36 lines
1.8 KiB
Markdown
36 lines
1.8 KiB
Markdown
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title = "Luke 13:1–9"
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date = "2022-12-22"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lk13.1-9)
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Pilate was the governor of Judea at the time of Jesus's ministry, and he had a
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reputation for cruelty as he attempted to keep the fractious Jews under Roman
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rule. This report that he mixed some Galileans' blood with that of their
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sacrifices indicates that they were killed while worshipping at the temple.
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Jesus tells the people that this doesn't mean that these Galileans were
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particularly bad sinners, because popular opinion would say that God would
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protect the righteous, especially while giving an offering to Him. Jesus
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doesn't give an opinion on whether these men were guilty of sedition against
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the Roman government or merely resisting an unjust arrest, but He does assert
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that they were sinners who deserved death just like everyone else. Therefore,
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He calls for His listeners to repent of their own sins or they will end up
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perishing just like the Galileans.
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He gives another example, where a tower at Siloam fell and killed eighteen
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people. Those eighteen people were sinners too, but any one of us could die
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just as swiftly. If we do not repent of our sins, then we shall die as well.
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The parable of the fig tree that Jesus tells loses all of its meaning when it's
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taken out of this context. For a whole chapter, Luke has been quoting Jesus's
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teaching on the necessity of being right with God before it is too late. When
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we are in our sins, we are like the fig tree that doesn't produce any fruit. We
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are useless to God and there will come a day when we are removed from our
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place. The Lord will be patient with us for a long time, years at a time. But
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eventually His patience runs out.
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* * *
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Help us to hate our sin, to flee from it, and rest safely under the shelter of
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Your mercy.
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