13:1  Now on the same occasion there came some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.

13:2  And Jesus said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans proved greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate?

13:3  "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

13:4  "Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them proved themselves worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem?

13:5  "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

13:6  And He began telling this parable: "A man had a fig tree which he had planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any.

13:7  "And he said to the vineyard-keeper, 'Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?'

13:8  "And he answered and said to him, 'Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer;

13:9  and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.'"

13:10  And He taught in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

13:11  And there lived a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she appeared bent double, and could not straighten up at all.

13:12  When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, "Woman, I free you from your sickness."

13:13  And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she stood erect again and began glorifying God.

13:14  But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, "We have six days in which we can work; so come and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day."

13:15  But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him?

13:16  "And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as we see her, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have received relief from this bond on the Sabbath day?"

13:17  As He said this, all His opponents had become humiliated; and the entire crowd rejoiced over all the glorious things He had done.

13:18  So He said, "What does the kingdom of God resemble, and to what shall I compare it?

13:19  "It resembles a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and THE BIRDS OF THE AIR NESTED IN ITS BRANCHES."

13:20  And again He said, "To what shall I compare the kingdom of God?

13:21  "It resembles leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it all leavened."

13:22  And He passed through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem.

13:23  And someone said to Him, "Lord, will just a few receive salvation?" And He said to them,

13:24  "Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not find it possible.

13:25  "Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, 'Lord, open up to us!' then He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know where you come from.'

13:26  "Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets';

13:27  and He will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you come from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.'

13:28  "In that place you will weep and gnash teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves kept out.

13:29  "And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.

13:30  "And behold, some who have come last who will appear first and some who have come first will appear last."

13:31  Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, "Go away, leave here, for Herod wants to kill You."

13:32  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 I reach My goal.'

13:33  "Nevertheless I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot occur that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem.

13:34  "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!

13:35  "Behold, your house remains to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, GOD BLESSES THE ONE WHO COMES IN HIS NAME!'"