Luke 13 begins famously with Jesus being asked about a tragic atrocity. Pilate had not only slaughtered some Galileans but had also had their blood mixed in with their sacrifices, thus contaminating the altar and making the sacrifices ineffective. The implied question that Jesus answers is as to whether the victims had been particularly guilty of some sin and so were under God’s judgement. Jesus adds in another example, what about those crushed beneath a wall that had fallen in.
Jesus answers the question in the same way for both cases:
““Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish”[1]
And:
“do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”[2]
He then goes on to tell a parable about a man looking for fruit on his fig tree. He doesn’t find any fruit but gives it a stay of judgement for one more year. There was time for mercy before the coming judgement
This background is important to what comes next. Jesus is teaching on a Sabbath in the Synagogue. There’s a woman there who is crippled. Luke links this to a specific spirit oppressing her. Jesus calls her forward, declares that she is free and immediately she is healed. Those looking on are indignant. How dare Jesus do this on a Sabbath. However, Jesus insists that this too is a day for mercy and healing. He recognises the woman as one of Abraham’s descendants, part of God’s covenant people and so needing to be set free from Satan’s power.[3]
The woman’s sickness is likely to have been seen as part of God’s judgement on her, even more so because she was afflicted by a spirit. However, Jesus does not single her out for judgement. Instead, he singles her out for grace and mercy. He reverses the presumptions of the time.
This should help us be clear in our own view about suffering. We should not see it as a sign of specific judgement because those suffering are worthy of greater retribution. Rather, it is a warning of the judgement that we all need and therefore a call to repentance. God’s kingdom is growing and so, suffering proves an opportunity for God’s grace, power and glory to be revealed.[4] The warning to repent though is important because not all will receive this grace.[5] Jesus longs to offer this grace and so laments for those who refuse it.[6]
In our cases too, suffering does not mean that God is specifically judging a person. Rather, it is a cause for sorrow, a warning about God’s judgement, a call to repentance and an opportunity to display God’s grace and mercy.
[1] Luke 13:2-3.
[2] Luke 13:4-5.
[3] Luke 13:10-17.
[4] Luke 13:18-21.
[5] Luke 13:22-30.
[6] Luke 13:31-35.
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