Jesus uses two recent disasters to explain the urgency of repentance.

There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

 The Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices: We don’t have a record in secular history about the specific incident mentioned here. According to Barclay, there is a similar incident before the ministry of Jesus. Pilate wanted to build an aqueduct from the Pools of Solomon to the city of Jerusalem. To pay for it, he demanded money from the temple treasury, money that had been dedicated to God – and this outraged the priests and the people. When the Jews sent a delegation to beg for their money back, Pilate sent into the crowd soldiers dressed as common people, and at a certain signal they took out daggers and attacked the people asking for the money.

This doesn’t seem to be the same incident mentioned here, but it shows how completely consistent it was with the character of Pilate to slaughter a group of Galilean Jews on their way to sacrifice to the Lord in Jerusalem.

Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans: Jesus mentioned two disasters that were well known in His day. One was an evil done by the hand of man, and the other was seemingly a natural disaster (eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them).

We normally think of some people as good and some people as bad and find it easy to believe that God should allow good things to happen to good people and bad things to bad people. Jesus corrected this thinking.

But Jesus’ point was not that the Galileans in question were innocent; His point was that they were simply not more guilty than the others. All were and are guilty.

“It is true, the wicked man sometimes falls dead in the street; but has not the minister fallen dead in the pulpit? It is true that a pleasure-boat, in which men were seeking their own pleasure on the Sunday, has suddenly gone down; but is it not equally true that a ship which contained none but godly men, who were bound upon an excursion to preach the gospel, has gone down too?” (Spurgeon)

Unless you repent you will all likewise perish: In analyzing the issue, Jesus turned His focus from the question “why did this happen?” and turned it to the question, “what does this mean to me?”

It means that we all may die at any time, so repentance must be a top priority. Those who died in both of these instances did not think they would die soon, but they did, and we can suppose that most of them were not ready.

Unless you repent… unless you repent: By noting the ancient Greek grammar, we see that Jesus here mentioned two kinds of repentance, and both are essential. Luke 13:5 (unless you repent) described a once and for all repentance. The verb tense in Luke 13:3 (unless you repent) described a continuing repentance.

Jesus’ warning that they must repent or perish had an immediate, chilling fulfillment. Within a generation, those citizens of Jerusalem who had not repented and turned to Jesus perished in the destruction of Jerusalem.

“We cannot say that individual suffering and sin are inevitably connected but we can say that national sin and suffering are so connected. The nation which chooses the wrong ways will in the end suffer for it.” (Barclay)

Jesus illustrates some principles regarding God’s judgment.

He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’”

 He came seeking fruit: After the warning unless you repent you will all likewise perish, Jesus used this parable to illustrate principles of God’s judgment. The first point was simple: God looks for fruit.

The fruit of our life shows what kind of person we really are. An apple tree will bring forth apples, not watermelons. If Jesus Christ has truly touched our life, it will show in the fruit we bear – even if it takes a while for the fruit to come forth.

What fruit is God looking for? It certainly has to begin with the fruit of the Spirit, mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit…let it alone this year: The certain man in the parable illustrated the patience of God in judgment. He waited three years and gave it a second chance.

The certain man, illustrating God, did not leave the tree alone. He gave it special care. When God shows special care for someone it may feel to them like they are surrounded by manure, but He is nourishing and preparing it for fruit-bearing to come.

If not, after that you can cut it downI: The certain man, illustrating God, was also just in His judgment. There finally would come the day of reckoning. It was not just an endless string of threats.

“There is a time for felling fruitless trees, and there is an appointed season for hewing down and casting into the fire the useless sinner.” (Spurgeon)

Barclay drew several wise points of application from this:

· Uselessness invites disaster.

· If something only takes, it cannot survive.

· God gives second chances.

· There is a final chance

The first and the last.

Jesus responds to a question about salvation.

And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate”

He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem: As Luke described it, Jesus came closer and closer to His appointed work in Jerusalem. In Luke’s description Jesus doesn’t arrive to Jerusalem until chapter 19, but He continues on the way.

Lord, are there few who are saved? Like these who asked Jesus, many people wonder about the salvation of others. But in His reply (Strive to enter through the narrow gate), Jesus pointed back to the only person’s salvation we can really know, asking, “Are you yourself saved?”

“The question seems to reflect a debate that existed among Jews at the time of Christ.” (Pate) Pate then cites two rabbis, one who said that all Jews would be saved, and another that said only a few. Yet Jesus would not be drawn into that debate. His only question was, “Are you saved?”

“A question either of impertinence or curiosity, the answer to which can profit no one. The real question is, Can I be saved?” 

Strive to enter through the narrow gate: Because the way is narrow, it takes effort and purpose to enter into it. A narrow gate also implies that we can’t bring with us unnecessary things. Therefore, we must strive (the word is literally “agonize”) in order to lay these things aside and come in. The Greek word for strive has the idea of a struggle or prize-fight.

