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Repent or Perish
1 Now there were some present at that time who told
Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with
their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these
Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans
because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless
you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who
died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they
were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5
I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all
perish.”
6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree
growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it
but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care
of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to
look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut
it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
8 “ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one
more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it
bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ ”
Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman on the Sabbath
10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the
synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled
by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could
not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called
her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from
your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and
immediately she straightened up and praised God.
14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath,
the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days
for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the
Sabbath.”
15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t
each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the
stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not
this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound
for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from
what bound her?”
17 When he said this, all his opponents were
humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the
wonderful things he was doing.
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast
18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like?
What shall I compare it to? 19 It is like a mustard seed,
which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and
became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.”
20 Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom
of God to? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed
into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through
the dough.”
The Narrow Door
22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages,
teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked
him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He
said to them,
24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow
door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will
not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and
closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and
pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer,
‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’
26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and
you taught in our streets.’
27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you
come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of
teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the
prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown
out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and
south, and will take their places at the feast in the
kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who
will be first, and first who will be last.”
Jesus’ Sorrow for Jerusalem
31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said
to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants
to kill you.”
32 He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on
driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ 33 In any case,
I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for
surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!
34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets
and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to
gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks
under her wings, and you were not willing. 35 Look, your
house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see
me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name
of the Lord.’ ” |
Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
