Luke 13:1–14:35
13 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood pPilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, q“Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you rrepent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in sSiloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you rrepent, you will all likewise perish.”
The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
6 And he told this parable: “A man had ta fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. uCut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”
A Woman with a Disabling Spirit
10 Now vhe was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And behold, there was a woman who had had wa disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” 13 And he xlaid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she yglorified God. 14 But zthe ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus ahad healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, b“There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” 15 Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! cDoes not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? 16 And ought not this woman, da daughter of Abraham whom eSatan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” 17 As he said these things, fall his adversaries were put to shame, and gall the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
The Mustard Seed and the Leaven
18 hHe said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like ia grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”
20 And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21 jIt is like leaven that a woman took and hid in kthree measures of flour, until it was lall leavened.”
22 mHe went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and njourneying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, owill those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, 24 p“Strive qto enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 rWhen once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, s‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, t‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, u‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, tI do not know where you come from. vDepart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 wIn that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see wAbraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but wyou yourselves cast out. 29 And wpeople will come from east and west, and from north and south, and xrecline at table in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, ysome are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from zhere, for aHerod wants to kill you.” 32 And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day bI finish my course. 33 Nevertheless, cI dmust go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that ea prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ 34 fO Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that gkills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! hHow often would I have igathered jyour children together kas a hen gathers her brood lunder her wings, and myou were not willing! 35 Behold, nyour house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, o‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
Healing of a Man on the Sabbath
14 One Sabbath, pwhen he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were qwatching him carefully. 2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus responded to rthe lawyers and Pharisees, saying, s“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 5 And he said to them, t“Which of you, having a son1 or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6 uAnd they could not reply to these things.
The Parable of the Wedding Feast
7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed vhow they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, wso that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For xeveryone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The Parable of the Great Banquet
12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give ya dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers2 or your relatives or rich neighbors, zlest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, ainvite bthe poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid cat dthe resurrection of the just.”
15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, e“Blessed is everyone who will feat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, g“A man once hgave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he isent his servant3 to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, j‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in kthe poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you,4 mnone of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ”
25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 n“If anyone comes to me and odoes not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, pyes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 qWhoever does not rbear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not sfirst sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not tsit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 uSo therefore, any one of you who vdoes not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
Salt Without Taste Is Worthless
34 w“Salt is good, xbut if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? 35 It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. yHe who has ears to hear, let him hear.”