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Repentance
- NARRATOR.
- During that time, some people arrived and told Jesus about the
Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices.
At this he said to them:
- JESUS.
- Do you suppose that these Galilean who suffered these things were
greater sinners than any other Galilean? I tell you they were not! But
unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on
whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you think that they
were greater sinners than all the other people who were living in
Jerusalem? I tell you they were not! But unless you repent, you will all
perish as they did.
Luke 13:1-5
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Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
- JESUS.
- There was once a man who had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. When
he came looking for fruit on it he found that the fig tree had produced
no fruit. He then went to the man who dressed the vineyard and said, "Look,
for the past three years I've been coming to this fig tree expecting to
find fruit, but it hasn't produced any. Cut it down, why should it take
up space on the ground?" "Sir," the man replied "let
it stay here one more year so that I can dig around it and fertilize it
with manure. If the tree bears fruit next year, good. If it doesn't,
then you can cut it down."
-
Luke 13:6-9
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The Crippled Woman is Healed
- NARRATOR.
- One Sabbath day he was teaching in one of the synagogues and a woman
was there who had a spirit of sickness for eighteen years. The woman was
bent double over and was quite unable to stand upright. When Jesus saw
her he called her over to himself and said:
- JESUS.
- Woman, you are freed from your sickness.
- NARRATOR.
- Laying his hands on her, she immediately straightened up and
glorified God. The synagogue official was indignant because Jesus had
healed her on the Sabbath and said to the people there:
- OFFICIAL.
- There are six days in which men are supposed to work. Come and be
healed on one of those days and not on the Sabbath!
- JESUS.
- You hypocrite! Is there one of you that does not untie his ox or his
donkey from the manger and take it out for watering? Why shouldn't this
woman, a daughter of Abraham, who Satan had bound for eighteen years be
released from this bondage on the Sabbath Day?
- NARRATOR.
- When he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed, and
all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were worked by
him.
Luke 13:10-17
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Who Will Be Saved?
- NARRATOR.
- As he went through the cities and villages and taught, making his way
to Jerusalem, someone asked him:
- PERSON.
- Lord, are there only a few who will be saved?
- JESUS.
- Try your best to enter by the narrow gate, because I tell you, many
will attempt to enter in, but will not be able to. Once the master of
the house has gotten up and locked the door, you may find yourself
outside, knocking on the door and saying: "Lord, Lord, open the
door for us." But he will answer and say to you: "I don't know
where you've come from." You will then find yourself saying: "We
used to eat and drink in your company; you taught in our streets."
But he will say: "I don't know who you are, get away from here you
wicked men!" There will then be weeping and grinding of teeth when
you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God
and you yourselves expelled out.
- Try your best to enter by the narrow gate, because I tell you, many
will attempt to enter in, but will not be able to. Once the master of
the house has gotten up and locked the door, you may find yourself
outside, knocking on the door and saying: "Lord, Lord, open the
door for us." But he will answer and say to you: "I don't know
where you've come from." You will then find yourself saying: "We
used to eat and drink in your company; you taught in our streets."
But he will say: "I don't know who you are, get away from here you
wicked men!" There will then be weeping and grinding of teeth when
you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God
and you yourselves expelled out.
- Men will come from the East and from the West and from the North and
from the South and will come and take their places in the Kingdom of
God. Yes, there are those who are now last that will be first and those
who are now first who will be last.
Luke 13:22-30
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Healing of the Man with Dropsy
- NARRATOR.
- Now on a Sabbath Day, it occurred that Jesus had gone to the house of
one of the leading Pharisees to have a meal; and they watched him
closely. In front of him was a man with dropsy. Speaking to the Lawyers
and the Pharisees he said:
- JESUS.
- Is it against the Law to heal on the Sabbath Day?
- NARRATOR.
- But they didn't say a word. He took the man, healed him and sent him
away.
- JESUS.
- Which one of you, if your son or your donkey falls into a well will
not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath Day?
- NARRATOR.
- But again, they could not answer his question. He then proceeded to
tell the guests this parable, because he observed the manner in which
they picked the places of honor:
- JESUS.
- When someone invites you to a wedding celebration, do not take your
seat in the place of honor. It just may be that a more distinguished
person than you may have been invited and the person that invited both
of you will come up to you and say; 'Give this man your seat.' And then,
to your embarrassment, you will have to go and take the lowest place.
- When you are invited, go and take your seat in the lowest place, so
that when your host comes, he might say to you; 'My friend, move up
higher.' In that way, everyone with you at the table will see you
honored. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and everyone
who humbles himself will be exalted.
- When you give a lunch or dinner, don't call your friends, brothers,
relatives or wealthy neighbors, otherwise they might invite you again in
order to repay you for your invitation. But when you throw a party,
invite the poor, the lame and the blind and you will be blessed. For
these cannot repay you, but you will be repaid when the virtuous are
resurrected.
- NARRATOR.
- On hearing this, one of those who sat at the dinner table with him
said:
- MAN.
- Happy is the person who will eat bread in the Kingdom of God.
- JESUS.
