Read the Modern Pastor’s Version

At that time, some people came to Jesus with a disturbing report. They told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices while they were worshiping.

Jesus asked them a pointed question: "Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered such tragedies?" He was challenging their assumption that suffering is always a sign of God's judgment.

Unless they repented, Jesus warned, they would all perish in the same way. He drove home this point by citing another tragedy: those eighteen people killed when a tower fell in Siloam. "Do you think they were worse offenders than everyone else living in Jerusalem?" he asked. Again, his message was clear: repentance is essential for salvation.

A man had a fig tree in his vineyard that yielded no fruit, despite Jesus' repeated visits over three years. He told the caretaker to cut it down, as it took up valuable space in the soil. But the caretaker pleaded with him to wait one more year, asking only that he dig around the roots and fertilize the soil. If the tree produced fruit then, well and good; otherwise, it would be cut down.

Jesus taught in a synagogue on the Sabbath, where he encountered a woman who had been crippled for eighteen years. She was unable to stand up straight or move freely due to her infirmity. When Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said, "Woman, you are now free from your infirmity." With his touch, she was instantly healed, standing tall and glorifying God.

The synagogue ruler scolded Jesus, saying that the woman should have come on one of the six days when work is allowed, not on the Sabbath. But Jesus rebuked him, pointing out that it's acceptable to release an ox or donkey from its stall on the Sabbath to give it water. He asked, "Shouldn't this daughter of Abraham, who has been bound by Satan for eighteen long years, be freed from her bondage on the Sabbath?"

Jesus' words left his critics ashamed, while the crowd rejoiced at the wonderful things he was doing. The Lord then asked a series of questions to help his disciples understand what the kingdom of God is like: "To what can I compare the kingdom of God?" He likened it to a tiny mustard seed that grows into a massive tree where birds make their nests, and to leaven that spreads through dough, transforming it completely.

As Jesus continued on his journey toward Jerusalem, he faced many people who sought him out. One person asked, "Lord, are there only a few who will be saved?" Jesus responded with a warning: "Strive to enter the narrow gate, because many will try to get in but won't make it." He urged them to strive for entry through that gate, emphasizing that many will seek to enter but won't be able.

Those who fail to gain entry will beg to be let in, saying, "Lord, Lord, open to us!" But he'll reply, "I don't know where you come from," and then tell them, "Depart from me, all of you who practice lawlessness." The consequences of this rejection are stark: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when they see the prophets, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God, yet they themselves are cast out.

However, Jesus also promised that those who come from the east and west, as well as from the north and south, will gather in the kingdom of God. He said, "Behold, there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last."

Jesus then faced a group of Pharisees who warned him to leave immediately because Herod wanted to kill him. But Jesus refused to back down, saying he was driving out demons and performing cures in the present and would continue doing so tomorrow and the day after that. He even predicted his own death, stating that it couldn't be otherwise for a prophet like himself to perish outside of Jerusalem.

Jesus wept over Jerusalem, lamenting its history of rejecting prophets and killing those sent to gather its people together. "How often I longed to gather you under my wings like a hen gathers her brood," he said, "but you would not!" He warned that the city's house was left desolate and that they wouldn't see him until they said, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."