the Tower of Antonia, over-looking the temple area, he kept guard. When Captain Lysias and the Roman soldiers rescued Paul from being murdered in the temple area, we see the Roman preservation of law and order at its best. These Galileans who were killed as they were offering sacrifice in the temple probably represented a particularly cruel, bloody suppression. The Tower of Siloam
Siloam was a village located across the brook Kedron southeast from Jerusalem on the lower slope of the Mount of Olives. The Pool of Siloam to which the man born blind had been sent by Jesus was on Ophel west of the village. “The tower in Siloam” means “the well-known tower” surrounded by the buildings of the town. The people who brought up this matter do not seem to have desired Jesus to condemn the cruelty of Pilate or to urge another such revolt against Rome; they rather condemn as particularly wicked the men who were slain and want Jesus to confirm their view that their tragic fate proved that they were great sinners. Perhaps there was something of the element seen in the Middle Ages when the early crusaders were believed to have failed because of the sinfulness of the crusaders; hence the Children’s Crusade was organized. They certainly had the sort of view which the apostles brought up concerning the man born blind, i.e., suffering is the immediate result of the personal sin of the sufferer.
Sin and Calamity In His response instead of joining in their condemnation of the men slain by Pilate as especially great sinners, Jesus added the further illustration of eighteen men on whom the tower (which they were building?) in Siloam fell. In both cases Jesus specifically denied that the tragedies showed that the men killed were sinners “above all the men that dwell in Jerusalem.” Ewald supposes that the eighteen men killed in Siloam may have been working on Pilate’s aqueduct, which over bitter Jewish protests was being financed by money Pilate had taken from the temple treasury. He holds that the word offenders (debtors) in Luke 13:4 refers to the public feeling that these workmen should have paid their wages back into the temple treasury. But it is hard to see how a tower fits into an aqueduct system. Moreover, Ewald is merely offering a conjecture. As in His discussion of the man born blind, Jesus refused to confirm the popular view that such calamities proved the exceeding sinfulness of the victims. Many other elements and circumstances may have entered in. Instead of offering a philosophical discussion of sin and suffering, Jesus turned the discussion into a most practical, urgent warning for those present to repent. Instead of speculating as to whether these calamities were the specific results of divine wrath, they should remember that all men must repent or perish.
Repent or Perish
“Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:5).This implies, “If ye repent, ye shall be saved.” Not one word is spoken in this discussion about faith. Would it be reasonable to conclude therefore that faith has nothing to do with salvation? At Pentecost and following, after the church was established, the divine requirements were delivered by the inspired messengers of God: faith, repentance, confession, baptism. “Faith cometh by hearing” and requires that the person believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God with all that the Scripture reveals and implies. But faith sometimes is used in the wide, all-inclusive sense of personal trust, as well as intellectual belief — the entire committal of life. When used in this sense, faith is all that is necessary for a person to have because it includes everything that is possible for him to do. The same uses of repentance are seen. When placed alongside faith, confession, and baptism, repentance is a change of mind arising from sorrow for sin and leading to a reformation of life. Repentance is the change of mind; it is not the sorrow or the reformation, but it cannot be separated from them. But repentance, like faith, can be used in the all-inclusive sense of the complete turning of the person to God. In such case, all that is required for man’s salvation is repentance, for it includes everything he can do. The Barren Fig Tree
Jesus closes the discussion with a touching appeal for man to respond to the patient, seeking love of God and to repent. The basis of His appeal is the parable of the fruitless fig tree which was spared for one more year while every possible means was used to bring it out of its barren state. “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard” (Luke 13:6). This seems like a curious mixture of agriculture, but tillable space in Palestine was limited, and every small spot that could be occupied in such fashion was used. “The vinedresser,” who seems to have had a greater love for the tree and more mercy than the owner, is not to be identified in any analysis of the parable. He is simply part of the setting.
“These three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree” (Luke 13:7). Three years was the usual length of time required for a fig tree to begin to bear. It is not clear whether he counted the three years from the time that the tree was supposed to begin to bear or whether his eagerness to see the tree bear fruit had led him to examine it carefully each of the first two years to see whether he could see any signs of fruit. The tree seems to represent the Jewish nation as well as any individual. The fig tree which Jesus cursed during the final week became a type of the Jewish nation, barren and deserving to be destroyed. Some try to suggest that the three years of Jesus’ ministry is meant, but Plummer points out that the tree had been fruitless long before Jesus began to preach and that Jerusalem was not destroyed until forty years later.
