Chapter 13
When I was a young boy growing up in Los Angeles, my family and I would often take trips to Orange County to visit my uncle and grandmother. Living in the San Fernando Valley, we had to get on Interstate 5 and drive for a little over an hour. But as a kid, that drive felt like it lasted all day. I can still hear myself asking, “Are we there yet?” over and over again.
One thing that always stood out to me about living in L.A. was how endless the freeways seemed. They just went on forever. I used to wonder what would happen if someone stayed on the freeway and drove it all the way to the end. Where would they end up? Could they even go around the whole world? (I was very young at the time.)
Today, of course, we have GPS and maps right on our phones. We can zoom in and see exactly where the roads go. But what’s interesting is that, no matter how long a road is, it always comes to an end. It might change names or connect to another road, but eventually, every road stops. Some roads are short, and some stretch all the way across the country. That same Interstate 5 I rode on as a boy goes from the border of Canada all the way to the border of Mexico. But even that road has an end.
That’s a lot like what Jesus talks about in this next chapter. He reminds us that we shouldn’t get too caught up in the scenery or the bumps in the road. What matters most is knowing that the road we’re on will eventually come to an end. Jesus wants us to be ready when that time comes.
Most of us can’t see the end of our road. We assume we have a long way to go, like looking at a map from way up high. But from that view, we also miss the potholes, or sudden turns, or breaks in the road that could stop our journey sooner than we expect.
At the beginning of this chapter, people asked Jesus about some who had died unexpectedly. “Did they die because they were worse sinners?” they wondered. But Jesus didn’t focus on why they died. Instead, He turned the question around: “What does this mean for you?” He reminded them—and us—that life can end at any time. That’s why He calls us to repentance, so we’ll be ready when our road ends.
As the chapter goes on, Jesus keeps calling us to shift our focus. Rather than getting distracted by what’s around us, He wants us to see that He is the true Way. No matter which road we’ve been on or how long it is, He is the one path that leads to life. He is the road that leads us through the narrow door mentioned in verse 24.
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 Cripple 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 [pretenders]! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? [The Jewish lawyers made allowances in the law to tend to the basic needs of their animals. Yet they could not see, and worse complained when Jesus used the same compassion that God has for his children in tending to their basic needs as well.] 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.'”
