Luke 13

Luke 13
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Luke 6:4-16 on Papyrus 4, written about AD 150-175.
Book	Gospel of Luke
Bible part	New Testament
Order in the Bible part	3
Category	Gospel

Luke 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records several parables and teachings told by Jesus Christ and His lamentation over the city of Jerusalem. The book containing this chapter is anonymous but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Luke composed this Gospel as well as Acts.

This chapter can be grouped (with cross references to other parts of the Bible):

This parable of Jesus (not to be confused with the parable of the budding fig tree) appears only in the Gospel of Luke among the Canonical gospels of the New Testament. In this parable, the owner is generally regarded as representing God, who had a fig tree ("tree of knowledge") planted in his vineyard ("the garden of Eden") and came seeking fruit ("righteous works", which in part is a mystery). The gardener (vinedresser) is God and the vine is Jesus ("tree of Life"). Fig trees were often planted in vineyards. The fig tree was a common symbol for Israel, and may also have that meaning here, or the tree in the parable may refer to the religious leadership. In either case, the parable reflects Jesus offering his hearers one last chance for repentance. "These three years" logically refers to the period of Jesus' ministry. The parable has been connected to the miracle of cursing the fig tree. Richard Whately commented that this parable "is one which our Lord may be said to have put before his hearers twice; once in words, once in action."