13:1-17
13:1-5 – Jesus teaches men not to Judge but Repent
13:1-5 – The victims of Pilate and the men who were killed when the tower fell were not judged of God. God does nothing in spite. But Christ was telling the religious crowd of His day that unless they repented, they would also perish.
This passage has several fine lessons for us. The first one teaches us that when some Christian has trouble beyond the average amount (and many do), we are not to interpret it to mean that he is a greater sinner than others. Trouble does not always come to a person because of his sins.
The other side of the coin is that just becoming a Christian does not automatically inoculate you against trouble. You will miss the Great Tribulation, but you will not miss the little tribulation if you are a Christian. You are going to have a little of it right down here.
Another thing we should see is that when trouble comes to someone else and not to you, it does not indicate that you are superior to that individual. Perhaps God is permitting you to see the other fellow’s trouble in order to bring you to Himself.
13:6-9 – Parable of the fig tree
13:6-9 – The fig tree without fruit is symbolic, in my opinion, of the nation Israel. The owner of the fig tree expected it to bear fruit and was disappointed when it was barren. He had the unquestioned right to take the fruit and to act in judgment by cutting down the tree. Israel had been promised blessings if they walked in the light God had given them and curses if they rejected the light. The nation was given special attention—cultivated and fertilized. It should have produced fruit, but it did not. Israel rejected Christ, even saying, “… His blood be on us, and on our children” (Matt. 27:25). Israel did experience God’s judgment and was scattered among the nations of the world.
13:10-17 – Jesus heals the woman with the infirmity
13:10-14 – This woman had one of the worst cases of illness recorded in the Holy Bible. She had a severe malady. The problem arose not because our Lord healed her, but because He healed her on the Sabbath day. The Lord healing people on the Sabbath day was a recurring source of contention between Himself and the religious rulers.