Luke 13
13
Turn Away From Sin or Die
1Then some people in the crowd told Jesus about what had happened to certain Galileans whose blood Pilate mixed with their sacrifices. 2Jesus said, “These people from Galilee suffered greatly. But do you think this was because they were worse sinners than all the other Galileans? 3No, I’m telling you. Unless you turn away from your sins, you will all die too. 4Or what about those 18 people in Siloam who died when the tower fell on them? Do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, they were not! But unless you turn away from your sins, you will all die too.”
6Then Jesus told a story. “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, but when he went to look for fruit on it, he didn’t find any. 7So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree but I’ve never found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
8“ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year. I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9If it bears fruit next year, great. If not, then we can cut it down.’ ”
Jesus Heals a Disabled Woman on the Sabbath Day
10Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on a Sabbath day. 11A woman was there who’d been disabled by an evil spirit for 18 years. She was bent over and couldn’t stand up straight. 12Jesus saw her and asked her to come to him. He told her, “Woman, you will no longer be disabled. I’m going to set you free!” 13Then he put his hands on her, and right away she stood up straight and praised God.
14But the synagogue leader was angry because Jesus had healed the woman on the Sabbath day. He told the people, “There are six days for work, so come and be healed on those days. Don’t come on the Sabbath day.”
15The Lord responded, “You’re such hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you go to the barn and untie your ox or donkey on the Sabbath day, and don’t you then lead it out and give it water? 16So shouldn’t this woman, who is a member of Abraham’s family line, but who was kept disabled by Satan for 18 long years, have been set free on the Sabbath day from what was keeping her disabled?”
17When 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
18Then Jesus asked, “What is God’s kingdom like? What can I compare it to? 19It’s like a mustard seed that someone took and planted in a garden. It grew and became such a big tree that the birds could sit in its branches.”
20Again he asked, “What can I compare God’s kingdom to? 21It’s like yeast that a woman mixed into 60 pounds of flour that worked its way through all the dough.”
The Narrow Door
22Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching the people as he continued on his way to Jerusalem. 23Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”
He said to them, 24“Try very hard to enter through the narrow door. I tell you that many will try to enter, but they will not be able to. 25Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will have stand outside knocking and begging, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’
“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you and I don’t know where you’re from.’
26“Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you. You taught in our streets.’
27“But he will repeat, ‘I don’t know you and I don’t know where you’re from. Get away from me, all you who do evil!’
28“You will weep and grind your teeth together when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in God’s kingdom while you yourselves are thrown out. 29People will come from east and west and north and south to take their places at the feast in God’s kingdom. 30Then the last will be first and the first will be last.”
Jesus’ Sadness Over Jerusalem
31At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else, because Herod wants to kill you.”
32He replied, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Today and tomorrow I will keep on driving out demons and healing people, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ 33In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day. Certainly no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!
34“Jerusalem! Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and throw stones to kill those who are sent to you. Many times I’ve wanted to gather your people together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me. 35Look, 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.’ ”
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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.’”
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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.