Luke 13-15

Repent or Perish

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

[38] And Peter [said] to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

[39] "For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." [Act 2:38-39 LSB]

 

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

A Woman Healed on the Sabbath

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

[16] "And this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for--behold--eighteen years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?" [Luk 13:15-16 LSB]

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven

[19] "It is like 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." [Luk 13:19 LSB]

[21] "It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three sata of flour until it was all leavened." [Luk 13:21 LSB]

Already—but Not Yet

Like John the Baptist before him, Jesus announced the imminent arrival of the kingdom of God (Mark 1:15), which was another way of saying that the saving promises found in the Old Testament were about to be realized. The kingdom of God, however, came in a most unexpected way. The kingdom did not come with apocalyptic power but in a small and almost imperceptible form. It was as small as a mustard seed, and yet it would grow into a great tree that would tower over the entire earth. It was as undetectable as leaven mixed into flour, but the leaven would eventually transform the entire batch of dough (Matt. 13:31-33). In other words, the kingdom was already present in Jesus and his ministry, but it was not yet present in its entirety. It was "already—but not yet." The day of judgment was still to come in the future, even though there would be an interval between God's beginning to fulfill his promises in Jesus (the kingdom inaugurated) and the final realization of his promises (the kingdom consummated). The already-but-not-yet theme dominates the entire New Testament and functions as a key to grasping the whole story.

The Narrow Door

[24] "Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. [Luk 13:24 LSB]

[27] "And He will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU WORKERS OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.' 

[28] "In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being cast out. 

[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. 

[30] "And behold, [some] are last who will be first and [some] are first who will be last." [Luk 13:27-30 LSB]

Lament over Jerusalem

[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 did not want [it]! [Luk 13:34 LSB]

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

Parable of the Wedding Feast

[11] "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." [Luk 14:11 LSB]

[12] And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and [that] will be your repayment. 

[13] "But when you give a reception, invite [the] poor, [the] crippled, [the] lame, [the] blind, 

[14] and you will be blessed, since they do not have [the means] to repay you; for it will be repaid to you at the resurrection of the righteous." [Luk 14:12-14 LSB]

Parable of the Dinner

The Cost of Discipleship

[27] "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. [Luk 14:27 LSB]

[33] "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. [Luk 14:33 LSB]

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

[7] "I tell you that in the same way, there will be [more] joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. [Luk 15:7 LSB]

The Parable of the Lost Drachma

[10] "In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." [Luk 15:10 LSB]

The Parable of the Prodigal Son

[20] "So he rose up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 

[21] "And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' [Luk 15:20-21 LSB]

[32] 'But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and is alive, and [was] lost and has been found.'" [Luk 15:32 LSB]