- There was a man made a great banquet and invited many people. When it
was time to eat, he sent his servant to all those who had been invited
to say; 'Come along, everything is ready now.' But each one of them in
harmony began to make excuses. The first one said; 'I just brought a
piece of land and I must go and see it, please convey my apologies and
have me excused.' Another one said; 'I just brought five pair of oxen
and I have to go and try them out, please except my apologies and have
me excused.' Still another one said; 'I just got married and therefore I
can't come.' So that servant returned and reported to his master all
that had happened.
- The householder, in a rage, said to his servant; 'Go out immediately
into the streets and alleys of the city and bring here the poor, the
lame, crippled and the blind.' The servant said; 'It has been done as
you requested and there is still room.' The master then said to his
servant; 'Go out into the open roads and behind the hedgerows that
separate the fields and urge anyone you find to come in, so that my
house may be full. For I tell you, that not one of those men who were
invited will taste of my dinner.
Luke 14:1-24
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Renouncing All That One Has
- NARRATOR.
- Now great crowds accompanied him on his way. Turning to them he said:
- JESUS.
- If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, mother, wife,
children, brothers, sisters, yes also even his own life, cannot be my
disciple. And anyone who does not carry his own cross and come after me,
cannot be my disciple. For which one of you here, intending to build a
tower, would not first sit down and calculate how much it would cost to
finish in order to see whether or not you have enough funds to complete
the project. Otherwise, you might find that after you had laid the
foundation, you didn't have enough money to complete the tower. The
people that saw this began to ridicule him and said; 'This man started
to build and was not able to finish.'
- Or what king, going to war against another king, would not sit down
first and consult with his advisors whether or not he would be able to
stand up with his ten-thousand men against the other king with an army
of twenty-thousand men. Otherwise, while the other king was still a long
way off, he would send ambassadors to sue for peace. So in the same
manner, none of you who will not give up all that he has can be my
disciple. Salt is a useful thing. But if the salt loses its taste, how
can it regain its' flavor. It is neither good for soil or manure, people
throw it out. Anyone who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Luke 14:25-35
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The Lost Sheep
- NARRATOR.
- Meanwhile, the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to him in
order to hear what he had to say. Complaining, the Pharisees and the
Scribes said:
- PHARISEES/SCRIBES.
- This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.
- NARRATOR.
- And he spoke this parable to them:
- JESUS.
- What man among you, if you had a hundred sheep and one of them was
missing, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after
the one that was lost until he found it? And when he does find it, he
would joyfully take it on his shoulders. When he returns home, he would
then call all his friends and neighbors together and say to them;
'Rejoice with me, for I found my sheep that was lost.' In the same way,
I tell you there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner that
repents than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no need of
repentance.
- Or again, what woman with ten pieces of silver [drachma], if she
loses one, would not light a lamp, sweep the house and diligently search
until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls her friends and
neighbors together and says; 'Rejoice with me, I have found the drachma
that I had lost.' Likewise, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the
angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Luke 15:1-10
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The Prodigal Son
- JESUS.
- There was once a man who had two sons. The youngest son said to his
father: 'Father, let me have the portion of the estate that I would
inherit some day.' So the Father divided the property between the two
sons. Not many days later, the youngest son gathered everything he had
and traveled to a distant land. When he got there, he proceeded to waste
all that he owned in a life of unrestrained excess. When he had expended
all his resources, there arose a severe famine in that land and he began
to be in need. He then hired himself out to one of the local people and
was put to work on the man's farm slopping the hogs. He would have
willingly filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating, but no
one offered him anything. When he finally came to his senses he said,
'How many of my father's hired servants have enough food and even food
to spare and here I am, starving to death. I'm going to get out of here
and go to my father and say to him, 'Father, I've sinned against Heaven
and against you. I'm not worthy to be called you son anymore. Treat me
as one of your hired servants.'
- So he got up and went to his father. While he was still a long way
off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion. Running to him,
he hugged him and tenderly kissed him. The son then said to him,
'Father, I've sinned against Heaven and against you. I'm no longer
worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants;
'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, put a ring on his finger and
sandals on his feet. Bring the fatted calf here and slaughter it. Let's
have a feast and a celebration, because this my son who was dead, has
come back to life again. He was lost, but has now been found.'
- Now the older son was in the field. As he was on his way back home
and got closer to the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling
one of the servants he asked him what was going on. The servant replied,
'Your brother has come back. Your father has killed the fatted calf
because he got his son back safe and sound.' The oldest son was angry
and wouldn't go in. So his father went out and tried to persuade him to
come in, but the older son said to his father, 'Look, I've worked for
you all these years and I never once disobeyed what you wanted me to do
and you never gave me even a baby goat so that I could have a little
party with my friends. But as soon as he come home, this son who had
wasted his entire inheritance living with whores, for him, you killed
the fatted calf.'
- The father replied, 'Son, you are always with me, everything I have
is yours. However, it was only right that we should celebrate and be
happy, because your younger brother who was dead, has come back to life.
He was lost, but has now been found.
Luke 15:11-32
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The Crafty Manager
- NARRATOR.
