American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Luke 13
1
There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
2
And Jesus answering said to them, Suppose you that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
Reference
4
Or those eighteen, on whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think you that they were sinners above all men that dwelled in Jerusalem?
Reference
📍 Siloam
Parallel theme
Nehemiah 3:15
6
He spoke also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.
Reference
7
Then said he to the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why encumbers it the ground?
Reference
8
And he answering said to him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:
Reference
Parallel theme
Romans 11:14
Romans 10:1
Psalm 106:23
Jeremiah 18:20
References Lord
2 Peter 3:9
Joel 2:17
Jeremiah 15:1
11
And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.
Reference
Parallel theme
Luke 13:16
Psalm 6:2
Mark 9:21
Luke 8:27
Acts 4:22
Luke 8:43
Psalm 146:8
Psalm 145:14
Psalm 38:6
Spirit
Luke 8:2
12
And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said to her, Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.
Reference
13
And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
Reference
Parallel theme
Mark 16:18
14
And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said to the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.
Reference
15
The Lord then answered him, and said, You hypocrite, does not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
Reference
16
And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound, see, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?
Reference
Parallel theme
Mark 2:27
John 8:44
2 Timothy 2:26
Matthew 4:10
References Abraham
Acts 13:26
Luke 3:8
Luke 19:9
17
And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.
Reference
19
It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.
Reference
20
And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God?
21
It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
Reference
22
And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.
Reference
24
Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say to you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
Reference
25
When once the master of the house is risen up, and has shut to the door, and you begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us; and he shall answer and say to you, I know you not from where you are:
Reference
26
Then shall you begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in your presence, and you have taught in our streets.
Reference
27
But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not from where you are; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 25:41
Psalm 119:115
Psalm 1:6
Luke 13:25
Psalm 101:8
Hosea 9:12
Sin
Psalm 6:8
Psalm 28:3
Psalm 125:5
Psalm 5:6
28
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.
Reference
29
And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
Reference
30
And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.
Reference
31
The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying to him, Get you out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill you.
32
And he said to them, Go you, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.
Reference
33
Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.
Reference
Parallel theme
John 9:4
John 11:54
John 4:34
Prophecy
Matthew 21:11
Acts 13:27
References Jerusalem
Luke 9:53
Matthew 20:18
34
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which kill the prophets, and stone them that are sent to you; how often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen does gather her brood under her wings, and you would not!
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 30:15
Psalm 36:7
Luke 19:44
Ruth 2:12
Isaiah 50:2
Psalm 91:4
Psalm 81:13
Prophecy
Acts 7:52
Zechariah 1:4
References Jerusalem
Luke 23:28
Summary of Luke 13
Luke 13 centers on repentance, God's patience, spiritual fruitfulness, healing, the growth of God's kingdom, salvation, judgment, and Jesus' determined journey toward Jerusalem, repeatedly warning that people should not waste the opportunity to respond to God.
Jesus begins by addressing two tragic events: Galileans killed by Pilate and people killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed, explaining that these victims were not necessarily greater sinners than everyone else and turning the tragedies into a broader warning that all people need repentance because no one knows how much time remains.
He then tells the parable of the barren fig tree, in which a tree that has received years of opportunity but produced no fruit is given additional care and one more period of patience before judgment, illustrating that God is patient and gives people opportunities to change, but divine patience should never be mistaken for the absence of accountability.
The chapter next describes Jesus healing a woman who has been disabled for eighteen years, and His healing on the Sabbath produces conflict with the synagogue leader, who objects to the timing of the miracle, while Jesus argues that freeing a suffering person is entirely consistent with the true purpose of God's law and that compassion should never be displaced by a rigid interpretation of religious practice.
Jesus then uses the mustard seed and yeast to explain God's kingdom, showing that God's work may begin in ways that appear small or hidden but can eventually produce a much greater transformation than people initially expect.
As Jesus continues toward Jerusalem, someone asks whether only a few people will be saved, but Jesus does not satisfy curiosity with a number; instead, He urges His listeners to strive to enter through the narrow door, emphasizing that salvation requires a genuine response to God rather than merely religious association, ancestry, familiarity with Jesus, or participation in religious activities.
