2BeLikeChrist Bible Commentary - Luke Chapter 13
Commentary - Luke Chapter 13
Luke 13:1-5
Luk 13:1 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
Luk 13:2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?
Luk 13:3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Luk 13:4 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?
Luk 13:5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
From verse 1, we understand chapter 13 to be a continuation of chapter 12.
This opening discussion is unique to Luke’s gospel.
Some of the people in Jesus’ audience brought up an incident regarding Pilate (the Roman governor) killing Galilean Jews while they were offering sacrifices to God.
While they were killing animals for sacrifice, their blood was spilled by Pilate’s men, therefore their blood was mingled with the blood of the animals.
Although these Jews were from Galilee, this event almost certainly occurred in Jerusalem at the Temple because that’s where the Jews went to present their sacrifices.
The exact time and circumstances are hard to lock down definitively.
Secular history doesn’t provide us with any event that we can say is “for sure” the one referenced here.
There are several theories:
Pilate and the Aqueduct:
175 4. After this he raised another disturbance, by expending that sacred treasure which is called Corban upon aqueducts, whereby he brought water from the distance of four hundred furlongs. At this the multitude had great indignation; and when Pilate was come to Jerusalem, they came about his tribunal, and made a clamor at it. 176 Now when he was apprised aforehand of this disturbance, he mixed his own soldiers in their armor with the multitude, and ordered them to conceal themselves under the habits of private men, and not indeed to use their swords, but with their staves to beat those that made the clamor. He then gave the signal from his 13 tribunal (to do as he had bidden them). 177 Now the Jews were so sadly beaten, that many of them perished by the stripes they received, and many of them perished as trodden to death by themselves; by which means the multitude was astonished at the calamity of those that were slain, and held their peace (Wars of the Jews 2.175-177).
Pilate caused an uprising by attempting to use Temple money, which was dedicated to the Lord, to build an aqueduct in Jerusalem.
An aqueduct was an ancient way of transporting fresh water over long distances.
The Jews staged a weeklong protest in Jerusalem.
Pilate, tired of the unrest, placed disguised soldiers in the crowds of protestors.
On Pilate’s signal the soldiers attacked the Jews, killing some and injuring others.
Josephus doesn’t mention Galileans specifically.
Judas the Galilean:
Some suggest this was the event referred to in Acts 5:37.
Act 5:37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered.
There isn’t any mention of Jerusalem or sacrifices.
A dispute between Rulers:
Luke 23 informs us Herod Antipas and Pilate didn’t get along until the time of Jesus’ trial.
Some think Pilate may have had some Galilean Jews killed when they came down to Jerusalem to worship as an insult to Herod.
I’m not aware of any historical evidence that would take this view out of the realm of “guess-work.”
All of these theories have pros and cons.
One of them may be correct or all of them may be wrong.
The second historical event mentioned in the opening of this chapter is the collapse of a tower in Siloam.
(James Tissot, Tower of Siloam)
Siloam was a neighborhood on Jerusalem’s southeast side.
We don’t know the purpose of the aforementioned tower.
It may have been part of an aqueduct, a guard tower, or something else.
All we know is that it collapsed and killed 18 people.
Now let’s return to the text.
Jesus was teaching and some people brought up the incident of Pilate and the Galileans.
Why?
We aren’t told.
Maybe it was in the news and was a popular topic of conversation.
Maybe Jesus’ enemies brought this up to see how He would respond.
Would He side with Pilate and Rome?
Would He side with the Jews?
Either side would have given Jesus’ enemies an angle to work.
Or maybe there was an implied question behind bringing it up to Jesus.
Either way, Jesus took the opportunity to teach a lesson about the need for repentance.
He asked the people if they believed the Galileans who were killed died because they were worse sinners than others.
Did God select them for death because they were worse than everyone else?
Were they being punished for something?
In an indirect way, Jesus was addressing a thought that has existed in the human mind for millennium.
When bad things happen to people, is it God’s punishment for a sin they committed?
Remember Job’s friends in the book of Job?
They were convinced the bad things that happened to Job were a result of some sin in his life.
Jesus was going to speak to that question, but I don’t believe it was His main point.
After the event of Pilate and the Galileans was brought up, Jesus brought up the tower of Siloam.
