Lucas 13

ARC · Chapter 13/24

1E n'aquelle mesmo tempo estavam presentes ali alguns que lhe fallavam dos galileos cujo sangue Pilatos misturara com os seus sacrificios.

2E, respondendo Jesus, disse-lhes: Cuidaes vós que esses galileos foram mais peccadores do que todos os outros galileos, por terem assim padecido?

3Não, vos digo; antes, se vos não arrependerdes, todos de egual modo perecereis.

4Ou aquelles dezoito, sobre os quaes caiu a torre em Siloé e os matou, cuidaes que foram mais culpados do que todos quantos homens habitam em Jerusalem?

5Não, vos digo; antes, se vos não arrependerdes, todos de egual modo perecereis.

6E dizia esta parabola: Um certo homem tinha uma figueira plantada na sua vinha, e foi buscar n'ella algum fructo, e não o achou;

7E disse ao vinhateiro: Eis que ha tres annos venho buscar fructo a esta figueira, e não o acho; corta-a; porque occupa ainda a terra inutilmente?

8E, respondendo elle, disse-lhe: Senhor, deixa-a este anno, até que eu a escave e a esterque;

9E, se der fructo, ficará, e, se não, depois a mandarás cortar.

10E ensinava no sabbado, n'uma das synagogas.

11E eis que estava ali uma mulher que tinha um espirito de enfermidade, havia já dezoito annos; e andava encurvada, e não podia de modo algum endireitar-se.

12E, vendo-a Jesus, chamou-a a si, e disse-lhe: Mulher, estás livre da tua enfermidade.

13E poz as mãos sobre ella, e logo se endireitou, e glorificava a Deus.

14E, tomando a palavra o principe da synagoga, indignado porque Jesus curava no sabbado, disse á multidão: Seis dias ha em que é mister trabalhar: n'estes pois vinde para serdes curados, e não no dia de sabbado.

15Respondeu-lhe, porém, o Senhor e disse: Hypocrita, no sabbado não desprende da mangedoura cada um de vós o seu boi ou jumento e não o leva a beber?

16E não convinha soltar d'esta prisão, no dia de sabbado, a esta filha de Abrahão, a qual ha dezoito annos Satanaz tinha presa?

17E, dizendo elle estas coisas, todos os seus adversarios se confundiam, e todo o povo se alegrava por todas as coisas gloriosas que eram feitas por elle.

18E dizia: A que é similhante o reino de Deus, e a que o compararei?

19É similhante ao grão de mostarda que um homem, tomando-o, lançou na sua horta; e cresceu, e fez-se grande arvore, e em seus ramos se aninharam as aves do céu.

20E disse outra vez: A que compararei o reino de Deus?

21É similhante ao fermento que uma mulher, tomando-o, escondeu em tres medidas de farinha, até que tudo levedou.

22E percorria as cidades e as aldeias, ensinando, e caminhando para Jerusalem.

23E disse-lhe um: Senhor, são poucos os que se salvam? E elle lhe disse:

24Porfiae por entrar pela porta estreita; porque eu vos digo que muitos procurarão entrar e não poderão.

25Quando o pae de familia se levantar e cerrar a porta, e começardes a estar de fóra, e a bater á porta, dizendo: Senhor, Senhor, abre-nos; e, respondendo elle, vos disser: Não sei d'onde vós sois

26Então começareis a dizer: Temos comido e bebido na tua presença, e tens ensinado nas nossas ruas.

27E elle dirá: Digo-vos que não sei d'onde vós sois; apartae-vos de mim, vós todos os que obraes iniquidade.

28Ali haverá choro e ranger de dentes, quando virdes Abrahão e Isaac, e Jacob, e todos os prophetas, no reino de Deus, e vós lançados fóra.

29E virão do oriente, e do occidente, e do norte, e do sul, e assentar-se-hão á mesa no reino de Deus.

30E eis que derradeiros ha que serão os primeiros; e primeiros ha que serão os derradeiros.

