Luke 13
13
Repent or Perish
1There were present at that time some who told Him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2#Jn 9:2; Ac 28:4Jesus answered, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3#Lk 24:47I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4#Jn 9:7; 9:11Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all men living in Jerusalem? 5#Lk 13:3I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
6Then He told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came and looked for fruit on it and found none. 7#Ex 32:10; Mt 7:19So he said to the vinedresser of his vineyard, ‘Now these three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it deplete the soil?’
8“He answered him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you shall cut it down.’ ”
Healing a Woman on the Sabbath
10#Mt 4:23He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11#Lk 13:16And there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years and was bent over and could not straighten herself up. 12When Jesus saw her, He called her and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” 13#Mk 5:23; Lk 18:43Then He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight and glorified God.
14#Ex 20:9; Mt 12:2But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, and said to the people, “There are six days in which men ought to work. Therefore come and be healed on those days, but not on the Sabbath day.”
15#Lk 14:5The Lord answered him, “You hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead it away to water it? 16#Lk 19:9; 3:8Then should not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham whom Satan has bound these eighteen years, be loosed from this bondage on the Sabbath?”
17#Ps 132:18; 1Pe 3:16When He said this, all His adversaries were ashamed. And all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and theYeast
Mt 13:31–33; Mk 4:30–32
18#Lk 13:20Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what shall I compare it? 19#Mt 17:20It is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”
20Again He said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21#Mt 13:33; 1Co 5:6It is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in sixty pounds#Gk. 3 sata, or 27 kilograms. of meal until all of it was leavened.”
The Narrow Gate
Mt 7:13–14, 21–23
22#Lk 9:51; Mk 6:6Then He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23Someone said to Him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?”
He said to them, 24“Strive to enter through the narrow gate. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. 25#Mt 25:10–12; Lk 13:27Once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ He will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’
26“Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’
27#Mt 25:41; Ps 6:8; Lk 13:25“But He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know you, or where you come from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’
28#Mt 8:11–12; 22:13“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, and you yourselves thrust out. 29They will come from the east and from the west and from the north and from the south and will sit down to dine in the kingdom of God. 30#Mt 19:30; 20:16Listen, there are the last who will be first, and the first who will be last.”
The Lament Over Jerusalem
Mt 23:37–39
31On the same day certain Pharisees came, saying to Him, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.”
32#Heb 2:10; 5:9He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Look, I cast out demons. And I perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I shall be perfected.’ 33#Mt 21:11Nevertheless I must travel today and tomorrow and the day following. For it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside Jerusalem.
34#Mt 23:37–39; Dt 32:11–12“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing! 35#Ps 118:26; Mt 21:9Look, your house is forsaken. Truly I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’#Ps 118:26.”
Currently Selected:
Luke 13: MEV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Military Bible Association
Luke 13
13
Unless You Turn to God
1-5About 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.”
6-7Then 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?’
8-9“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
10-13He 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.
14The 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.”
15-16But 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?”
17When 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
18-19Then he said, “How can I picture God’s kingdom for you? What kind of story can I use? It’s like an acorn that a man plants in his front yard. It grows into a huge oak tree with thick branches, and eagles build nests in it.”
20-21He 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.”
22He went on teaching from town to village, village to town, but keeping on a steady course toward Jerusalem.
23-25A 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.’
26-27“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.’
28-30“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.”
* * *
31Just then some Pharisees came up and said, “Run for your life! Herod’s got your number. He’s out to kill you!”
32-35Jesus 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.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killer of prophets,
abuser of the messengers of God!
How often I’ve longed to gather your children,
gather your children like a hen,
Her brood safe under her wings—
but you refused and turned away!
And now it’s too late: You won’t see me again
until the day you say,
‘Blessed is he
who comes in
the name of God.’”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.