32 r“Fear not, little sflock, for tit is your Father’s good pleasure to give you uthe kingdom. 33 vSell your possessions, and wgive to the needy. xProvide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with ya treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 zFor where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

You Must Be Ready

35 a“Stay dressed for action6 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 servants7 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, he8 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 servant9 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 a“I 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, g“When 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.”10

Repent or Perish

13 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood pPilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, q“Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you rrepent, you will all likewise perish. 4 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? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you rrepent, you will all likewise perish.”

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

6 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. 7 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?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 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, b“There 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.