Jesus placed these two disasters in the forefront of the minds of His hearers and asked them if these tragedies happened because of the wickedness of their victims.
Does God deal out death to especially wicked people?
Jesus’ answer… “No.”
At this point, I expected Jesus to talk about why tragedies happen, when they happen, how God uses them, etc…
From a human mind, that seems to be the conversation for which He was setting up His audience.
And that discussion would have been one many people would have been very interested in hearing.
But Jesus didn’t go that way.
Jesus didn’t explain why some people die and some people live.
The only thing He revealed was that the wicked are not always the ones affected by calamity.
To conclude such would be wrong.
But here is what Jesus told us we can know… “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
A deadly tragedy (spiritually speaking) will be the end of any life that doesn’t involve repentance.
APPLICATION:
When tragedy happens to other people, it is easy to start asking “why” out of curiosity.
Evidently, the Jews were curious about why the Galileans and the tower victims were killed.
Jesus didn’t explain, instead He told them to focus on their own sins.
Conjecture as to the reason bad things happen to other people doesn’t need to be our focus because we don’t know the answers and Jesus didn’t share them with us.
Instead of worrying about other people’s sins, Jesus wanted us to make sure our sins are corrected.
Luke 13:6-9
Luk 13:6 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.
Luk 13:7 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?’
Luk 13:8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure.
Luk 13:9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”
This short parable appears to connect with what Jesus just said about repentance.
The Parable:
A man had a vineyard.
In the vineyard there was a fig tree.
For three years the fig tree hadn’t produced any figs.
The man wasn’t pleased with the fruitlessness of the tree and told his vineyard keeper to cut it down.
The vineyard keeper asked the man to allow the tree to stay one more year.
He promised to “dig around it” (turn the soil over to give it air and nutrients) and fertilize the tree.
The vineyard keeper’s hope was that the tree would produce fruit the following year.
If the tree remained barren the following year, he would cut it down.
The Meaning:
Jesus didn’t provide us with the interpretation of this parable, but I think we can figure it out.
Remember the context.
Jesus was talking to Jews.
The Jew’s track record of following God’s law was anything but perfect.
God gave them many chances to repent and turn to Him.
Remember, this parable comes right on the heals of a teaching about repentance.
In a general sense, the parable can be understood to illustrate God’s patient nature.
God wants every human soul to repent and “bear fruit.”
He is patient and isn’t quick to cut us down, even as we fail year after year.
In a specific sense, the parable can be understood to illustrate God’s patience with the Jewish nation.
The fig tree = the spiritually unfruitful Jews who continually rejected God.
The vineyard owner = God.
The vineyard keeper = Jesus and perhaps the other prophets who continually offered the Jews an opportunity to repent and change.
Some think the final “cutting down” occurred when the Roman’s destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
APPLICATION:
Take a moment and thank God for His patience.
No one would ever be saved if God wasn’t patient.
APPLICATION:
God wants the lost saved.
Notice how God allows the unfruitful tree to be cultivated.
1Ti 2:3-4 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
How did God cultivate the soil around you and how did it lead you to faith?
Or how is God cultivating the soil around you now? What influences led you to study more about God?
Luke 13:10-11
Luk 13:10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
Luk 13:11 And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself.
Jesus was in the synagogue on Saturday (Sabbath) with a woman who had a “disabling spirit.”
The “spirit” caused her to be bent over.
We don’t know much about this “disabling spirit.” We don’t know if it was a sickness or a type of demon possession.
But we do know it was something Satan caused.
Luk 13:16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
She had been afflicted by Satan for 18 years.
Luke 13:12-14
Luk 13:12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.”
Luk 13:13 And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.
Luk 13:14 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.”
Jesus called the woman to Him and healed her.
She responded by praising God for her healing.
In contrast, the ruler of the synagogue took issue with the display of God’s power.
It was the Sabbath day and people weren’t supposed to “work” on the Sabbath day.
The ruler told the woman she should have come on one of the other six days of the week.
This wasn’t the first time a prominent Jew protested a Sabbath healing.
The scribes and Pharisees tried to accuse Jesus of breaking the Law back in Luke 6 for healing a man with a withered hand.
This ruler’s response revealed his biases.
No one in their right mind would have associate Jesus’ miraculous power with common “work” unless they were already determined to oppose Jesus.
