Luke 13:18-35

Luke 13

Mustard Seed and Yeast

¹⁸ Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what will I compare it? ¹⁹ It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”

²⁰ Again he said, “To what will I compare the kingdom of God? ²¹ It is like yeast, which a woman took and mixed into a bushel ^[1] of flour until it was all leavened.”

The Narrow Door

²² He went on his way from one town and village to another, teaching, and making his way to Jerusalem. ²³ Someone said to him, “Lord, are only a few going to be saved?”

He said to them, ²⁴ “Strive to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. ²⁵ Once the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open for us!’ He will tell you in reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ ²⁶ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ ²⁷ And he will say, ‘I don’t know where you come from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.’ ²⁸ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown outside. ²⁹ People will come from east and west, from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ And note this: Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Jesus Warns Jerusalem

³¹ In that very hour, some Pharisees came to him and said, “Leave, and go away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.”

³² He said to them, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I am going to drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal. ³³ Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, because it cannot be that a prophet would be killed outside Jerusalem!’

³⁴ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I have wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁵ Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you will say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” ^[2]