Luke 13

About that time some people came up and told him about the Galileans Pilate had killed while they were at worship, mixing their blood with the blood of the sacrifices on the altar. Jesus responded, “Do you think those murdered Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans? Not at all. Unless you turn to God, you, too, will die. And those eighteen in Jerusalem the other day, the ones crushed and killed when the Tower of Siloam collapsed and fell on them, do you think they were worse citizens than all other Jerusalemites? Not at all. Unless you turn to God, you, too, will die.”

Some people who were there at that time told Jesus about certain Galileans. Pilate had mixed their blood with their sacrifices.

Jesus said, “These people from Galilee suffered greatly. Do you think they were worse sinners than all the other Galileans?

I tell you, no! But unless you turn away from your sins, you will all die too.

Or what about the 18 people in Siloam? They died when the tower fell on them. Do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?

I tell you, no! But unless you turn away from your sins, you will all die too.”

Then he told them a story: “A man had an apple tree planted in his front yard. He came to it expecting to find apples, but there weren’t any. He said to his gardener, ‘What’s going on here? For three years now I’ve come to this tree expecting apples and not one apple have I found. Chop it down! Why waste good ground with it any longer?’

Then Jesus told a story. “A man had a fig tree,” he said. “It was growing in his vineyard. When he went to look for fruit on it, he didn’t find any.

So he went to the man who took care of the vineyard. He said, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree. But I haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

“The gardener said, ‘Let’s give it another year. I’ll dig around it and fertilize, and maybe it will produce next year; if it doesn’t, then chop it down.’”

Healing on the Sabbath

“ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year. I’ll dig around it and feed it.

If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ ”

Jesus Heals a Disabled Woman on the Sabbath Day

He was teaching in one of the meeting places on the Sabbath. There was a woman present, so twisted and bent over with arthritis that she couldn’t even look up. She had been afflicted with this for eighteen years. When Jesus saw her, he called her over. “Woman, you’re free!” He laid hands on her and suddenly she was standing straight and tall, giving glory to God.

Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on a Sabbath day.

A woman there had been disabled by an evil spirit for 18 years. She was bent over and could not stand up straight.

Jesus saw her. He asked her to come to him. He said to her, “Woman, you will no longer be disabled. I am about to set you free.”

Then he put his hands on her. Right away she stood up straight and praised God.

The meeting-place president, furious because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the congregation, “Six days have been defined as work days. Come on one of the six if you want to be healed, but not on the seventh, the Sabbath.”

Jesus had healed the woman on the Sabbath day. This made the synagogue leader angry. He told the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days. But do not come on the Sabbath day.”

But Jesus shot back, “You frauds! Each Sabbath every one of you regularly unties your cow or donkey from its stall, leads it out for water, and thinks nothing of it. So why isn’t it all right for me to untie this daughter of Abraham and lead her from the stall where Satan has had her tied these eighteen years?”

The Lord answered him, “You pretenders! Doesn’t each of you go to the barn and untie your ox or donkey on the Sabbath day? Then don’t you lead it out to give it water?

This woman is a member of Abraham’s family line. But Satan has kept her disabled for 18 long years. Shouldn’t she be set free on the Sabbath day from what was keeping her disabled?”

When he put it that way, his critics were left looking quite silly and red-faced. The congregation was delighted and cheered him on.

The Way to God

When Jesus said this, all those who opposed him were put to shame. But the people were delighted. They loved all the wonderful things he was doing.

The Stories of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

Then he said, “How can I picture God’s kingdom for you? What kind of story can I use? It’s like a pine nut that a man plants in his front yard. It grows into a huge pine tree with thick branches, and eagles build nests in it.”

Then Jesus asked, “What is God’s kingdom like? What can I compare it to?

It is like a mustard seed. Someone took the seed and planted it in a garden. It grew and became a tree. The birds sat in its branches.”

He tried again. “How can I picture God’s kingdom? It’s like yeast that a woman works into enough dough for three loaves of bread—and waits while the dough rises.”

Again he asked, “What can I compare God’s kingdom to?

It is like yeast that a woman used. She mixed it into 60 pounds of flour. The yeast worked its way all through the dough.”

The Narrow Door

He went on teaching from town to village, village to town, but keeping on a steady course toward Jerusalem.

Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching the people. He was on his way to Jerusalem.

A bystander said, “Master, will only a few be saved?”

He said, “Whether few or many is none of your business. Put your mind on your life with God. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires your total attention. A lot of you are going to assume that you’ll sit down to God’s salvation banquet just because you’ve been hanging around the neighborhood all your lives. Well, one day you’re going to be banging on the door, wanting to get in, but you’ll find the door locked and the Master saying, ‘Sorry, you’re not on my guest list.’

Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”

He said to them,

“Try very hard to enter through the narrow door. I tell you, many will try to enter and will not be able to.

The owner of the house will get up and close the door. Then you will stand outside knocking and begging. You will say, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’

“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you. And I don’t know where you come from.’

“You’ll protest, ‘But we’ve known you all our lives!’ only to be interrupted with his abrupt, ‘Your kind of knowing can hardly be called knowing. You don’t know the first thing about me.’

“Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you. You taught in our streets.’

“But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you. And I don’t know where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil!’

“That’s when you’ll find yourselves out in the cold, strangers to grace. You’ll watch Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets march into God’s kingdom. You’ll watch outsiders stream in from east, west, north, and south and sit down at the table of God’s kingdom. And all the time you’ll be outside looking in—and wondering what happened. This is the Great Reversal: the last in line put at the head of the line, and the so-called first ending up last.”

“You will weep and grind your teeth together when you see those who are in God’s kingdom. You will see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets there. But you yourselves will be thrown out.

People will come from east and west and north and south. They will take their places at the feast in God’s kingdom.

Then the last will be first. And the first will be last.”

Jesus’ Sadness Over Jerusalem

Just then some Pharisees came up and said, “Run for your life! Herod’s on the hunt. He’s out to kill you!”

At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus. They said to him, “Leave this place. Go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”

Jesus said, “Tell that fox that I’ve no time for him right now. Today and tomorrow I’m busy clearing out the demons and healing the sick; the third day I’m wrapping things up. Besides, it’s not proper for a prophet to come to a bad end outside Jerusalem.

He replied, “Go and tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons. I will keep on healing people today and tomorrow. And on the third day I will reach my goal.’

In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day. Certainly no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

“Jerusalem! Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and throw stones in order to kill those who are sent to you. Many times I have wanted to gather your people together. I have wanted to be like a hen who gathers her chicks under her wings. And you would not let me.

Look, your house is left empty. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ” (Psalm 118:26)