Luke 12:35-13:21

New King James Version

The Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant^(A)

^35 (B)“Let your waist be girded and ^(C)your lamps burning; ³⁶ and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. ^37 (D)Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. ³⁸ And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. ^39 (E)But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would ^[a]have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. ^40 (F)Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

⁴¹ Then Peter said to Him, “Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?”

⁴² And the Lord said, ^(G)“Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food ^[b]in due season? ⁴³ Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ^44 (H)Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. ^45 (I)But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, ⁴⁶ the master of that servant will come on a ^(J)day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. ⁴⁷ And ^(K)that servant who ^(L)knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. ^48 (M)But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

Christ Brings Division^(N)

^49 (O)“I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! ⁵⁰ But ^(P)I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is ^(Q)accomplished! ^51 (R)Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, ^(S)but rather division. ^52 (T)For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. ^53 (U)Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

Discern the Time^(V)

⁵⁴ Then He also said to the multitudes, ^(W)“Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is. ⁵⁵ And when you see the ^(X)south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is. ⁵⁶ Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern ^(Y)this time?

Make Peace with Your Adversary

⁵⁷ “Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? ^58 (Z)When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort ^(AA)along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. ⁵⁹ I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite.”

Repent or Perish

13 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had ^[c]mingled with their sacrifices. ² And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? ³ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

⁶ He also spoke this parable: ^(AB)“A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. ⁷ Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it ^[d]use up the ground?’ ⁸ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. ^9 [e]And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can ^(AC)cut it down.’ ”

A Spirit of Infirmity

¹⁰ Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹ And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way ^[f]raise herself up. ¹² But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your ^(AD)infirmity.” ^13 (AE)And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

¹⁴ But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had ^(AF)healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, ^(AG)“There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and ^(AH)not on the Sabbath day.”

¹⁵ The Lord then answered him and said, ^[g]“Hypocrite! ^(AI)Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? ¹⁶ So ought not this woman, ^(AJ)being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” ¹⁷ And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were ^(AK)done by Him.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed^(AL)

^18 (AM)Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? ¹⁹ It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a ^[h]large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”

The Parable of the Leaven^(AN)

²⁰ And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? ²¹ It is like ^[i]leaven, which a woman took and hid in three ^(AO)measures^[j] of meal till it was all leavened.”