Luke 13:3 is a widely-abused verse and is often ripped totally out of its context to justify bad doctrine. If this verse was properly studied, it would actually reveal that it has nothing to do with personal salvation. Luke 13:3, and the chapter in general, is discussing the abolishing of Israel as a nation. Many of the people who pervert this verse to justify a works-based salvation gospel ("repent of your sins") are often Christian Zionists, meaning they revere the unbelieving "Jewish" people as "God's chosen people." The so-called Jewish people of today are so far removed from the Jews of the first century because they had been scattered and intermingled with many other nations over the course of hundreds and hundreds of years. God wiped Israel off the map nearly two thousand years ago, using the Romans to accomplish His will. God did this because they rejected Jesus Christ, thereby rejecting the true God of Israel. Judaism was and is to this day a wicked false religion that teaches works-salvation and many other lies and heresies.
There are a lot of "turn or burn" preachers out there (you know, the fat Baptist ones that spew spit every time they open their mouth). When they say "turn," they don't mean "turn to Christ," but rather "turn from your sins." They say if you don't turn from your sins, you'll burn in hell. Their favorite verse is from Luke 13:3, which says:
"I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
If I want to get someone saved, I would prefer to show them a verse that includes Jesus Christ, everlasting life, believe, or faith, considering it's faith in Jesus that brings about everlasting life. Were any of those mentioned in that verse? No. Therefore, is it a great verse to use if you want people to get saved? No, because it isn't really talking about individual salvation at all. But there's certain people out there, false prophets and fat Baptists, that like to make salvation difficult for people. The gospel is called "good news" for a reason. It's simple to obtain everlasting life - because it's already been purchased and gifted for you. But adding this element of "turning from your sins" makes it difficult, if not impossible, to obtain everlasting life. An obese Baptist pastor has not turned from his sin of gluttony, but he'll get behind a podium and fuss until he's red in the face about your not giving up your specific sins in order to be saved.
These false preachers remind me of Matthew 23:13: "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in."
Another verse, Isaiah 5:14, comes to mind: "Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it." Hell will be full of these heretical preachers that harp on "repenting of your sins" to go to heaven. They are completely pompous, as the Bible points out. They are hypocritical in thinking that they have repented of their sins to get into heaven, but if you haven't repented like they have, you'll burn in hell. There's nothing new under the sun, as the Bible says. We have always had self-righteous people pushing their own works-salvation gospel that only they themselves have accomplished. They are ignorant boasters, going about to establish their own righteousness while rejecting the free offer of righteousness through Christ.
Going back to the original verse, let's interpret it in the way a hardcore "repent of your sins" preacher would:
"I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent of your sins, ye shall all likewise go to hell."
There are two circumstances that Jesus is using to warn these people to repent. In the first, there are Galileans who were slain by Pilate's soldiers, likely in the temple since their blood had been mingled with their animal sacrifices. It was at a time when they least suspected they would be slaughtered by Roman soldiers. There's no immediately identifiable reason why Pilate did this, but it shows the sudden calamity that came upon these Galilean Jews. In the other instance, the tower of Siloam fell, killing eighteen people. This was a freak accident, or "act of God." Sudden calamity came upon those as well. In the same manner, the Jewish people that Jesus is preaching to will suffer sudden calamity if they do not repent (and we'll get at what they need to repent of toward the end). Jesus went straight into a parable about the fruitless fig tree (Luke 13:6-9):"He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down."
There are a lot of "turn or burn" preachers out there (you know, the fat Baptist ones that spew spit every time they open their mouth). When they say "turn," they don't mean "turn to Christ," but rather "turn from your sins." They say if you don't turn from your sins, you'll burn in hell. Their favorite verse is from Luke 13:3, which says:
"I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
If I want to get someone saved, I would prefer to show them a verse that includes Jesus Christ, everlasting life, believe, or faith, considering it's faith in Jesus that brings about everlasting life. Were any of those mentioned in that verse? No. Therefore, is it a great verse to use if you want people to get saved? No, because it isn't really talking about individual salvation at all. But there's certain people out there, false prophets and fat Baptists, that like to make salvation difficult for people. The gospel is called "good news" for a reason. It's simple to obtain everlasting life - because it's already been purchased and gifted for you. But adding this element of "turning from your sins" makes it difficult, if not impossible, to obtain everlasting life. An obese Baptist pastor has not turned from his sin of gluttony, but he'll get behind a podium and fuss until he's red in the face about your not giving up your specific sins in order to be saved.
