Luke 12:35–13:21; John 9

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Luke 12:35–13:21

You Must Be Ready

35 aStay dressed for action1 and bkeep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are cwaiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and dknocks. 37 eBlessed are those servants2 whom the master finds eawake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, fhe will dress himself for service and ghave them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 hBut know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour ithe thief was coming, he3 would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be jready, for kthe Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

41 Peter said, Lord, lare you telling this parable for us or for all? 42 And the Lord said, Who then is mthe faithful and mwise nmanager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43 oBlessed is that servant4 whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, phe will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, My master qis delayed in coming, and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and rget drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come son a day when he does not expect him and sat an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47 tAnd that servant who uknew his master’s will but vdid not get ready uor act according to his will, will receive a wsevere beating. 48 xBut the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, ywill receive a light beating. zEveryone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

Not Peace, but Division

49 aI came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50 bI have a baptism to be baptized with, and how cgreat is my distress until it is accomplished! 51 dDo you think that I have come to give peace on earth? eNo, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, ffather 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 mother-in-law.

Interpreting the Time

54 He also said to the crowds, gWhen you see ha cloud rising in the west, you say at once, A shower is coming. And so it happens. 55 And gwhen you see the south wind blowing, you say, There will be iscorching heat, and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! jYou know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Settle with Your Accuser

57 And why kdo you not judge lfor yourselves what is right? 58 mAs you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. 59 I tell you, nyou will never get out until you have paid the very last openny.5

Repent or Perish

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood pPilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, qDo you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you rrepent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in sSiloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you rrepent, you will all likewise perish.

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

And he told this parable: A man had ta fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. uCut it down. Why should it use up the ground? And he answered him, Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.

A Woman with a Disabling Spirit

10 Now vhe was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And behold, there was a woman who had had wa disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, Woman, you are freed from your disability. 13 And he xlaid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she yglorified God. 14 But zthe ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus ahad healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, bThere are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day. 15 Then the Lord answered him, You hypocrites! cDoes not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? 16 And ought not this woman, da daughter of Abraham whom eSatan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day? 17 As he said these things, fall his adversaries were put to shame, and gall the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

18 hHe said therefore, What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like ia grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.

20 And again he said, To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21 jIt is like leaven that a woman took and hid in kthree measures of flour, until it was lall leavened.


John 9

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, cRabbi, dwho sinned, ethis man or fhis parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but gthat the works of God might be displayed in him. We must hwork the works of him who sent me iwhile it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, jI am the light of the world. Having said these things, khe spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. lThen he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, Go, wash in mthe pool of Siloam (which means Sent). So he went and washed and ncame back seeing.

The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, oIs this not the man who used to sit and beg? Some said, It is he. Others said, No, but he is like him. He kept saying, I am the man. 10 So they said to him, Then how were your eyes opened? 11 He answered, pThe man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, Go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight. 12 They said to him, Where is he? He said, I do not know.

13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 qNow it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 rSo the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see. 16 Some of the Pharisees said, This man is not sfrom God, tfor he does not keep the Sabbath. But others said, uHow can a man who is a sinner do such signs? And vthere was a division among them. 17 So they said again to the blind man, What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes? He said, wHe is a prophet.

18 xThe Jews1 did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see? 20 His parents answered, We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself. 22 (His parents said these things ybecause they feared the Jews, for zthe Jews had already agreed that if anyone should aconfess Jesus2 to be Christ, bhe was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23 Therefore his parents said, cHe is of age; ask him.

24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, dGive glory to God. We know that ethis man is a sinner. 25 He answered, Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I fwas blind, now I see. 26 They said to him, What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? 27 He answered them, gI have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples? 28 And they reviled him, saying, You are his disciple, but hwe are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, iwe do not know where he comes from. 30 The man answered, Why, this is jan amazing thing! kYou do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that lGod does not listen to sinners, but mif anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 nIf this man were not from God, he could do nothing. 34 They answered him, oYou were born in utter sin, and would you teach us? And they pcast him out.

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, Do you believe in qthe Son of Man?3 36 He answered, rAnd who is he, sir, that I may believe in him? 37 Jesus said to him, You have seen him, and sit is he who is speaking to you. 38 He said, Lord, I believe, and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, tFor judgment I came into this world, uthat those who do not see may see, and vthose who see may become blind. 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, wAre we also blind? 41 Jesus said to them, If you were blind, xyou would have no guilt;4 but now that you say, We see, your guilt remains.