Repent or Perish
1
There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood 1Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
2
And he answered them, 2"Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?
4
Or those eighteen on whom the tower in 4Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?
The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
6
And he told this parable: "A man had 6a 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. 7Cut 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
11
And there was a woman who had had 9a 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."
14
But 12the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus 13had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, 14"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! 15Does 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, 16a daughter of Abraham whom 17Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?"
17
As he said these things, 18all his adversaries were put to shame, and 19all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
The Mustard Seed and the Leaven
19
It is like 21a 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
22It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in 23three measures of flour, until it was 24all leavened."
The Narrow Door
24
28"Strive 29to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
25
30When 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, 31'Lord, open to us,' then he will answer you, 32'I do not know where you come from.'
26
Then you will begin to say, 33'We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.'
27
But he will say, 'I tell you, 34I do not know where you come from. 35Depart from me, all you workers of evil!'
28
36In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see 37Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but 38you yourselves cast out.
29
And 39people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and 40recline at table in the kingdom of God.
Lament over Jerusalem
31
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, "Get away from 42here, for 43Herod 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 44I finish my course.
33
Nevertheless, 45I 46must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that 47a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.'
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)