31N'aquelle mesmo dia chegaram uns phariseos, dizendo-lhe: Sae, e retira-te d'aqui, porque Herodes quer matar-te.

32E disse-lhes: Ide, e dizei áquella raposa: Eis que eu expulso demonios, e effectuo curas, hoje e ámanhã, e no terceiro dia sou consummado.

33Importa, porém, caminhar hoje, ámanhã, e no dia seguinte, para que não succeda que morra um propheta fóra de Jerusalem.

34Jerusalem, Jerusalem, que matas os prophetas, e apedrejas os que te são enviados! Quantas vezes quiz eu ajuntar os teus filhos, como a gallinha os seus pintos debaixo das suas azas, e não quizeste?

35Eis que a vossa casa se vos deixará deserta. E em verdade vos digo que não me vereis até que venha o tempo em que digaes: Bemdito aquelle que vem em nome do Senhor.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jesus calls people to repentance using recent tragedies as an example and tells the parable of the barren fig tree. He heals a woman bent over on the Sabbath, teaches about the Kingdom of God through the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast, and laments over Jerusalem.

Explanation

The tragedies mentioned (Galileans killed by Pilate and victims of the tower of Siloam) were current news of the time, and Jesus corrects the common idea that suffering is always direct punishment for a specific sin, calling everyone to repentance. The parable of the barren fig tree illustrates God's patience, but also a limit: there is a season of grace, not an indefinite one. The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast show that the Kingdom of God begins small but grows in a far-reaching way. The lament over Jerusalem reveals Jesus' compassionate heart even in the face of rejection. The application for today is not to indefinitely postpone our response to God's call.

