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Call to Repent

¹ Now on that very occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had ^(F1)mixed with their sacrifices.² And Jesus responded and said to them, "^(C1)Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans just because they have suffered this fate?³ "No, I tell you, but unless you ^(F1)repent, you will all likewise perish.⁴ "Or do you think that those eighteen on whom the tower in ^(C1)Siloam fell and killed them were worse ^(F1)(C2)offenders than all the other people who live in Jerusalem?⁵ "No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

⁶ And He began telling this parable: "A man had ^(C1)a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any.⁷ "And he said to the vineyard-keeper, 'Look! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree ^(F1)without finding any. ^(C1)Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?'⁸ "But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, leave it alone for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer;⁹ and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.'"

Healing on the Sabbath

¹⁰ Now Jesus was ^(C1)teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.¹¹ And ^(F1)there was a woman who for eighteen years had had ^(C1)a ^(F2)sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent over double, and could not straighten up at all.¹² When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your sickness."¹³ And He ^(C1)laid His hands on her; and immediately she stood up straight again, and began ^(C2)glorifying God.¹⁴ But ^(C1)the synagogue leader, indignant because Jesus ^(C2)had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, "^(C3)There are six days during which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day."¹⁵ But ^(C1)the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites, ^(C2)does each of you on the Sabbath not untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it away to water it?¹⁶ "And this woman, ^(C1)a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom ^(C2)Satan has bound for ^(F1)eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this restraint on the Sabbath day?"¹⁷ And as He said this, all His opponents were being ^(F1)humiliated; and ^(C1)the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.

Parables of Mustard Seed and Leaven

¹⁸ So ^(C1)He was saying, "^(C2)What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it?¹⁹ "It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and ^(C1)the birds of the sky nested in its branches."

²⁰ And again He said, "^(C1)To what shall I compare the kingdom of God?²¹ "^(C1)It is like ^(F1)leaven, which a woman took and hid in ^(C2)three ^(F2)sata of flour until it was all leavened."

Teaching in the Villages

²² And He was passing through one city and village after another, teaching, and ^(C1)proceeding on His way to Jerusalem.²³ And someone said to Him, "Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?" And He said to them,²⁴ "^(C1)Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.²⁵ "Once the head of the house gets up and ^(C1)shuts the door, and you begin standing outside and knocking on the door, saying, '^(C2)Lord, open up to us!' and He then will answer and say to you, '^(C3)I do not know where you are from.'²⁶ "Then you will ^(C1)begin saying, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets!'²⁷ And yet He will ^(F1)say, '^(C1)I do not know where you are from; ^(C2)LEAVE ME, ALL YOU ^(F2)EVILDOERS.'²⁸ "^(C1)In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out.²⁹ "And they ^(C1)will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.³⁰ "And behold, ^(C1)some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."

³¹ At that very time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, "Go away and leave this place, because ^(C1)Herod wants to kill You."³² And He said to them, "Go and tell that ^(F1)fox, 'Behold, I am casting out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I ^(F2)(C1)reach My goal.'³³ "Nevertheless ^(C1)I must go on My journey today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a ^(C2)prophet would perish outside Jerusalem.³⁴ "^(C1)Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, ^(C2)just as a hen gathers her ^(F1)young under her wings, and you were unwilling!³⁵ "Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until you say, '^(C1)BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'"