Jesus warns that some people who assume they belong in God's kingdom will discover that they have excluded themselves through their failure to respond faithfully, while people from east, west, north, and south will participate in God's kingdom, presenting a picture of God's salvation extending beyond the boundaries many first-century Jews expected.
The statement that the last will be first and the first will be last reinforces the chapter's recurring reversal of human expectations, showing that social position, religious privilege, ancestry, wealth, and public reputation do not determine a person's standing before God.
The final section returns to Jerusalem and political danger when Jesus is warned that Herod Antipas wants to kill Him, but Jesus refuses to abandon His mission and continues toward Jerusalem according to God's appointed purpose.
Jesus' statement that a prophet should not die outside Jerusalem connects His journey with the city's long history of rejecting and persecuting God's messengers, while His lament over Jerusalem reveals that His coming judgment is not motivated by hatred but by deep sorrow, comparing His desire to protect the people with a hen gathering her chicks under her wings.
Historically, the events described belong primarily to the 1st century AD, during Jesus' ministry around AD 28–30, with His crucifixion generally dated around AD 30–33. Herod Antipas ruled Galilee and Perea from 4 BC to AD 39, while the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple later occurred in AD 70 under the Roman army.
Luke 13 ultimately teaches that God's patience is an opportunity for repentance, His kingdom may begin quietly but grow powerfully, religious identity alone cannot replace genuine faith and obedience, compassion is at the heart of God's purposes, and the opportunity to respond to God should not be postponed because judgment and accountability are real.
Jesus begins by addressing two tragic events: Galileans killed by Pilate and people killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed, explaining that these victims were not necessarily greater sinners than everyone else and turning the tragedies into a broader warning that all people need repentance because no one knows how much time remains.
He then tells the parable of the barren fig tree, in which a tree that has received years of opportunity but produced no fruit is given additional care and one more period of patience before judgment, illustrating that God is patient and gives people opportunities to change, but divine patience should never be mistaken for the absence of accountability.
The chapter next describes Jesus healing a woman who has been disabled for eighteen years, and His healing on the Sabbath produces conflict with the synagogue leader, who objects to the timing of the miracle, while Jesus argues that freeing a suffering person is entirely consistent with the true purpose of God's law and that compassion should never be displaced by a rigid interpretation of religious practice.
Jesus then uses the mustard seed and yeast to explain God's kingdom, showing that God's work may begin in ways that appear small or hidden but can eventually produce a much greater transformation than people initially expect.
As Jesus continues toward Jerusalem, someone asks whether only a few people will be saved, but Jesus does not satisfy curiosity with a number; instead, He urges His listeners to strive to enter through the narrow door, emphasizing that salvation requires a genuine response to God rather than merely religious association, ancestry, familiarity with Jesus, or participation in religious activities.
Jesus warns that some people who assume they belong in God's kingdom will discover that they have excluded themselves through their failure to respond faithfully, while people from east, west, north, and south will participate in God's kingdom, presenting a picture of God's salvation extending beyond the boundaries many first-century Jews expected.
The statement that the last will be first and the first will be last reinforces the chapter's recurring reversal of human expectations, showing that social position, religious privilege, ancestry, wealth, and public reputation do not determine a person's standing before God.
The final section returns to Jerusalem and political danger when Jesus is warned that Herod Antipas wants to kill Him, but Jesus refuses to abandon His mission and continues toward Jerusalem according to God's appointed purpose.
Jesus' statement that a prophet should not die outside Jerusalem connects His journey with the city's long history of rejecting and persecuting God's messengers, while His lament over Jerusalem reveals that His coming judgment is not motivated by hatred but by deep sorrow, comparing His desire to protect the people with a hen gathering her chicks under her wings.
Historically, the events described belong primarily to the 1st century AD, during Jesus' ministry around AD 28–30, with His crucifixion generally dated around AD 30–33. Herod Antipas ruled Galilee and Perea from 4 BC to AD 39, while the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple later occurred in AD 70 under the Roman army.
Luke 13 ultimately teaches that God's patience is an opportunity for repentance, His kingdom may begin quietly but grow powerfully, religious identity alone cannot replace genuine faith and obedience, compassion is at the heart of God's purposes, and the opportunity to respond to God should not be postponed because judgment and accountability are real.