Luke 13:11-35

Luke 13:11. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.

Observe the word «Behold» here. Sometimes, in old books, they used to put a hand in the margin to call attention to something special in the text, so, this word seems as though nobody in the synagogue was worthy of such special notice as the most forlorn and desolate individual there: «a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and who bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.» It was to be a happy sabbath for her, though she did not know it. She used to go to the synagogue, though it must have been painful for her to be present; possibly, she could not even see the minister, she was so «bowed together.» It must have been a great surprise to her when the Saviour called her to him, and said to her, «Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.»

Luke 13:13. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately he was made straight, and glorified God.

I should think she did. We have no record of what she said; she may have merely cried out, «Hallelujah»; but the very look of her, her streaming eyes filled with gratitude, her face beaming with delight, all tended to glorify God. Even if she had said nothing, her being made straight would of itself have glorified God; and, just as that once crooked woman could glorify God, so can a guilty sinner, crushed and helpless, glorify God. It was when Christ's hands were laid upon her that she was made straight. Oh, that he would lay his hands on some of you! May this be to you the saving Sabbath of the year, that God may be glorified in you.

Luke 13:14. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation,

Poor soul! Surely he was more crooked than the infirm woman was: but, alas! he did not get healed.

Luke 13:14. Because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.

The Lord then answered him; and what an answer it was!

Luke 13:15. The Lord thou answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering. And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day! And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed; and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.

His reply was unanswerable.

Luke 13:18. Then said he,

They were in a right frame for hearing, having been rendered attentive by their admiration for his miraculous work and his wondrous word.

Luke 13:18. Unto what is the kingdom of God like, and whereunto shall I resemble it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it, and again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.

Practically, that is what he was always doing, «journeying toward Jerusalem,» toward that great climax of his life, his substitutionary death upon the cross of Calvary.

Luke 13:23. Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved?

That is a question that many have asked, and some have vainly tried to answer. What did Jesus reply?

Luke 13:23. And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate:

Instead of gratifying idle curiosity, he excites to diligence in seeking entrance into the narrow way.

Luke 13:24. For many, say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

They will only seek, not strive, to enter in. There will also come, in the future, a time when they may seek as they will, and strive as they will, to enter in but it will be too late then. Once having passed into another world, there will be no hope for any seeker or striver.

Luke 13:25. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door,

They do not like to go away, they are reluctant to meet their final doom. Oh, that they had been wise enough to cry for mercy when it was to be had! Now they stand, and begin to knock; and more than that, they begin to plead.

Luke 13:25. Saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us;

All this earnestness, all this deference, all this reverence have come too late.

Luke 13:25. And he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

«We were regular hearers of the Word; we observed all the usual forms of religion, we even went to the communion table.»

Luke 13:27. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

Driven away, yet they could see the saintly ones there, and see their own kith and kin there, for they were Jews, and they could see. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets» there, but they themselves were cast out; and what was worse for them:

Luke 13:29. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.

Rank outsiders, far off heathen, outrageous sinners, harlots; «they shall come,» and repent, and «sit down in the kingdom of God,» and this shall cut to the quick those who were hearers of the Word, but who perished because they were workers of iniquity.

Luke 13:30. And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.

Many who, today, seem to be unlikely to be converted, those who are «last» in character, will yet be «first» in repentance; and there who are «first» in privileges, and even in hopefulness, who will be «last» in the great day of account. May we take home to our hearts this solemn warning!

Luke 13:31. The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.

Think of the Pharisees being concerned about Christ's life! What an affectation of regard! Yet it was only affectation. We must always be on our guard against the foes of God even when they speak most fairly; indeed, it is their agreeable, affectionate words that we have most cause to dread.

Luke 13:32. And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox,

Jesus called Herod a fox because he wanted to get Christ out of his territory without having the opprobrium of driving him away. So he sent this roundabout message to try to make a coward of the Lord, and to get him to go off on his own account.

Luke 13:32. Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

That is, «I shall stay my full time here, while I have work to do, I shall do it, and I am not going away until it is finished. I am not afraid of Herod threatening to kill me, for I am immortal till my work is done.» He is not even flurried, or put about by such a message as that. Besides when men mean to bite, they do not usually bark; and if Herod had meant to kill Christ just then, he would not have told him what he was going to do.

Luke 13:33. Nevertheless I must walk today, and tomorrow, and the day following for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

What a sad thing for Christ to have to say! So many holy men had been murdered in Jerusalem that he roughly put it as being true, in the main, that all the prophets were martyred there, the exceptions only proving the rule.

Luke 13:34. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killed the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!

There was their weakness, they were like a brood of chickens; there was his power to protect them, like a hen gathers her brood under her wings; yet there was their infatuation, that they would rather perish than come and be sheltered beneath his almighty wings: «and ye would not.»

Luke 13:35. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

There will be no true glory for Jerusalem until the Jews are converted; there will be no return of Christ to that royal city until they shall welcome him with louder hosannas than they gave when he rode in triumph through the streets, and entered into the temple. The Lord grant that we may never reject Christ! Let us run, even now, like little chicks, and hide beneath the wings of the Eternal.