“Why doth it also cumber the ground?” (Luke 13:7). In addition to its failure to bring forth fruit, the barren tree was occupying valuable space, which might have been used for some fruitful tree. Cut it down is the command of the owner. The Galileans murdered in the temple and the eighteen on whom the tower fell were not necessarily the most sinful men of their time. The hearers are not encouraged, however, to think that Jesus lessens the weight of God’s wrath against the wicked or the certainty of the final judgment. The need for repentance was present in every heart and life. Jesus was addressing the people who had made the remark concerning the Galileans murdered in the temple, but all those in the multitude were exhorted to repent: “Ye shall all likewise perish.” Many exceedingly wicked and godless persons may have been present in the multitude who would have felt the most direct challenge in these words of Jesus. But many devout disciples also heard this sermon. Repentance, like faith, is a continuously growing experience. There is the initial faith which we declare as we confess Christ as Lord and Savior and give our lives to His command and direction. But it is also proper to pray as the apostles did, “Lord, increase our faith.” In the same manner the faithful followers in this assembly could well have prayed, “Lord, increase our repentance.” As our intellectual comprehension of the gospel increases, our lives should immediately be brought into harmony with the increase of faith as we climb up to higher ground. The Outcome
“Lord, let it alone this year also.” Patience and still further forbearance is urged by the vinedresser, who evidently has had a keen interest in this fig tree in the vineyard. Mercy is urged, but not unlimited mercy. Notice again how the final judgment permeates these discussions. The use of cultivation and fertilization in the first century is set forth in such fashion as might be found in a modern manual in horticulture. “If it bear fruit thenceforth, well; but if not, thou shalt cut it down” (Luke 13:9). The brevity of the teaching of Jesus again shows unique power. What did happen? We naturally are ready to cry out, “Tell us the outcome. Did the owner give heed to the appeal of the vinedresser? Did the barren fig tree become fruitful?” The invitation is extended to all present. They are left to write their own conclusion to the parable.
Boldness in the Synagogue
“And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath day” (Luke 13:10). Jesus is pictured for the last time as teaching or preaching in a synagogue. The hostility of the Pharisees is becoming so bitter that speaking in their synagogues is no longer profitable; the open-air assemblies offer more freedom. The final week was spent in the environs of the temple, where the utmost of hostility obtained; but the end of His ministry was at hand and the widest possible outreach to the nation required the temple sessions. The campaign of Jesus still seems to have been in Judaea or Peraea. There is great boldness in Jesus’ entering a synagogue to continue His teaching and healing after the hierarchy in Jerusalem had issued their edict to all synagogue rulers in Palestine that if any man should confess Jesus to be the Christ he should be put out of the synagogue. Instead of facing the problem of making effective the excommunication of such a person, here is Jesus Himself in the synagogue. How can they proceed in putting Him out? It is evident in the account that the ruler of the synagogue is frustrated and hostile. “And he was teaching in one of their synagogues on the sabbath day” (Luke 13:10). This day on which the most worshipers could be expected in the synagogue was the natural time for such periods of instruction in the earlier part of His ministry. The fact that it was the sabbath became a key fact in the controversy that followed. The Afflicted Woman
“A woman that had a spirit infirmity, and she was bowed together, and could in no wise lift herself up” (Luke 13:11). The woman was possessed by a demon that caused this infirmity. Just as in the preceding account Luke had spoken of a dumb demon that caused dumbness, so now he speaks of a “spirit of infirmity”; the affliction the demon caused furnished a ready description of the demon. Weiss says Luke implies that the woman’s infirmity had been caused by her sinful life and hence by Satan, that exorcism is never called healing, and that Jesus never laid His hands on those from whom He was casting out demons. But both the common Greek words to heal are used in casting out demons (Luke 8:2; Luke 17:15; Luke 9:42). Jesus sometimes healed with a word without touching the person and sometimes with a touch. We do not have sufficient information to affirm that Jesus never used a touch in healing demoniacs. Jesus does not suggest that the woman’s infirmity had resulted directly from her sin. In the miraculous healings Jesus performed, the person or some relative or friend usually made a request. The healing of this woman has been called one of the “unasked miracles” of the New Testament. The Syro-Phoenician woman had urgently and persistently appealed for her demon-possessed daughter, as had the father at the foot of the Mount of Transfiguration, but there was no request from the Gadarene demoniac. The demons had possession and the man could not speak for himself. The demons protested in fear. We cannot be sure that this woman, bowed over in her humiliating condition, was not asking in her heart, but lacked the courage to come up before the crowd and seek His help while confronted with the hostility of the ruler. She must have heard of Jesus’ great fame and His power to heal. She demonstrated great faith in obeying Jesus’ command to come up to the front of the synagogue before them all (Luke 13:12). To have required her to come forward in her pitiful condition severely tested her faith. It was the sabbath; the ruler was hostile; the crowd must have been dense. Jesus’ compassion was great; and, as He healed the woman, the touch of His hand seems to have been a demonstration of His gentle sympathy. The gratitude and courage of the woman were manifest as “she glorified God” before them all. The Hostile Ruler