These false preachers remind me of Matthew 23:13: "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in."
Another verse, Isaiah 5:14, comes to mind: "Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it." Hell will be full of these heretical preachers that harp on "repenting of your sins" to go to heaven. They are completely pompous, as the Bible points out. They are hypocritical in thinking that they have repented of their sins to get into heaven, but if you haven't repented like they have, you'll burn in hell. There's nothing new under the sun, as the Bible says. We have always had self-righteous people pushing their own works-salvation gospel that only they themselves have accomplished. They are ignorant boasters, going about to establish their own righteousness while rejecting the free offer of righteousness through Christ.
Going back to the original verse, let's interpret it in the way a hardcore "repent of your sins" preacher would:
"I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent of your sins, ye shall all likewise go to hell."
What will happen to me if I don't repent of my sins? Well, according to Scripture, if you believe on Christ you'll be saved. But according to the false teachers, you will go to hell. I'm going to explain exactly what Luke 13:3 means because it has been torn out of context. Then I'm going to explain the heresy in this assertion that unless you repent of your sins, you will go to hell. Luke 13:1-5, quoted in full:
"There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
The master of the vineyard wanted the barren fruit tree taken down, but the dresser of the vineyard persuaded his master to wait just a little while longer. If it did not bear fruit after his attempt to make it fruitful, then the master could cut it down. This parable represents the unfruitful nation of Israel, who Christ is trying to save so that God does not cast out this people. God had been very upset with the Israel for constantly whoring after idols and adding to His Word the commandments of men (Judaism). They had become utterly barren at the point when Jesus appeared on the scene. In the New Testament, "fruit" refers to spiritual replication. For example, in Genesis, man was commanded to be "fruitful" and multiply, meaning he was to reproduce and bring forth more humans. Christians are commanded to be fruitful, meaning they should replicate themselves by producing more Christians (saved people). This happens when a Christian shares the gospel with someone, and that person becomes saved by believing the gospel. That Christian has born fruit. But a people without Christ cannot yield fruit, which is exactly the situation Israel was in at this point in time. They were not actively winning people to Jehovah God, but rather were serving a false religion called Judaism. Jesus Christ was Jehovah in the flesh, but many in Judaism failed to see this because they served a false religion.
It's easy to take a verse out of context and use it to mean whatever you want. But it's not easy to actually study the verse within its context and cross-references, so it will take a bit of time and reading to get the big picture. At the end of Luke 13, in verse 34, Jesus cried out,
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!"
Jesus represents the dresser of the vineyard, and God the Father represents the master of the vineyard. God desires to destroy the nation of Israel for her stubbornness and unbelief, but Jesus Christ is trying to see if they will repent and bring forth fruit. Jesus is addressing the Jews within the context of Luke 13. The sending of prophets is an effort on the part of Christ to try to bring forth fruit out of this nation, but the Jews continually rejected God's prophets. There is a parallel parable in Matthew 21:32-45, quoted below.
Hold up for a second. John preached the gospel to the Pharisees and Sadducees, but they did not repent after his preaching. And how should they have repented? It's clarified in the next clause: that they should believe him. Whenever repentance is used concerning salvation, it's always about changing what you believe. The Pharisees believed in Judaism, a religion that taught works for salvation. They had to repent of their belief in a dead religion and believe the gospel preached by John the Baptist. Therein lies the real definition of repentance for salvation. The passage continues:
"Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: and when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise."
