HOW CHRIST'S REJECTION AFFECTS ISRAEL AND THE WORLD
(Suggested Reading: Chapter 12: 54-59 and Chapter 13)
Everything that Luke has been writing about since the end of the Lord's Galilean ministry 9:50 has centered around the Lord's imminent death at Jerusalem. Our last chapter, for example, gave us the path of faith during the absence of our Lord and the question of faithful or unfaithful service to Him while He is absent. But there is another question related to His absence and that is the effect it has on the world and, more particularly, Israel, the earthly people. They were awaiting the Kingdom of God in visible display in the world. But, because they had rejected their King, the Kingdom must take a spiritual form, for the King was going to heaven. Our subject opens here, then, with what is really a divine warning of the judgment soon to fall on Israel.
The Divine Warning of Coming Judgment on the Jewish Nation—12:54-59; 13:1-5
The weather is always a topic of conversation with men. Recognizing this, the Lord remarked how observant they were in interpreting "the face of the sky." But this only emphasized their hypocrisy, because nature's God was among them and they knew not "this time." Their judgment was perverted. They had made Him their adversary and He would deliver them to the magistrate for sentence. They could still be delivered if they came to terms with Him. If not, they would end up in prison and would not be let out until they paid their debts in full. This is where the Jew is now in prison. They must receive double for all their sins and then, through the mercy of God, they will be released.
Much gossip was going around about Pilate's cruelty to the Galileans, and the tale was passed on to the Lord. The Lord rebuked them for suggesting that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things. Eighteen men were killed when the tower of Siloam at Jerusalem collapsed. Judgment would fall on all who did not repent, whether men of despised Galilee or proud Jerusalem. The Lord's words are identical for both— "I tell you nay, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
The Spiritual State of God's Vineyard—Israel—13:6-17
Israel had a privileged place in the earth which is indicated in Scripture by the symbolism of a vineyard. She was the vine transplanted from Egypt Psa. 80:88Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. (Psalm 80:8) that is, redeemed by the Passover Lamb's blood and brought into the land of promise. There she was to grow grapes from which wine would come— in Scripture a figure of earthly joy. That is why the parable of the vineyard is followed by the story of the Lord delivering the woman in the synagogue. The Lord was entitled, in coming into His vineyard, to drink wine— that is, to receive earthly joy from His people in the synagogue. Instead, there was no fruit. But we are going ahead of our subject.
In the vineyard a fig tree had been planted. In Scripture, the fig tree is a symbol of Israel as a nation responsible to bear fruit. The vine is Israel from a religious viewpoint— the land of the Temple— the custodians of the Holy Scripture. The fig tree's fruit is to be eaten— the fruit of the vine is to be drunk. So, when the Lord came to this earth, He sought fruit from the nation, but there was none "these three years,"— that is, substantially the period of Christ's ministry on earth. So He raises the question of why such a useless tree should be left standing in the earth. In the parable, the gardener asks for more time to fertilize it, promising that if that failed, he would cut it down. This further period of grace for the fig tree was the testimony of Peter and the other Apostles in the Acts, up to the time the guilty nation stoned Stephen. Some teachers hold that after that, the fig tree was cut down; more likely its fate was that it withered. It will revive again under a new principle— grace, not law— under a new covenant. Then Israel shall blossom and fruit. But now we will consider the Sabbath and the synagogue, which represent the Old Covenant and which brought no joy to the heart of God.
In the world eighteen had perished when the tower in Siloam fell on them; in the synagogue a woman was bowed eighteen years by an infirmity. God must act in grace to man or all will perish. He heals the woman to the indignation of the ruler of the synagogue, who claims He has violated the Sabbath. The ruler of the synagogue professed to be acting for God, but was really His enemy. Why? Because he tried to lay down God's law to God and tell Him He could not work on His own Sabbath. No wonder the Lord calls him a hypocrite! He reminds him that the whole congregation led their animals to a watering spot on the Sabbath. It would be cruel to do otherwise. Shouldn't this woman, whom Satan had bound for eighteen years, be freed on the Sabbath? This reply silenced and shamed the Lord's critics and delighted the people.
What Should Replace Israel in the World?—13:18-21
Israel had looked for the Kingdom of God on earth, but they plainly could not have it because they had rejected their King. However, God hadn't given up the thought of the Kingdom. Instead, for the time being, it was to take an unusual outward form. This is given to us in the story of the man and the woman.
The man planted a mustard seed in his garden. The garden is Israel under another figure. A garden is an enclosure, as Israel was among the nations of the world. There, the seed of Christianity was planted. It spread out from Israel with great branches in which the birds of the air roosted— these speak of those who are really adversaries of Christianity, but who take advantage of its blessings and rest in its shelter. It is a figure of the nations which publicly profess to honor God, Christian principles, etc. Since righteousness exacts a nation, the figure of a tree is apt.
The woman, on the other hand, speaks of what was hidden— of doctrinal evil which was to work unseen and eventually leaven the professing Church. Leaven is evil doctrine, as we saw in 12:1. So the woman hid it "till the whole was leavened"— historically, this working of evil in the Church must be just about complete. The "three measures of meal" tell us that the leaven only works in the nominally Christian part of the world, for most of the world has never professed Christianity. The moral sway of the Kingdom of God is over those who profess Christianity, but actual entrance to the Kingdom is only by the new birth John 3. A Christian not only confesses Christ as His Savior, but acknowledges Him as King, in contrast to the world which disallowed His claim at the cross.
"Royal robes shall soon invest Thee,
Royal splendors crown Thy brow;
Christ of God, our souls confess Thee
King and Sovereign even now!
Thee we reverence,
Thee obey—
Own Thee Lord and Christ always.”