“And the ruler of the synagogue...said to the multitude, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the day of the sabbath” (Luke 13:14). The ruler did not dare attack Jesus directly, but he undertook to strike at Him over the heads of his congregation. If the people had done wrong in coming to be healed on the sabbath, then Jesus had done wrong in healing them. “The ruler...answered and said to the multitude.” No one addressed him; he answered the direct challenge to the Pharisees’ tradition about sabbath labor and about the hierarchy’s edict of excommunication of all who believed on Him. The ruler cleverly cited the Old Testament commandment covering up the fact that his objection rested not on the commandment, but on the Pharisees’ tradition as to what constituted work. Jesus quickly uncovered this stratagem. The rebuke of the ruler implies that the woman had come in the hope that she might be healed. Her bold glorification of God for the miracle would have led him to this conclusion. The Adversaries
“Ye hypocrites, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?” (Luke 13:15). Jesus probably made it evident that He was not calling everyone present a hypocrite. He was answering the ruler and doubtless turned and addressed the ruler and the entire group of Pharisees and their followers who were present, seated as usual in “the chief seats.” The ruler had not possessed the courage to address Jesus directly, but in His response Jesus confronted the ruler in the most direct manner. There must have been a strong aggregation of hostile hearers; Luke calls them “all his adversaries” in Luke 13:17. They were hypocrites; they did not live up to their own traditional interpretation of the law in their daily lives. They pretended great devotion to God’s law in this protest, while their real motive was hatred of Jesus. Zeal for their own traditions and their own honor was now in the background. Jesus’ act of mercy toward the woman in her infirmity was placed alongside their course in caring for their animals on the farm. If one was work, the other was; if one broke the law, the other did. As a matter of fact, neither did. The sabbath-day law did not prohibit mercy, but the entire Old Testament gave the distinct obligation to have compassion. Jesus said, “She ought to have been loosed.” “There is no prescription against doing good; and a religion which would honor God by forbidding virtue is self-condemned.”
Keeping the Lord’s Day The question is frequently asked whether any specific instruction is found in the New Testament to refrain from work on the Lord’s Day. Such a question overlooks the fact that the gospel is based on fundamental principles which are applied by the individual rather than upon detailed regulations. Even the Old Testament law left every man to determine for himself what was “work” and what was appropriate on the sabbath. We conclude that if the day dedicated to the worship of God in the Old Testament should be kept free from pursuit of money and pleasure, then the day made holy in the New Testament by the resurrection of Jesus should be dedicated to the worship of God and to the carrying forth of the gospel to the world in the same wholehearted devotion. The situation is parallel in regard to tithing. The Old Testament is very specific as to giving a tithe to God and in addition free-will offerings. The New Testament sets forth the general principle that we should give as the Lord has prospered us. The specific application of the principle is left to each Christian, but we naturally conclude that a Christian certainly should not give less out of his gratitude for redemption in Christ than the Jewish worshiper was required to do. The tithe becomes a working minimum for a Christian in his application of the principle to give to God as God has given to him. The same general rule applies to our conduct of life on the Lord’s Day. The example of Jesus is continually before us leading us to make the Lord’s Day a day of work for God instead of a day of rest for ourselves. And every Christian is left to decide for himself how he can best spend the seven days of each week for God. The Lord’s day offers special opportunities by reason of our release from secular tasks on this day. The call to worship on the Lord’s Day is also a call to serve.
Sin and Afflictions
“This woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound, lo, these eighteen years...” (Luke 13:16). Jesus does not affirm that all afflictions are from Satan. Such an affirmation would have been closely akin to saying all suffering is the direct result of the personal sin of the sufferer. This particular case had been caused by a demon. The Scripture records the history of the race from the beginning and shows that all suffering, sickness, and death came upon the race as the inheritance of man’s disobedience of God, but it does not affirm that each individual affliction is the immediate result of the sin of the individual. The Book of Job is a profound protest against such a view.
Reaction of the People
“All the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him” (Luke 13:17). The people had been misled by the Pharisees They were wandering aimlessly like sheep without a shepherd; but, when they heard and saw Jesus, they realized “all the glorious things that were done by him,” and they “rejoiced.” The response of the multitude shows the inability of the system of religion which the Pharisees had developed to satisfy the hearts of the people; it shows the extent of the popular revolt against the hierarchy. This revolt hastened the desperate determination of the leaders to destroy Jesus; they saw their leadership slipping from their hands. But the rejoicing of the people was not merely negative in turning from a religion which was barren; it was a positive response to the glory of the Son of God.
Two brief parables are repeated now which had been given in the great sermon in parables some two years before in Galilee. The one is the parable of the grain of mustard, growing up to such great proportions from such a tiny beginning. The other is the parable about leaven, ceaselessly working in the dough until it all was leavened. The two parables are particularly fitting for the instruction of this audience concerning the great things which can be expected from the establishment of the kingdom.