Author: Bill Hall

But the Lord answered him and said, ‘Hypocrites! Doesn’t each one of you untie his ox or donkey from the feeding trough on the Sabbath and lead it to water?’

Luke 13:15

Hypocrisy has always been a big problem. Even recently, with the application of covid standards, we saw all kinds of hypocrisy. Sometimes things were considered necessary, while other things were considered not necessary. And yet the standards were not applied consistently. It seems there was one standard for the general public, and another for political elites. Humans are full of sin and naturally hypocritical if we do not have the light of God living within us.

In this situation Jesus is highlighting the fact that the Jews realized feeding their animals on the Sabbath was necessary. It was not an infraction of their worship of God to care for basic needs. The Sabbath laws were intended to keep people from doing unneeded work, and in that way they would honor the Lord on that day. But instead, by their traditions, they had changed God’s law in such a way that the hurting could not seek help on the Sabbath day.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your perfect way, and Your perfect standards. In spite of the fact that sin is abhorrent to You, You have made a way for even what we might consider the ugliest of sinners to be saved to the uttermost through Jesus Christ. Your plan for this world is the best plan, and will lead to the most Glory for You. But what we often miss, is that it is the best plan for us, and will lead to what is best for our lives. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, responded by telling the crowd, “There are six days when work should be done; therefore come on those days and be healed and not on the Sabbath day.”

Luke 13:14

The leader of the synagogue was more than willing to tow the party line. He is literally telling his listeners to go home and tell anyone sick not to come on the Sabbath. He does not speak to Jesus directly at all.

Heavenly Father, thank You so much for healing us! Thank You for giving us Your truth and Your mercy. You are glorious! You Are Holy! You love Your creatures. Thank You for Your power, and Your wisdom! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Then he laid his hands on her, and instantly she was restored and began to glorify God.

Luke 13:13

Notice this woman’s immediate reaction. This explains why Jesus was proactive in performing this miracle. This woman had the right attitude about her healing. She immediately gave the glory to Almighty God.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your greatness! We will always bring glory to You by what we say, what we do, and how we think. You are worthy! You are the one who has healed us, and solved all of our problems. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

When Jesus saw her, he called out to her, “Woman, you are free of your disability.”

Luke 13:12

It is interesting to note that on several occasions in Jesus’s earthly ministry, He proactively performed miracles. In other words, someone didn’t come to Him and ask Him to perform a miracle. Sometimes, He just did it without being asked. On this occasion, Jesus already knew this woman was there and intentionally drew attention to the fact that he was going to heal her, calling out loudly to her as soon as he saw her.

Heavenly Father, You are the Healer of our diseases, whether physical or spiritual. It is to You that we look for everything. Thank You for Your Son the Lord Jesus Christ! Thank you for salvation, and life, in Him! You are worthy of all praise, honor, glory, and power! Your grace is truly amazing! You are holy, just, pure, and lovely! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

a woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit, for over eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.

Luke 13:11

This woman was not simply very old, or the victim of some kind of spinal accident. She was in her current physical state due to the oppression of a demon. As a result, she was an immediate recipient of the compassion of Christ.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love for us! If You had not told us how much You loved us, we would not believe it. Allow us always to see Your love in action. And give us the strength to serve You and show Your love to others, for Your Glory. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

As he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath,

Luke 10:13

We often forget that although Jesus did indeed teach the Jews the true meaning of the Sabbath, Jesus did not break with all of the Jewish practices. He didn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. He taught, in the synagogue, on the Sabbath. He didn’t have a problem with cooperating with the general practices of the Jewish people. Where he drew the line was with their misinterpretation, and misunderstanding, of the Scriptures. He resisted the man-made traditions that contradicted the literal interpretation of God’s Word.

Heavenly Father, thank You for this day. Help us always to be true to Your Word, it is wonderful! Thank You for Your Word, and its impact upon our lives. Thank You for the fact that we may know Christ, and by Him, eternal life. Thank You for Your holiness, Your love, and Your faithfulness to us. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Perhaps it will produce fruit next year, but if not, you can cut it down.

Luke 13:9

There it is, one of the mysteries of the wisdom of God. People ‘might’ do, and ‘perhaps’ will do all sorts of things. But God knows exactly what we will do.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your wisdom! It is a constant blessing to us. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

But he replied to him, ‘Sir, leave it this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.’

Luke 13:8

We could use some spiritual fertilizer in our day. So often we are weak and unable to bear the fruit that should be expected. We tend to see people working to tear each other down, rather than to dig about and fertilize. Encouragement within the body of Christ can bring back a tree, a person, from near death.

Heavenly father, thank you for your pity upon us! You are just, and holy, and pure. But you work with compassion upon your people. You have worked in our hearts by the power of the sacrifice of your Son. We will never cease to wonder at your amazing plan for our Redemption! Thank you! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

He told the vineyard worker, ‘Listen, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it even waste the soil? ‘ (Lk. 13:7 CSB)

Luke 13:7

The fig tree took up room in a space otherwise meant for grapes. Figs are sometimes grown with grapes because the birds will eat the figs before they eat the grapes. But, if this tree had no fruit, it was just using up needed ground.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your interactions with us. You are glorious, marvelous, wondrous, and holy. As we face the darkness of this present world, we know Your light is powerful beyond all that we might imagine. You use Your people to show a lost world the tenderness of Your care. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

And He told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it and found none.’

Luke 13:6

Jesus here gives this parable about the nation of Israel. Jesus came looking for fruit. Though there were many in Israel who listened to Christ, there were many, many more who would not.

Leviticus 19:23-25 is the law concerning fruit trees. The fig tree would not bear fruit for the first three years. The fruit of the fourth year would belong to the Lord, and the fruit of the fifth year would belong to the owner. The owner in the parable was ignorant of the details, and Jewish law. The owner came on the fourth year, having checked ‘for three years’ already. The next year would legally be the first year that the owner could expect fruit.

The vineyard worker, understanding these things, buys some time because he knows it could take five years to get a good crop. Possibly Jewish vineyard keepers had learned to intentionally let the tree grow weak so that an appreciable crop wouldn’t come until the fifth year, when the fruit would legally belong to the owner.

This is meant to parallel the nation of Israel. Being spiritually weak, they had not produced during the fourth year, when the Lord would expect fruit. And, being dishonest, they had taken advantage of their Gentile overlords. Upon seeing no fruit the fifth year, the Romans put an end to the fig tree in AD 70.

Heavenly Father, thank You for using humans in spite of ourselves. You brought the world Your truth by the Jews, and you are using the Gentiles to reach the world with the gospel. Your ways are best. We will look to You for wisdom. Our ways and thoughts are so limited! You lead us in the right way for our lives. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.