Repent or Perish

¹There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood pPilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ²And he answered them, q“Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? ³No, I tell you; but unless you rrepent, you will all likewise perish. ⁴Or 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? ⁵No, I tell you; but unless you rrepent, you will all likewise perish.”

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

⁶And he told this parable: “A man had ta fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. ⁷And 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?’ ⁸And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. ⁹Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

A Woman with a Disabling Spirit

¹⁰Now vhe was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹And behold, there was a woman who had had wa disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. ¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” ¹³And he xlaid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she yglorified God. ¹⁴But 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.” ¹⁵Then 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? ¹⁶And ought not this woman, da daughter of Abraham whom eSatan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” ¹⁷As 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

¹⁸hHe said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? ¹⁹It 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.”

²⁰And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? ²¹jIt is like leaven that a woman took and hid in kthree measures of flour, until it was lall leavened.”

The Narrow Door

²²mHe went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and njourneying toward Jerusalem. ²³And someone said to him, “Lord, owill those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, ²⁴p“Strive qto enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ²⁵rWhen 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.’ ²⁶Then you will begin to say, u‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ ²⁷But he will say, ‘I tell you, tI do not know where you come from. vDepart from me, all you workers of evil!’ ²⁸wIn 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. ²⁹And wpeople will come from east and west, and from north and south, and xrecline at table in the kingdom of God. ³⁰And behold, ysome are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Lament over Jerusalem

³¹At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from zhere, for aHerod wants to kill you.” ³²And 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. ³³Nevertheless, 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.’ ³⁴fO 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! ³⁵Behold, 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!’”