Luke 13:1-17
13: There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”
10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” 13 And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. 14 But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” 15 Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” 17 As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
Reflection
Luke 13:1–5 reminds us that the gospel calls us to repent. Repentance—turning from ourselves and our sins, toward God —is the path through which we receive forgiveness of sins, which is central to the gospel that Jesus preaches (1:77; 3:3; 24:47; Acts 2:38). The only alternative to the path of repentance is to perish (Luke 13:5).
Yet the gospel is not merely a stern command from God. The following words from Jesus (vv. 6–9) remind us of God’s patient grace toward us. Repentance from the heart will result in deeds of love for God and neighbor, yet God is patient with us and works in us to cause the growth (1 Cor. 3:6–7).
Colossians 3:1-11
3: If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Reflection
In Colossians 3 Paul turns his attention to the practical implications of living out what it means to be united to Christ by faith. He begins by describing who we are by virtue of God’s grace, and then instructs us as to what we should do in light of our new identity.
The new identity that believers possess includes being raised and seated with Christ at the right hand of God in heaven (Col. 3:1), having certainty of our future state of glory (v. 4), becoming equal heirs of God’s kingdom with all other Christian believers (v. 11), and being forgiven by Christ (v. 13). In light of these many gracious blessings, Paul calls on the Colossians to live in a manner consistent with the characteristics of Christ’s kingdom. He begins with a list of things that Christians should “put off” (vv. 5–11), no longer practicing the old vices that characterized their lives before Christ. Christians must also “put on the new self” (v. 10), and begin to live a new life. In this way, those who have believed in Jesus and have therefore been united to his death and resurrection (vv. 1, 3) should experience a type of death and resurrection in their own daily lives (vv. 5, 10). No longer should we allow the “old self” (v. 9) to live; rather, a resurrected “new self” (v. 10) must now live in its place.
Psalm 119:59
59 When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies;
Continue to live a lifestyle of repentance, turning from sin and embracing Christ. Ask God to strengthen your church to do the same by continuing to open your eyes to the glorious beauty of the Savior.