Here are the prophets that Jesus was talking about in this verse: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!" They went to receive the fruits of the vineyard, much like how God was looking for fruit from the people of Israel. But instead these wicked people slew the prophets sent unto them. God was merciful and longsuffering toward Israel, but the people remained stubborn and unfruitful.
"But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him."
The son in this parable is symbolic of Jesus Christ, who was sent to the Jewish people. But instead of being received and reverenced, he was slain by wicked hands. The consequences in this parable are eye opening:
The son in this parable is symbolic of Jesus Christ, who was sent to the Jewish people. But instead of being received and reverenced, he was slain by wicked hands. The consequences in this parable are eye opening:
"When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them."
Jesus is referencing the unbelieving Jews as the people who are not bringing forth fruit. Even the Pharisees acknowledged that it was them Christ spoke of. They are the nation who Christ will take the kingdom of God from, and then the kingdom will be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof, which we later find out to be the born-again Gentiles. So, going back to Luke 13, what does it mean when Jesus told the Jews and Pharisees to repent or perish? This is what happens if they don't repent:
Luke 19:43-44
"For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation."
Does it sound like this is a time of "sudden calamity," like in the instances where Pilate slew the Jews in the temple or when the Siloam tower fell? Jesus Christ is prophesying that one stone will not be left upon another concerning the temple. When was this accomplished? 70 AD. Rome destroyed Jerusalem, and the Jews were finished as a nation. Every last stone was removed from the temple, and it became totally demolished. God's judgment, or the "visitation," came. The kingdom of God was removed from Israel, and they are no longer are a people today. The modern state of Israel is a phony, a fake, because they do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. There is only One God, the Lord Jesus Christ. If they do not have the Son, they don't have the Father. Israel was finished almost 2000 years ago. The kingdom of God was taken from the nation of Israel and given to a people bringing forth the fruits, God's elect: those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ. We are God's chosen people, not the Jews.
If the Jewish people repented, what would have happened? Sudden calamity would not have come. If the nation of Israel began producing fruit, God would have spared judgment. But because they crucified the Lord Jesus Christ and overwhelmingly rejected Him, God let His judgment come in the form of Roman oppression. Proverbs 24:22 says, "For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?" Israel was ruined, great and small, man, woman, and even child. God cursed and scattered them for refusing to repent and rejecting the Messiah.
Do you see what they should have repented of in Luke 13:3? Their unbelief. Their fruitlessness. Because they did not repent, physical destruction came suddenly upon them. So, "perish" in this case means to die physically; it's not even talking about hell, unless you think having a tower fall on you or being slain by soldiers in the temple is "hell." That's why "likewise" is in the passage, meaning "in like manner." The Jews at 70 AD died in the same manner as those who perished in the temple or at the tower - suddenly and without warning. After hundreds and hundreds of years, God finally had enough of the Jewish people, and because they did not repent and accept Christ, he cast them off.
Have you ever heard of the cursed fig tree? Matthew and Mark record the instance where Jesus walked up to a fig tree, and after finding no fruit, cursed it:
Mark 11:12-14:
"And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: and seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
Matthew 21:19:
"And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away."
The fig tree represents an unfruitful people, the nation of Israel. Most Baptists and Christians in general will not understand this. There are some people that understand that the fig tree represents Israel. However, those who do recognize it's Israel get the next point wrong. They believe that the "fruit" is supposed to be good works. Then they will conclude that if you don't have fruit (good works) in your life, you will be cursed and sent to hell. That is not what this means. So here's the real meaning, from someone who fully understands this verse:
The fig tree represents Israel. The lack of fruit represents their barren and unfruitful condition, meaning that they have not been getting people saved. There is a religion in Jerusalem called Judaism, and it is completely unfruitful because it is a false religion teaching a work-your-way-to-heaven plan of salvation. Apostasy produces barrenness because people can't get saved in a false religion. Very few, a "remnant" as the Bible calls it, were saved in Israel. As a whole, the nation of Israel was cursed, just like Jesus cursed the fig tree. His coming up to the tree to find fruit symbolizes the parable where the master of the vineyard came looking for fruit, and the dresser was unable, after all his attempts, to produce fruit. Then the master of the vineyard uprooted and destroyed the fig tree, just like Jesus cursed the fig tree, and it withered away. And after it withered away, fruit would never grow from that tree again. Fruit is brought forth by Christians, or saved people. Can modern, so-called Jews today bring forth fruit? No. Israel is a destroyed and withered nation. Jesus Christ Himself cursed Israel to exist no more. Today's Israel is a total sham, and it has nothing to do with God. They are trying to piece together what doesn't really exist anymore.
