Luke 13:1 The Judgments of God. I. Our Lord does not say, Those Galileans were not sinners at all. Their sins had nothing to do with their death. Those on whom the tower fell were innocent men. He rather implies the very opposite. We know nothing of the circumstances of either calamity; but this w... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 13:2 I. The folly and uncharitableness of mankind are in nothing more clearly seen than in their disposition to blame everyone who is unfortunate, and to think themselves surely in the right as long as they are prosperous. "While he lived," said the Psalmist of the worldly-minded, "he counted h... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 13:6 The Barren Fig Tree. I. God has placed us in the most favourable circumstances for the bringing forth of fruit. The privileges of the Jews were small in comparison with those which we enjoy. The light which they enjoyed was that of the early dawn; ours is that of the noonday sun. They ha... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 13:7 Fit to Live. Men ask, "Are you fit to die?" and men hold up death before the sinner's eyes, and men dwell in solemn warning on the world to come, and on far-off images of death. But God asks, "Are you fit to live?" What, then, is life, if we have to answer the question, "Are we fit to li... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 13:9 The first thing which strikes us, perhaps, in this transaction is its individuality. There must have been many vines and many fig trees in the vineyard; but the story is told as if the whole vineyard were for that one tree alone, and as if the great Proprietor concerned Himself only with... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 13:10 The Impotent Woman. I. This impotent woman may fairly be taken as a type of character to which we, or many of us, answer; and answer much more closely than, for example, to that of the prodigal son. For if we have inherited a soul naturally Christian, or have had a pious nurture and trai... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 13:24 Eternal Life not to be Won without Toil. I. Our Lord says, "Strive;" and He vouchsafes to add one reason why we should strive. A gate is appointed for us to enter into the gate which leads to our true home, the only place where we can be happy, and this gate is strait, _i.e.,_very narrow... [ Continue Reading ]