Immerse: Messiah - Flipbook - Page 48
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IMMERSE
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MESSIAH
12:54–13:14
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother;
and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’”
Then Jesus turned to the crowd and said, “When you see clouds beginning to form in the west, you say, ‘Here comes a shower.’ And you are right.
When the south wind blows, you say, ‘Today will be a scorcher.’ And it is.
You fools! You know how to interpret the weather signs of the earth and
sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the present times.
“Why can’t you decide for yourselves what is right? When you are on
the way to court with your accuser, try to settle the matter before you get
there. Otherwise, your accuser may drag you before the judge, who will
hand you over to an officer, who will throw you into prison. And if that
happens, you won’t be free again until you have paid the very last penny.”
About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people
from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. “Do you think
those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. And what about
the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them?
Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, and I tell you again that
unless you repent, you will perish, too.”
Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and
came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there
hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’
“The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another
year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. If we get figs
next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.’”
One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, he saw a woman
who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for
eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her,
he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How
she praised God!
But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had
healed her on the Sabbath day. “There are six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd. “Come on those days to be healed, not on the
Sabbath.”