Have you ever heard of the cursed fig tree? Matthew and Mark record the instance where Jesus walked up to a fig tree, and after finding no fruit, cursed it:
Mark 11:12-14:
"And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: and seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
Matthew 21:19:
"And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away."
The fig tree represents an unfruitful people, the nation of Israel. Most Baptists and Christians in general will not understand this. There are some people that understand that the fig tree represents Israel. However, those who do recognize it's Israel get the next point wrong. They believe that the "fruit" is supposed to be good works. Then they will conclude that if you don't have fruit (good works) in your life, you will be cursed and sent to hell. That is not what this means. So here's the real meaning, from someone who fully understands this verse:
The fig tree represents Israel. The lack of fruit represents their barren and unfruitful condition, meaning that they have not been getting people saved. There is a religion in Jerusalem called Judaism, and it is completely unfruitful because it is a false religion teaching a work-your-way-to-heaven plan of salvation. Apostasy produces barrenness because people can't get saved in a false religion. Very few, a "remnant" as the Bible calls it, were saved in Israel. As a whole, the nation of Israel was cursed, just like Jesus cursed the fig tree. His coming up to the tree to find fruit symbolizes the parable where the master of the vineyard came looking for fruit, and the dresser was unable, after all his attempts, to produce fruit. Then the master of the vineyard uprooted and destroyed the fig tree, just like Jesus cursed the fig tree, and it withered away. And after it withered away, fruit would never grow from that tree again. Fruit is brought forth by Christians, or saved people. Can modern, so-called Jews today bring forth fruit? No. Israel is a destroyed and withered nation. Jesus Christ Himself cursed Israel to exist no more. Today's Israel is a total sham, and it has nothing to do with God. They are trying to piece together what doesn't really exist anymore.
I've just demonstrated the entire meaning behind that verse. That takes work, right? The Bible exhorts us to study to show ourselves approved unto God. I'm sick of so-called Baptists and other Zionists that twist the Scripture into an outright lie. And now I'll demonstrate why the twisting of Luke 13:3 into "turn or burn" is so heretical.
Let's rewrite the Bible so it fits a "repent of your sins," warped view on salvation.
John 3:18: "...but he that repenteth not is condemned already, because he hath not repented of all his sins."
John 3:36: "...and he that repents not of his sin shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
Mark 16:16: "...but he that does not turn from his sins shall be damned."
To conclude, Luke 13:3 and Luke 13:5 are talking to an unrepentant Jewish people/nation. What do they need to repent of? Rejecting God's prophets and the Messiah, Jesus Christ. What will happen if they repent and bring forth fruit? God will spare them. What will happen if they don't repent and continue to be barren? God will judge them. What ended up happening? They slew Jesus out of the hardness of their hearts, and God visited judgment upon them in AD 70 by destroying their land, temple, and people. They are no longer a people today; the modern Jews in Israel today are very far removed genetically from the Jews at the time of Christ. They share virtually nothing. The Jewish people did not repent, and thus the nation of Israel perished in AD 70, just as Jesus said in Luke 13:3.
And now we see the result of the Christ-rejecting religion of Judaism. People who still subscribe to this religion are so deeply lost. Instead of referring to them as "God's chosen people," we ought to be more concerned with warning them of hell and the false doctrines within their evil religion. If they want to become one of God's chosen people, they must simply believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. No life of meritorious acts is necessary, no sins need to be repented of, and absolutely no works or effort of our own is required. Just believe on Christ and be grafted back into the Tree. God can graft them back in again! (Romans 11)
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