Jesus was always pointing people to the Father. In this short passage He does that by explaining that it is more important to take compassion on others than it is to obey man's laws.

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As is so often the case, a good thing can be perverted and end up causing great harm.  

This can be true of compassion when it is misunderstood and misapplied. Christians can often forget that while compassion towards people is warranted, compassion to various ideas, lifestyles, actions, beliefs, and worldviews is not. 

This can also be true of standing for truth when it is brandished as a weapon against people rather than used and an invitation to draw them towards the author of truth. 

Jesus’ truth informed compassion is not twisted or affected by the trials of culture and time. 

OUR COMPASSION NEEDS TO LOOK LIKE JESUS’ COMPASSION 

One of the most important questions any of us can ask is this. Will I be saved? Will I go to heaven? How can I know God will save me? Will I be saved when I die? Can you think of a more important question with such long-term implications? I mean, we’re talking eternity here. How do people answer? 

In this passage, Luke records Jesus explaining the Kingdom of God to people. That fact that Jesus was explaining it suggests that it was something that required explaining. So, he uses common language to help people connect with the meaning of the Kingdom of God.

JESUS WANTS HIS LISTENERS TO UNDERSTAND THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Why would Jesus want His listeners to understand the Kingdome of God?

Jesus’ perspective on the Sabbath as a day for deliverance is vindicated, as Luke recounts the humiliation of Jesus’ opponents and the joy of the crowds at his wonderful (healing) deeds (Luke 13:17).  

Although we do not hear about the woman who has been healed at the end of the passage, the praise she offers to God echoes with the crowds’ rejoicing. Both themes of praise and rejoicing are emphasized by Luke as appropriate responses to God’s work in Jesus. 

OUR PERSPECTIVE DOES NOT DETERMINE GOD’S PERSPECTIVE. 

Isaiah 55:8-9 

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” 
declares the Lord.  9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

So let us be careful to lead people towards freedom rather than remain in bondage. 

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If you describe a man as the king of something, you mean that he is the most important person doing that thing or he is the best at doing it. He was the king of the cowboys. 

That is about as close a relationship as we have to the term “King”, in our modern experience.  We did not grow up in a country with a king.  There is no ultimate authority in Canada that would be like a king.  There isn’t someone that we would all run out into the streets and pledge our allegiance to.  So how do we connect with the concept of Jesus as King as Israel would have understood it, and in addition to that Jesus as Savior King. 

A parable is, literally, something “cast alongside” something else. Jesus’ parables were stories that were “cast alongside” a truth to illustrate that truth. His parables were teaching aids and can be thought of as extended analogies or inspired comparisons. A common description of a parable is that it is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.  

What would we expect a farmer to do with a plant that did not produce any fruit? We would expect him to cut it down and try again with a different plant. That only makes common sense. Jesus recognized the sense of such an approach and used this very same concept in a parable on repentance in Luke 13:6-9. Jesus’ parable is frightening but also comforting.  

The invitation to repent is a call to absolute surrender to the will and purposes of God. It means to turn to the Lord and live in constant awareness of him. Jesus issued this radical call to all people, saying, "Unless you repent, you will all perish!" (Luke 13:3). Jesus called urgently and repeatedly for repentance: 

Mark 1:15 

"The time has come," Jesus said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" 

Discernment of the times that we live in is not much different for us than it was for the Jews of Jesus' time. We have to be watchful and study His Word to be able to see what He is doing right in our midst.

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