Fun facts

  • The Tower of Siloam, mentioned in v.4, stood near Hezekiah's Tunnel and the Pool of Siloam, an eighth-century B.C. Israelite hydraulic engineering structure confirmed by archaeology in Jerusalem.
  • The image of the hen gathering her chicks under her wings (v.34) was a common figure in Jewish literature for describing God's protection over his people, making Jesus' lament even more touching.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Lucas 13:1The episode the text mentions — Galileans killed by Pilate at the very moment they were offering their sacrifices, mixing their blood with that of the animals — does not appear in any other surviving historical record, but it fits Pilate’s reputation for violence even outside the Bible. Killing someone within the sacred space of the temple would have been seen as a shocking desecration.
  2. Lucas 13:2Jesus directly challenges a common assumption of the time: suffering a violent death does not prove that these Galileans were worse sinners than the others.
  3. Lucas 13:3Instead of explaining why the tragedy happened, Jesus uses the episode for a direct call: without repentance, everyone will perish in the same way — no one’s fate is guaranteed.
  4. Lucas 13:4Siloam was an area within the walls of Jerusalem, and this tower appears to have collapsed by accident, killing eighteen people — a disaster with no human intent behind it, unlike Pilate’s massacre mentioned before. Jesus uses both cases, one violent and one accidental, to make the same point: suffering a tragedy does not prove that someone sinned more than others.
  5. Lucas 13:5Jesus repeats the same warning after citing a second case, this time an accident rather than violence — the lesson applies both to tragedies caused by people and to disasters with no human blame.
  6. Lucas 13:6The parable begins with a fig tree that should have been bearing fruit for some time — fig trees typically took about three years to produce, and that exact period had already run out.
  7. Lucas 13:7The owner has already waited three years with no result and considers the tree a waste of ground — from a practical standpoint, cutting it down seems the obvious decision.
  8. Lucas 13:8The vinedresser asks for one more year, offering extra care — digging around it and fertilizing it — instead of accepting immediate removal.
  9. Lucas 13:9The final answer is left open: if it bears fruit after that extra care, well and good; if not, then it will be cut down — one last real chance before final judgment.
  10. Lucas 13:10Jesus is teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath — the setting that sets up the coming confrontation over healing on the day of rest.
  11. Lucas 13:11The woman had been bent over for eighteen years, unable to straighten up — a chronic, severe case, attributed here to a spirit of infirmity.
  12. Lucas 13:12Jesus calls her over and declares her freed from her infirmity before He even makes any physical gesture.
  13. Lucas 13:13As He lays His hands on her, the healing is immediate: she straightens up at once and responds by glorifying God.
  14. Lucas 13:14The synagogue ruler, indignant, does not speak directly to Jesus but to the crowd, reminding them that there are six days available for healing — just not the Sabbath.
  15. Lucas 13:15Untying the ox or the donkey from the stall to lead it to water on the Sabbath was already an accepted practice, one the Pharisees themselves carried out, because leaving an animal to suffer from thirst was considered unacceptable even on the day of rest. Jesus’ argument works precisely because it is not a hypothetical exception — it is something they themselves already did without hesitation.
  16. Lucas 13:16Jesus uses the same logic as the ox-and-donkey argument: if animals can be untied on the Sabbath to drink water, why not free, on that same day, a ‘daughter of Abraham’ bound for eighteen years?
  17. Lucas 13:17The result is a public victory: the opponents are put to shame, while the people rejoice at the glorious things Jesus was doing.
  18. Lucas 13:18Jesus opens a new rhetorical question to introduce two short parables in a row about how to describe the kingdom of God.
  19. Lucas 13:19The parable of the mustard seed describes a small, insignificant beginning that grows into a tree large enough for birds to nest in.
  20. Lucas 13:20Jesus repeats the same question to introduce a second image, this time about leaven.
  21. Lucas 13:21The leaven hidden in the flour until it all rises follows the same logic as the mustard seed: a small, quiet influence that ends up completely transforming something much larger.
  22. Lucas 13:22This travel summary, teaching through towns and villages on the way to Jerusalem, reinforces the long journey that structures much of the Gospel from chapter 9 onward.
  23. Lucas 13:23Someone asks whether only a few will be saved — a common theological question of the time about the final number of the saved.
  24. Lucas 13:24Instead of answering with a number, Jesus shifts the focus to urgency: strive to enter through the narrow door, because many will try and will not be able to.
  25. Lucas 13:25The scene describes a moment when the door has already been shut: whoever keeps knocking from outside, even calling ‘Lord, Lord,’ hears that the owner of the house does not know where they are from.
  26. Lucas 13:26Those shut out protest by claiming closeness: they ate and drank in his presence, they heard his teaching in the streets — but that alone is not enough.
  27. Lucas 13:27The answer is firm: physical proximity or familiarity with the teaching does not replace real life change — hence the rejection.
  28. Lucas 13:28The scene is shocking for a Jewish audience: seeing Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the prophets inside the kingdom, while they themselves are left outside, contradicts the assumption that descent guarantees automatic inclusion.
  29. Lucas 13:29People will come from every direction — east, west, north, and south — to take part in the banquet in the kingdom of God, an inclusion with no geographic limits, reaching those who were not expected.
  30. Lucas 13:30This saying about the last who will be first and the first who will be last repeats a recurring theme in Luke: the reversal of status already seen in Mary’s song.
  31. Lucas 13:31It is unusual to see Pharisees, usually portrayed as adversaries, warning Jesus about a threat from Herod — scholars debate whether it was genuine concern or simply a way to drive him out of the region.
  32. Lucas 13:32Calling someone a ‘fox’ was a specific insult in the culture of the time, suggesting petty cunning and lack of real stature — the opposite of a lion, a symbol of true power. It is a sharp reply to Herod’s political maneuvering, not a compliment in disguise.
  33. Lucas 13:33Jesus insists on continuing His journey despite the warning, with an ironic remark: it would not be fitting for a prophet to die outside Jerusalem, the city that had historically rejected its prophets.
  34. Lucas 13:34The image of a hen gathering her chicks under her wings to protect them from cold or a predator was a common, recognizable scene for anyone who lived in the countryside. It is this repeatedly refused desire for protection that the saying carries toward Jerusalem.
  35. Lucas 13:35The lament over the house left desolate ends with a quotation from Psalm 118 — the same acclamation, ‘Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,’ that will be repeated at the triumphal entry into Jerusalem in chapter 19.

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