Jesus's Sorrow Over Jerusalem

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Jesus is here predicting both Israel's rejection of him in Jerusalem and the subsequent destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. He implies that if the Jews had received him as Messiah, then the Temple would not have been destroyed. As it was, Jesus was crucified around AD 30, and the Romans destroyed the Temple in AD 70. I've seen the ruins of the Temple with my own eyes.

Today’s Scripture:

Luke 13:31-35

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Will the Jews Be Saved?

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In the little parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven, Jesus wants us to understand that we are not accurate assessors of God's work in the world. The Kingdom of God might start small (there's not much smaller than a Crucified Messiah!), but its growth is inevitable.

Then, Jesus again reminds his hearers that the time to respond to the Kingdom message is NOW when they are still able, and not in the future, when it will be too late:

24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’"

Luke 13:24-25

He's warning his fellow Jews that just because they are part of Abraham's family does not mean they get a free pass: they still need to respond to Jesus.

The same message applies to us: the way we show we are his disciples is by doing what he said. Just because we claim to be his followers doesn't count--we have to live like it.

And guess what? There will be some people who look like insiders who turn out to be knocking on the door as outsiders, and there will be some people who would seem to be outsiders who turn out to be insiders:

"Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last."

Luke 13:30

Today’s Scripture:

Luke 13:18-30

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God Won't Delay Forever

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People want to get Jesus's thoughts on some atrocity that Pontius Pilate ordered:

"Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices."

Luke 13:1

As usual, Jesus flips around the question by first offering another tragic example from current events, and then putting the question back to the questioners:

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.”

Luke 13:2-5

The little parable he then tells about the fig tree makes the point that it's not too late to repent, but that God's judgment won't be put off forever.

A good message for all of us today.

Today’s Scripture:

Luke 13:1-17

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