The Call to Repent
At that time, some people who were with Jesus told him about a terrible incident involving Galileans. Pilate had killed these Galileans while they were offering their sacrifices, so that their blood was mixed together with the blood of their offerings. Jesus responded to them by asking, "Do you think these Galileans suffered this horrible death because they were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee? I tell you, no, they were not. But unless you turn away from your sins, you will all die in the same way." Then Jesus continued, "What about those eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell down and crushed them? Do you think they were worse sinners than everyone else living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, they were not. But unless you turn away from your sins, you will all die in the same way."
The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
Jesus told them this story: "A man owned a fig tree that he had planted in his vineyard. For three years running, he came looking for figs on that tree, but every time he found nothing. Finally, he went to his vineyard worker and said, 'Look here—I've been coming to this fig tree for three straight years hoping to find fruit, and there's never any. Cut it down! Why should it keep taking up good soil and giving nothing back?' But the vineyard worker answered him, 'Master, please give it one more chance. Let me dig around its roots and put some fertilizer on it. If it produces fruit next year, then we'll keep it. But if it still doesn't bear any fruit after that, then you can cut it down.'"
Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman on the Sabbath
One Sabbath day, Jesus was teaching in a synagogue when he noticed a woman who had been suffering for eighteen years. An evil spirit had crippled her body, bending her over so severely that she could not stand up straight or lift herself up to look around properly. When Jesus saw her condition, he called her to come forward. "Woman," he said to her, "you are completely freed from what has been wrong with you." Then Jesus placed his hands on her, and right away her back straightened up. She could stand tall again. Immediately she began praising God with great joy. The leader of the synagogue became angry because Jesus had healed someone on the Sabbath day. He spoke to the crowd, saying, "There are six days when work is supposed to be done. Come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath." But Jesus answered him directly: "You are all pretenders! Every single one of you unties your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and leads it out to give it water, don't you? This woman is a daughter of Abraham, and Satan has kept her tied up in this terrible condition for eighteen long years. Shouldn't she be untied and set free from what was binding her, even if it is the Sabbath day?" When Jesus finished speaking these words, all the people who had been opposing him felt ashamed and embarrassed. But the entire crowd was filled with joy because of all the wonderful and amazing things he was doing.
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven
Then Jesus asked his listeners, "What is God's kingdom like? What can I compare it to?" He continued, "It's like a tiny mustard seed that a man threw into his garden. The seed grew and grew until it became a large tree, and the birds came and made their nests in its branches." Jesus asked again, "What else can I compare God's kingdom to?" He answered his own question: "It's like yeast that a woman took and worked into a large amount of flour dough. She kept working it in until the yeast had spread through every bit of the dough."
The Narrow Door
Jesus continued his journey through the towns and villages, teaching the people as he traveled toward Jerusalem. During this time, someone in the crowd asked him, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" Jesus responded to this question with a serious warning: "Work hard to get through the narrow door, because I'm telling you that many people will try to enter but won't be able to make it through. Once the owner of the house gets up and locks the door, you'll be left standing outside, knocking and pleading, 'Sir, please open the door for us!' But he will answer back, 'I don't know who you are or where you come from.' "Then you'll protest, 'But we ate meals with you! We drank with you! You taught right here in our own streets!' Yet he will tell you again, 'I'm saying it clearly—I don't know who you are or where you come from. Get away from me, all of you who do wrong.' "That's when there will be terrible crying and grinding of teeth in anguish. You'll see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets enjoying the kingdom of God, while you yourselves are shut out and thrown away. People will travel from the east and west, from the north and south, and they will sit down together at the great feast in God's kingdom. Listen carefully—some who are last in line now will be first then, and some who are first now will end up last."
Jesus' Lament over Jerusalem
At that exact moment, some Pharisees approached Jesus with urgent news. "You need to leave this place immediately," they warned him. "Get away from here, because Herod wants to kill you." Jesus looked at them calmly and replied, "Go back and tell that fox something for me. Tell him, 'Watch this—I will continue casting out demons and healing sick people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete what I came to do.' But I must keep traveling today and tomorrow and the day after that, because it would be wrong for a prophet to die anywhere except in Jerusalem." Then Jesus turned his eyes toward the holy city, and his voice filled with deep sorrow. "Jerusalem, Jerusalem," he said, "you are the city that kills the prophets and throws stones at the messengers God sends to you. How many times I have wanted to gather your people together, the way a mother hen pulls her baby chicks safely under her wings. But you would not let me." His voice grew heavy with grief as he continued, "Look—your house will be left empty and abandoned. I tell you this: you will not see me again until the day comes when you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"