Luke 13

13 ¹Just then some people told him about Galileans whose blood Pilate mixed with their sacrifices.

²He replied, "Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered these things? ³No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well. ⁴Or those eighteen killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than everyone else in Jerusalem? ⁵No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way."

⁶Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it and found none. ⁷He told the gardener, 'Look, for three years I've come seeking fruit on this fig tree and found none. Cut it down—why let it drain the ground?' ⁸But he replied, 'Sir, leave it this year too, until I dig around it and add manure. ⁹Then if it bears fruit next year, good; if not, you can cut it down.'"

A Daughter Set Free on the Sabbath

¹⁰Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹Just then, a woman weakened by a spirit for eighteen years was bent over, unable to straighten up at all.

¹²Seeing her, Jesus called her over and said, "Woman, you are freed from your disability."

¹³He laid hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and glorified our Father.

¹⁴But the synagogue leader, angry that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, told the crowd, "There are six days for work. Come be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath."

¹⁵The Lord answered him, "Hypocrites! Doesn't each of you untie your ox or donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out to water it? ¹⁶Shouldn't this daughter of Abraham, bound by Satan for eighteen years, be freed from that bond on the Sabbath?"

¹⁷As he said these things, all his opponents were humiliated, and all the crowd celebrated all the glorious things he was doing.

The Kingdom Grows Like a Seed

¹⁸He said therefore, "What is the kingdom of our Father like? What should I compare it to? ¹⁹It's like a mustard seed a man took and planted in his garden, growing into a tree where the sky's birds nested in its branches."

²⁰And again he said, "What should I compare the kingdom of our Father to? ²¹It is like yeast a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until it all yeasted."

Enter Through the Narrow Door

²²He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. ²³Someone asked him, "Lord, are the saved few?" He said to them,

²⁴"Struggle to enter through the narrow door—many, I tell you, will try to enter and fail. ²⁵Once the homeowner rises and shuts the door, you'll stand outside knocking, saying, 'Lord, open for us.' He'll answer, 'I don't know where you're from.' ²⁶Then you'll begin to say, 'We ate and drank before you; you taught in our streets.' ²⁷But he'll say, 'I tell you, I don't know where you're from. Get away from me, all you who do evil!' ²⁸There will be weeping and teeth grinding, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of our Father, while you yourselves are thrown out. ²⁹People will come from east and west, from north and south, and sit down to eat in our Father's kingdom. ³⁰And indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."

Jesus Weeps Over Jerusalem

³¹At that same hour some Pharisees came, telling him, "Get out, leave here—Herod wants to kill you."

³²And he said to them, "Go tell that fox: Look, I drive out demons and complete healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I am finished. ³³Still, I must travel today, tomorrow, and the next day, since no prophet can die outside Jerusalem.

³⁴Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets, stoning those sent to her! How often I longed to gather your children as a hen gathers her brood under her wings—but you refused! ³⁵Look, your house is left to you. I tell you: you won't see me until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of our Father!'"