The obstinate Jews disapproved of Jesus’ miracles, but the miracles themselves were evidence God approved of Jesus.
If God didn’t support Jesus healing on the Sabbath, why would He empower Him to do miracles on the Sabbath day?
Common sense should have told the scribes, Pharisees, and rulers they were wrong.
Luke 13:15-17
Luk 13:15 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?
Luk 13:16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
Luk 13:17 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.
Jesus didn’t hold back His condemnation of the rulers.
“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?”
Although opposed to “working” on Sabbath, the rulers commonly untied their animals and led them to water on Sabbath.
They wouldn’t let their animal suffer by keeping it tied up all day on Saturday.
Yet, when a woman who had been bound 18 years was loosed from her suffering on the Sabbath the ruler’s complained.
They were certainly hypocrites.
They cared more about their animals than this woman.
They claimed to know God’s Law but loved their animals more than their neighbors.
Jesus’ critics were “put to shame” and rightfully so.
Jesus exposed them in front of the people whose admiration they loved.
Unlike the Jewish elite, the common people rejoiced at witnessing Jesus’ miracles.
Luke 13:18-19
Luk 13:18 He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?
Luk 13:19 It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”
The Parable:
The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed.
The exact species of tree or shrub Jesus referenced is still up for debate.
Some suggest it was Salvadora perisica and others suggest Brassica nigra.
Either way, it was a tree/shrub that germinated from a very small seed and grew to significant size.
Its size gave shelter and a home to birds living in its branches.
The Interpretation:
Like the parable at the beginning of the chapter, Jesus didn’t provide an explanation to His listeners.
Matthew’s gospel emphasizes the smallness of the mustard seed.
Mat 13:32 “It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree…”
Although the Kingdom of God had small and humble earthly beginnings, it would grow large and be a home to people all around the world.
It started off in the rather insignificant region of Galilee.
Its king was born to a poor family.
The king’s disciples were mostly common people.
But since the time of Jesus, the Kingdom of God has grown, and its citizens can be found in every nation on earth.
Luke 13:20-21
Luk 13:20 And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God.
Luk 13:21 It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”
Another parable without an explanation.
The Parable:
The Kingdom of God is like leaven.
Leaven is an ingredient added to bread which causes it to rise.
In comparison to the other ingredients, leaven is a very small percentage of any recipe.
In the parable, a woman took the leaven and put it in her flour “until it was all leavened.”
The Interpretation:
A small quantity of leaven is enough to influence an entire loaf of bread.
In the same way, the small and humble beginnings of the Kingdom of God may not have appeared a mighty force to many, but Jesus knew it would influence the world forever.
The people listening to Jesus probably had no idea the events in their town that day would shape our modern world 2,000 years later.
There are very few (perhaps zero) nations, tribes, and institutions that could argue they have been in no way impacted by the influence of God’s Kingdom.
Luke 13:22-24
Luk 13:22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem.
Luk 13:23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them,
Luk 13:24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
Jesus travelled through various towns preaching the gospel and eventually turned towards Jerusalem.
On the way, someone asked Him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?
“Are a lot of people going to be saved in the end?”
A good question.
Jesus’ response:
Strive - make great efforts to achieve or obtain something (Oxford).
Jesus told this man he needed to make a serious effort to “enter at the narrow door.”
This language is similar to Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 7 in the Sermon on the Mount.
Mat 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Jesus spoke of 2 gates in verses 13 and 14.
The first gate leads to destruction (eternal separation from God).
The second gate leads to life (eternal life with God).
A path leads up to each gate.
The path to destruction is wide and easy to walk down.
The ease of the path attracts a lot of people.
It’s easy and enjoyable at first but leads somewhere no one wants to go.
The wide path represents a life lived for self and not for God.
It is easy and enjoyable to live for self, sin, and pleasure.
But it will lead you somewhere you don’t want to go.
The path to life is narrow and hard.
Few people walk on this path.
It is difficult at first but leads to a great reward.
The narrow path represents a life lived for God.
It is difficult to surrender your own self-interest to live for God’s interest.
It is a road of sacrifice.
But it will lead you to an eternal life of joy.
It is important to notice Jesus told His disciples from the very beginning that they will be in the minority.
APPLICATION:
We shouldn’t let the fact that we are in the minority discourage us or cause us to believe we are doing something incorrectly.