The Kingdom of God Is a Reality Not to Be Trifled With—13:22-30
The Lord now resumes His journey to Jerusalem and the cross, teaching in cities and villages on the way. His teaching arouses the curiosity of one of His listeners, who asks Him, "Lord, are there few that be saved?" This question is answered elsewhere in Scripture. We are told that in all things He should have the pre-eminence. We tend to think of salvation in terms of those who believe, forgetting that God does not judge those who are not responsible— young children, idiots, etc. Scripture makes the distinction— "the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost." 19:10 those who have attained the age of responsibility, whatever God may judge this to be, and "the Son of Man is come to save that which was lost." Matt. 18:1111For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. (Matthew 18:11). Unnumbered millions of children from all races, languages, and religions, throughout the world, who have died in infancy in plagues, famine, wars, etc., will swell the grand total in the Father's house. The Scripture "Jesus called a little child unto Him" Matt. 18:22And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, (Matthew 18:2) is full of meaning. The writer remembers reading of the concern of the late President Kennedy at the time of his young son's death. He took up the question of the child's salvation with a Roman Catholic cardinal and was correctly assured on the point. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Gen. 18:2525That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? (Genesis 18:25).
Here, however, the questioner is only seeking to gratify mental curiosity, turning aside his responsibility to believe. The Lord says "strive" that is, do you strive "to enter in at the strait gate"? The "strait" gate is repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." John 3:55Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5). The Lord continues "for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in"— that is, not at the strait gate, but will seek to enter the Kingdom on their own terms "and shall not be able." God has His own time for shutting the door of the strait gate. Then they will confess Him as Lord and plead with Him to enter, but it will be too late. They will see those who have entered the Kingdom of God by the strait gate, but they will be outside. They will see not only the godly of Israel (v. 28), but others beside Israel (v. 29) sitting down in the Kingdom of God. In that day, supreme righteousness shall reign. The former conditions in which hypocrites prevailed over the righteous will be reversed— the last shall be first and the first last.
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The distinction between the mere profession of Christianity and actual Christianity has always been difficult for the Eastern mind to grasp. The Buddhist, the Mohammedan, etc., would look at the nations which professed Christianity and call them "Christian nations." He would also be puzzled at the gap between Christian doctrine and practice in these nations. Christianity, of course, is heavenly, and is a call out of all nations to our Father's house. But, in its outward form, it is a great mustard tree which grew from a seed in God's garden— Israel— until its branches spread in the earth. Here is an incident told by an old friend of the writer, P. R. Glading, once a missionary to China, which shows the distinction between reality and profession: “In 1940 I was stranded on the island of Ceylon for sixteen months, for the ship on which I was returning to China was taken over by the Admiralty and converted into a warship. Soon after my arrival on this island, I visited a dear old Christian native woman. During this visit, a British Naval officer dropped in to visit her, too. This man was also a Christian. He was curious to know what I was doing in China, and I replied that I was working among the servicemen there. He then said, 'I guess you would like to visit the British warships as they come into this port, and give the sailors the gospel.' I told him that I would be delighted to have this privilege. He invited me to his office and gave me a pass to board all warships. Some Naval men greatly opposed my work. But on some ships I met real Christians. We would sit under the great guns and read our Bibles together and encourage each other.
“One day, H.M.A.S. Sydney, the flagship of the Australian Navy, came into port. I boarded it and distributed tracts, gospels, and testaments, and spoke to the men of their need of salvation.
Many of the sailors sat down and read the tracts right away. After spending about two hours on board, I was suddenly summoned to the Commander's cabin. He told me I must leave at once, since he had received a message that two enemy warships had been located in the Indian Ocean and he must pursue them. I left, and the ship sailed immediately. The Sydney soon sighted the enemy ships, opened fire on one of them, and sank it. But the other enemy ship fired a salvo at the Sydney and sank it in turn. Every man on the Sydney was lost— hurled into eternity, with the ship saturated with the Word of God. No doubt there were hundreds of tracts floating around these poor men while they were struggling in the sea, but I wonder how many called upon the Savior in their last moments? It is one thing to receive God's Word in the hand, but it is of the utmost importance to receive it into the heart by faith, and to receive the blessed One of whom His Word speaks, the Lord Jesus Christ, as one's Savior. Dear friends, defer not, delay not. Time is short, for the 'coming of the Lord draweth nigh.' Soon for you, the day of grace will be gone, as it suddenly ended for those poor sailors. 'Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.' Prov. 27:11Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. (Proverbs 27:1).”
The King and Those at Jerusalem—13:31-35
Certain of the Pharisees now come to the Lord hoping to stop His teaching with a threat, although it came under the guise of interest in His welfare. Everything in Israel was disordered. Herod sat on David's throne, but was not David's son. Christ was David's son, but was threatened with death. The Lord replies, "Go ye and tell that fox, behold I cast out demons and I do cures today and tomorrow and the third day I shall be perfected." This latter saying referred to His rising out of death in resurrection. Herod was the fox, those at Jerusalem the chickens threatened by the fox. As Israel's rightful King, He would have gathered the children of Jerusalem under the protection of His wings, like a mother hen, but they would not. That was the key— the will was opposed to Christ. For this reason, the Lord pronounces judgment on Jerusalem— not an accidental happening as when the tower of Siloam fell, but a deliberate judgment from Jehovah. First their house that is, the Temple at Jerusalem— was left unto them desolate. God would no longer dwell there, and it would be razed by the Romans, as it had once been razed by Nebuchadnezzar. They should not see Him again until they should say, "Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord." Psa. 118:2626Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. (Psalm 118:26). In that psalm, which the Lord quoted, His rejection precedes that utterance v. 22. But it ends with Israel's renewed joy when they turn to the Lord "O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endureth forever.”