Study Desk

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.

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?

"No, I tell you, but unless you ^(F1)repent, you will all likewise perish.

"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?

"No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

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.

"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?'

"But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, leave it alone for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer;

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

Now Jesus was ^(C1)teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

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.

When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your sickness."

And He ^(C1)laid His hands on her; and immediately she stood up straight again, and began ^(C2)glorifying God.

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."

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?

"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?"

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.

So ^(C1)He was saying, "^(C2)What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it?

"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."

And again He said, "^(C1)To what shall I compare the kingdom of God?

"^(C1)It is like ^(F1)leaven, which a woman took and hid in ^(C2)three ^(F2)sata of flour until it was all leavened."

And He was passing through one city and village after another, teaching, and ^(C1)proceeding on His way to Jerusalem.

And someone said to Him, "Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?" And He said to them,

"^(C1)Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

"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.'

"Then you will ^(C1)begin saying, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets!'

And yet He will ^(F1)say, '^(C1)I do not know where you are from; ^(C2)LEAVE ME, ALL YOU ^(F2)EVILDOERS.'

"^(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.

"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.

"And behold, ^(C1)some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."

At that very time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, "Go away and leave this place, because ^(C1)Herod wants to kill You."

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.'

"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.

"^(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!

"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!'"

It happened that when He went into the house of one of the ^(F1)leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, ^(C1)they were watching Him ^(F2)closely.

And ^(F1)there in front of Him was a man suffering from ^(F2)edema.

And Jesus responded and said to the ^(F1)(C1)lawyers and ^(F2)Pharisees, "^(C2)Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?"

But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away.

And He said to them, "^(F1)(C1)Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?"

^(C1)And they could offer no reply to this.

Now He began telling a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how ^(C1)they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them,

"Whenever you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, ^(C1)do not ^(F1)take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him,

and the one who invited you ^(F1)both will come and say to you, 'Give your place to this person,' and then ^(C1)in disgrace you will proceed to occupy the last place.

"But whenever you are invited, go and ^(F1)take the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, ^(C1)move up higher'; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are ^(F2)dining at the table with you.

"^(C1)For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

Now He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, "Whenever you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor wealthy neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you to a meal in return, and that will be your ^(F1)repayment.

"But whenever you give a ^(F1)banquet, invite people who are poor, who have disabilities, who are limping, and people who are blind;

and you will be blessed, since they ^(F1)do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at ^(C1)the resurrection of the righteous."

Now when one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, "^(C1)Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!"

But He said to him, "^(C1)A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many;

and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, because everything is ready now.'

"And yet they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, 'I purchased a field and I need to go out to look at it; ^(F1)please consider me excused.'

"And another one said, 'I bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; ^(F1)please consider me excused.'

"And another one said, '^(C1)I took a woman as my wife, and for that reason I cannot come.'

"And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, 'Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here those who are poor, those with disabilities, those who are blind, and those who are limping.'

"And later the slave said, 'Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.'

"And the master said to the slave, 'Go out into the roads and the hedges and press upon them to come in, so that my house will be filled.

'For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my dinner.'"

Now ^(F1)large crowds were going along with Him, and He turned and said to them,

"^(C1)If anyone comes to Me and does not ^(F1)hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.

"Whoever does not ^(C1)carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

"For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?

"Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who are watching it will begin to ridicule him,

saying, 'This person began to build, and was not able to finish!'

"Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and ^(C1)consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to face the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

"Otherwise, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and requests terms of peace.

"So then, none of you can be My disciple who ^(C1)does not ^(F1)give up all his own possessions.

"Therefore, salt is good; but ^(C1)if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be ^(F1)seasoned?

"It is useless either for the soil or the manure pile, so it is thrown out. ^(C1)The one who has ears to hear, ^(F1)let him hear."