We should worry more if we find ourselves in a majority.
We should be continually evaluating whether our lives are in line with Jesus’ instructions.
Returning to Luke’s account, Jesus said, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
An effort must be made to bring our lives into alignment with God’s will.
Being who God wants you to be doesn’t happen without struggle.
Satan and sin aren’t going to let you go without a fight.
“Many… will seek to enter and will not be able.”
Why?
Because their desire to enter is no more than a “mere wish or slothful endeavor” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown).
They do not desire it enough to “strive” for it.
They seek it, but not as if it were a matter of life or death.
If you ask 100 people if they want to go to heaven, 100 will probably say “yes.” But how many devote serious effort to pursuing the things of God?
Entering the narrow door must be our main concern and the chief business of our life on earth.
APPLICATION:
Are we saved by the grace of God? Certainly!
Eph 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
But there is no question this text lays a responsibility at our feet.
Jesus laid that responsibility at our feet.
We are saved by the grace offered to those who “strive” to know God and do His will.
Many will pursue salvation to some degree.
They will see the need to enter the narrow door.
But they will not reach it in the end.
APPLICATION:
We should take this warning very seriously.
Salvation is not something you pursue casually.
APPLICATION:
This man’s question and Jesus’ response is very relevant for religious discussions today.
If you went to 100 churches and asked their leadership, “will those who are saved be few,” you would get all kinds of varying answers.
Only Jesus’ answer matters (especially sense He will be the Judge).
Luke 13:25-27
Luk 13:25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’
Luk 13:26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’
Luk 13:27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’
There is an opportunity to enter the narrow door, but once the opportunity is past, it will be too late.
Jesus told the people that when that day comes, those who ignored His words will plead with Him to have mercy, but the time for mercy will have past and the time for judgement at hand.
On that day, the Jews who ignored His preaching will beg Him to let them through the door of salvation on the basis of their close earthly association with Him.
But He will tell them that, although they walked with Him in Galilee and Judaea, He never knew them.
APPLICATION:
There is a difference between being close to Jesus and being close to Jesus.
You can spend time close to the things of Jesus.
Around Christians.
Around preaching.
Around youth groups.
Around churches.
But your association with those things doesn’t mean you have a close personal relationship with Jesus, God, or the Spirit.
Our hearts must be close to God if we hope to enter the narrow door.
James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Luke 13:28-30
Luk 13:28 In that place 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 but you yourselves cast out.
Luk 13:29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.
Luk 13:30 And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
To be locked out of the narrow door is to be separated from God.
Jesus described the separation as “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Weeping for sadness.
Grinding teeth due to pain.
These two descriptors are commonly used in the New Testament to describe the place of eternal separation from God (Hell).
The Jews had great respect for the men they considered the “fathers” of their nation (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).
But Jesus was telling them they would be locked out of God’s presence while their forefathers sat at God’s table
Their fathers and God’s prophets found rest within the narrow door but many of the 1st Century Jews wouldn’t be joining them (even though they paid them lip service).
The fathers and prophets weren’t going to be the only ones at the table in God’s kingdom.
People were going to come from every direction (North, South, East, and West) to be a part of the Kingdom.
By this, I believe Jesus was referring to the Gentile world.
Jesus was telling these Jews there would be Gentiles who would enjoy closer fellowship with God, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob than them.
The audacity of Jesus to suggest Gentiles would enjoy God’s blessing and many Jews would be excluded must have sent shockwaves through the crowd.
The Jews saw themselves as God’s special people.
If anyone was going to heaven, they were going to heaven, so they thought.
The idea that a Gentile could be closer to God than them would have been insulting.
“And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
The Jews thought the Gentiles were dogs (last).
They thought they were special on account of their bloodline (first).
But things were different in God’s eyes.
A person’s heart is what matters to God, not their bloodline (Matthew 3:9).
Some of the Gentiles would receive the high honor of being seated at God’s table (first).
While the Jews were denied entrance for their disobedience (last).
God turns the tables on the human evaluation of who should be first vs. last.
Luke 13:31
Luk 13:31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.”
Jesus was approached by some Pharisees who “warned” Him of Herod’s (Herod Antipas) intentions to take his life.
What were these Pharisees doing?
