Luke 13:1-5

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Luke 13:2

Verse 2 2.Do you imagine? etc. This passage is highly useful, were it for no other reason than that this disease is almost natural to us, to be too rigorous and severe in judging of others, and too much disposed to flatter our own faults. The consequence is, that we not only censure with excessive severity the offenses of our brethren; but whenever they meet with any calamity, we condemn them as wicked and reprobate persons. On the other hand, every man that is not sorely pressed by the hand of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 13:1

There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices ; better rendered, now there were present at that particular time; namely, when the Master was discoursing of the threatening signs of the times, and urging men to repent and to turn and make their peace with God while there was yet time, for a terrible crisis was impending on that doomed land. Some of those then present, probably Jerusalem Jews, specially told off... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 13:1-5

The significance of suffering. What does it mean, that all men suffer? and what is signified by the great calamities which some men endure? The Jews of our Lord's time were drawing inferences which were common and natural enough; but they were not the safest nor the wisest that might have been drawn. In the light of the Master's teaching, we conclude— I. THAT SUFFERING IS ALWAYS SIGNIFICANT OF SIN . Whenever we see any kind of suffering, whether it be ordinary sickness... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 13:1-9

Signs of the times. The Lord continues his solemn warnings. Israel pictured in the parable of the barren fig tree. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 13:1-9

The barren fig tree. "At that season," or "at that particular time "-whilst the pleading, warning words which follow from the forty-ninth verse of the previous chapter are ringing in the ears of those around the Lord—some bystanders tell him of judgments which had actually been fulfilled, of Galilaeans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. We have no information as to the particular event referred to. Riots, small insurrections, revolts from Roman authority, were by no... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 13:1-21

The grace and progress of God's kingdom. We saw at the close of last chapter how urgent a matter it is to get reconciled to God. Luke, in constructing his Gospel, introduces us next to a cognate thought—the necessity of repentance if judgment is to be escaped. Let us take up the orderly thoughts as they are laid before us in this passage. I. JUDGMENT EXECUTED UPON OTHERS IS A CALL TO REPENTANCE ADDRESSED TO US . (Verses 1-5.) There was a disposition then, as there... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 13:2-3

And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things! I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. "Yes," answered the Master," these, you are right, are among the dread signs of the times I spoke of; but do not dream that the doom fell on those poor victims because they were special sinners. What happened to them will soon be the doom of the whole nation, unless a great... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 13:4

Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? "You remember," goes on the Master, "the catastrophe of the fall of the tower in Siloam; the poor sufferers who were crushed there were not specially wicked men." The Lord used these occasions, we see, for something more than the great national lesson. Men are too ready, now as then, to give way to the unloving error of looking at individual misfortune... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 13:5

Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish . The words were indeed prophetic to the letter. Thousands of Jews perished in the last terrible war by the swords of the Roman legionaries, like the Galilaeans of Luke 13:1 ; not a few met their death in the capital among the ruins of the burning fallen houses. We know that Jerusalem in its entirety was destroyed, and the loss of life in the siege, and especially in its dread closing scenes, was simply incalculable. Within forty years all... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Luke 13:1

There were present - That is, some persons who were present, and who had heard his discourse recorded in the previous chapter. There was probably a pause in his discourse, when they mentioned what had been done by Pilate to the Galileans.At that season - At that time - that is the time mentioned in the last chapter. At what period of our Lord’s ministry this was, it is not easy to determine.Some that told him - This was doubtless an event of recent occurrence. Jesus, it is probable, had not... read more

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