Many come to the gate, but then decide they don’t like it for some reason. It’s too wide, it’s too narrow, it’s too fancy, it’s too plain. You can criticize the gate all you want, but it’s a terrible thing to refuse to enter into it.

Strive to enter through the narrow gate isn’t a call to save yourself by good works. Good works aren’t the right gate. You may strive to enter all life long, but if it isn’t at the right gate, it makes no difference. Jesus Himself is the gate; He is the door.

It is necessary to strive to enter because there are many obstacles in the way. The world is an obstacle. The devil is an obstacle. Probably the worst obstacle is our own flesh.

The reason why it is important to strive in entering.

“For many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’”

Will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door: The punctuation supplied by translators in Luke 13:24-25 is poor. It could better read will not be able when once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door. The point is that there will come a time when it is too late to enter; that is why we must have an urgency to enter now.

“You will see a considerable difference between seeking and striving. You are not merely advised to seek; you are urgently bidden to strive.” (Spurgeon)

Jesus previously spoke of the narrow door; here He warned of the shut…door. “Our Lord showed that there are limits to the divine mercy, that there will be those who will not be able to enter in.” (Morgan)

You begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, “Lord, Lord, open for us”: Many will seek to enter (in the sense of wishing to enter), but they will not be able to. When the door is open, it is open; when it is shut, it is shut.

There is a real difference between a mere seeking and striving to enter. A casual wish to be saved isn’t enough, because there are too many obstacles on the way.

Then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets”: In speaking of those who are excluded from God’s presence, Jesus said they would protest that they knew something of Jesus and had heard something of His teaching.

I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity: Jesus warned that it wasn’t enough to know something of Jesus and have some association with Him; He had to know and recognize them.

Of course, Jesus knew them in a sense; He knew who they were and knew of their life. Yet He did not know them in the sense of relationship, of the vital connection of faith. His words stress the importance of relationship (I do not know you) that affects the manner of living (you workers of iniquity).

The destiny of those who don’t strive to enter.

“There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”

There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth: In speaking of those excluded from the Kingdom of God, Jesus said that they would be in hell (the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth), and that they would see that others enter instead of them.

One woman protested to an evangelist that weeping and gnashing of teeth could not apply to those who had lost their teeth. The preacher solemnly replied, “Teeth will be provided!”

More seriously, “The definite articles with ‘weeping’ and ‘gnashing’ (cf. Greek) emphasize the horror of the scene: the weeping and the gnashing… Weeping suggests suffering and gnashing of teeth despair.” (Carson)

We see that Jesus was not afraid to speak of hell, and in fact did so more than any other in the Bible. “There are some ministers who never mention anything about hell. I heard of a minister who once said to his congregation – ’If you do not love the Lord Jesus Christ you will be sent to that place which it is not polite to mention.’ He ought not to have been allowed to preach again, I am sure, if he could not use plain words.” (Spurgeon)

They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God: Jesus told His astonished audience that there would be many from all over the world – from many nations – together with God in His kingdom. This was a shock to the many Jewish people of His day that had been taught that salvation was only for the Jews, and not for the Gentiles.

This was a radical idea to many of the Jewish people in Jesus’ day; they assumed that this great Messianic Banquet would have no Gentiles, and that all Jews would be there. Jesus corrected both mistaken ideas.

These few words of Jesus tell us a little something of what heaven is like.

· It is a place of rest; we sit down in heaven.

· It is a place of good company to sit with; we enjoy the friendship of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in heaven.

· It is a place with people from all over the earth; from east and the west, from the north and the south they will come to heaven.

· It is a certain place; Jesus said they will come, and when Jesus says it will happen, it will happen.

“But ye shall hear those loved voices again; ye shall hear those sweet voices once more, ye shall yet know that those whom ye loved have been loved by God. Would not that be a dreary heaven for us to inhabit, where we should be alike unknowing and unknown? I would not care to go to such a heaven as that. I believe that heaven is a fellowship of the saints, and that we shall know one another there.” (Spurgeon)

And you yourselves thrust out: Jesus reminded his Jewish listeners that just as the Gentile’s racial identity was no automatic barrier to the kingdom, so also their racial identity was no guarantee of the kingdom.

Indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last: Jesus reminded them that those who are in the kingdom, or out of the kingdom may be different than what they or others expected. This was not intended as a universal law; Jesus did not say, “All who are last will be first” or “All who are first will be last.” Yet some will, and it will surprise many.

There will be surprises in the kingdom of God. Those persons who are very prominent in this world may have to be very humble in the next; those whom no one notices here will be the princes of the world to come.” 

Charles Spurgeon said that there are last that shall be first was a wonder [or miracle] of grace, and that there first that shall be last was a wonder of sin.