There is a small chance these Pharisees were genuinely concerned for Jesus’ safety. The gospels do talk about a few Pharisees who had respect for Jesus.
It seems more likely these Pharisees were pretending to be friendly to Jesus but were really trying to intimidate Him and run Him out of town.
Based on Jesus’ response in the next verse, it’s possible these Pharisees had been sent by Herod to threaten Jesus.
Herod had already killed John the Baptist.
He probably didn’t like the growing influence and popularity of Jesus.
Anyone who had as much influence among the people as Jesus could have been viewed as a political threat.
Luke 13:32-35
Luk 13:32 And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.
Luk 13:33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’
Luk 13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
Luk 13:35 Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
I love Jesus’ response.
It was bold and to the point.
“I am going to continue casting out demons and healing the sick in this spot today and tomorrow and I will continue on my way on the third day” (paraphrase).
Herod thought He ruled that region of the world, but it was Jesus’ dominion.
He would do as He pleased until His work was done.
Jesus called Herod a “fox.”
I could only find 2 references to foxes in the Bible (Luke 13:32 and Nehemiah 4:3).
Foxes are known for being cunning and sly.
This properly described the way Herod reigned.
He was a politician more than a military man.
This term would have been a fitting description for this particular circumstance if Herod had sent the Pharisees to Jesus to intimidate Him.
Herod was using others to do His dirty work.
Trying to scare Jesus without confronting Him directly.
It was the tactic of a fox, not a lion.
Jesus told the Pharisees when He completed His work in Herod’s jurisdiction, He would head to Jerusalem; “for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.”
Jesus foretold the location of His death.
He knew when it would happen.
He knew how it would happen.
Even though the Jewish authorities denied wanting to kill Him (John 7:19).
Even though Herod was threatening to kill Him outside of Jerusalem.
Ultimately, it was Jesus who determined the time and place.
Jerusalem was the place where prophets died.
I think Jesus said this was because of the track record of the Jews who lived in Jerusalem (see verse 34).
Jerusalem was the holy city, yet, within its walls, and by design of its citizens, many of God’s prophets had been murdered.
It’s inhabitants consistently showed resistance to God’s messengers.
Jesus then mourned the city God had so long loved.
Jerusalem was supposed to be a place where God was glorified and honored among the nations, but they had turned away from Him.
God wanted to care for His people, but they refused Him.
Jesus compared God to a mother hen and the Jews to her chicks.
When chicks sense danger, they immediately run to their mother who spreads her wings to hide and shield them.
A chick is easy prey for a predator, but a full-grown protective mother hen is a bit more intimidating.
God had extended His wings of protection to the Jews countless times.
Instead of running to Him, they took their chances.
If you’ve read the Old Testament, you’ll know things didn’t go well for the Jews.
They were continually made the prey of Satan and the surrounding nations.
APPLICATION:
We aren’t going to make it out of this world alive without God’s protection.
Satan will win the day if we try to go it alone.
The idea that human beings aren’t self-sufficient isn’t a popular one because it’s a humbling one.
But it is a necessary concept to grasp if you want to avoid being the prey of Satan and sin.
The language in verse 35 parallels that of Matthew 23:38-39.
The house left desolate is probably a reference to the Temple.
The Temple was the house in which the presence of God dwelt.
It was the place to which the people could return to find the protection of God’s wings.
But no longer!
Rather than being referred to as the “LORD’s house,” Jesus here referred to it as their house.
The house was desolate, abandoned, and empty.
Jesus knew the Jews were headed down a wicked road.
God had drawn back His wings of protection and was preparing to pour out His judgement.
What does the end of verse 35 mean?
When would Jesus’ enemies and the rebels in Jerusalem say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”?
This phrase was used during Jesus triumphal entry (Matthew 21:9; Mark 11:9; John 12:13).
But it was used by those who honored Jesus, not those who hated Him.
There are several theories as to the meaning of this verse, but I suspect Jesus was talking about His second coming.
Jesus was going to be leaving Galilee and Judaea (after His resurrection) and those who opposed Him wouldn’t see Him again until they were ready to confess Him as Lord.
When will all the Jews, even the rebellious Jews, confess Christ?
On the Judgement Day, when every soul will be overwhelmed by the glory of Jesus and bow to Him (Roman 14:11).