- He also said to his disciples:
- JESUS.
- There was a wealthy man who hired a man to oversee and manage his
holdings. It was related to the wealthy man that his manager had been
wasteful with his property. Calling the man to him he said, 'What is
this I'm hearing about you? I want a complete accounting of your
activities, your services are no longer needed. The manager said to
himself, 'What am I going to do now, I've just been fired by my
employer? I can't do construction work and I'm too ashamed to beg. I
know what I'll do to make sure that when I'm dismissed from my position,
there will be some to welcome me into their homes.' He then proceeded to
contact, one by one, all the people who owed money to his master. To the
first creditor he said, 'How much do you owe my master?' 'One hundred
measures of oil' was the reply. The manager said, 'Here, take your
original note; sit right down and write another one for fifty". To
another creditor he said, 'And how much do you owe?' 'One hundred
measures of wheat' was the reply. The manager said, 'Here, take your
original note and write one for eighty.' The master praised the
dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of this world are
more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of
light.
- Is it your intent to make friends for yourselves with money acquired
through dishonest practices, so that when you die, they will welcome you
into the tents of eternity? The man who is honest in the small matters,
is also honest in the large ones; and the man who is dishonest in the
little things, is also dishonest in the major ones. If you haven't even
been able to handle unrighteous money properly, who will commit to your
trust the genuine riches? If you haven't been honest in handling that
which belongs to another person, who will give you what is your very
own. No servant can be the slave of two masters: for he will either hate
the one and love other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise
the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
- NARRATOR.
- The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and ridiculed
[laughed at] him.
- JESUS.
- You are the very ones who pass yourselves off as virtuous before men,
but God knows your hearts. For the things that are highly esteemed among
men are loathsome in the sight of God.
Luke 16:1-15
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The Law Remains
- JESUS.
- Up until the time of John, the Law and the Prophets were your guides.
Since then, the Kingdom of God is being preached, and every man is
trying to force his way into it. It is easier for heaven and earth to
disappear than for one little stroke to drop out of the Law.
Luke 16:16,17
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Lazarus and the Rich Man
- JESUS.
- There was a particular wealthy man who used to dress in purple and
fine linen and had sumptuous meals every day. At the man's gate, a poor
man named Lazarus lay there, covered with sores. As he lay there, he
longed for the crumbs that dropped from the wealthy man's table, even
the dogs would come up and lick his open wounds. Eventually, the poor
man died and was carried away by the angels to the bosom of Abraham.
- The rich man also died and was buried. From the grave and in torment,
he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his bosom.
He cried out and said, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send
Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in some water and cool my tongue,
for I am in agony in this flame." But Abraham replied, "My
son, remember that during your lifetime, good things came your way; just
as bad things came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being comforted here
while you are in agony. But besides all this: there is a great chasm
placed between us so that anyone who wanted to cross from here to where
you are cannot, neither can anyone cross from where you are to us."
The wealthy man replied, "Father, Then I beg you, send Lazarus to
my father's house and my five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest
they also may come to this place of torment." Abraham said to him, "They
have Moses and the prophets, let them listen to them." "No,
father Abraham," said the rich man "but if someone went to
them from the dead, they will repent." Then Abraham said to him, "If
they will not listen to Moses or to the prophets, they will neither
listen or be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead."
Luke 16:19-31
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Entrapping Others
- JESUS.
- It is inevitable that there will be things that will stumble you and
entrap you. But woe to the man who places the snares there and sets out
to entrap you. That man would be better off to be thrown into the sea
with a millstone hung around his neck, than to have him lead astray a
single one of these little ones, so watch yourselves!
Luke 17:1-3
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Forgiving Your Brother
- JESUS. [to his disciples]
- If your brother does something wrong against you, tell him what he
did to you and how it effected you, if he's sorry, forgive him. And if
he wrongs you seven times a day and seven times a day comes back to you
and says, "I'm sorry", you must forgive him.
Luke 17:4
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The Power of Faith
- APOSTLES.[to Jesus]
- Increase our faith.
- JESUS.
- If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this
mulberry tree, "Pluck yourself up by the root and plant yourself in
the sea", and it would obey you.
Luke 17:5,6
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Being Humble Servants
- JESUS.
- Which one of you who has a servant that was ploughing or minding
sheep, would eventually say to him when he returned from the fields,
'Come and sit down have your meal right now?' Would he not be more
likely to say, 'Get my dinner ready and set the table; clean yourself up
and wait on me until I have finished eating and drinking. After I'm
finished, you may eat and drink?' Must he be grateful to the servant for
doing what he was told, I think not? So likewise with you: when you have
finished all the things that you were directed to do, you should say,
'We are merely servants: we have done no more than what we were supposed
to do.'
Luke 17:7-10
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The Ten Lepers
- NARRATOR.
- As Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem, he travelled along the border
between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered one of the villages, ten
lepers came to meet him. Keeping themselves at a distance, they stood
there and called to him:
- LEPERS.
- Jesus! Master! Have mercy on us!
- NARRATOR.
- When he saw them he said:
- JESUS.
- Go and show yourselves to the priests.
- NARRATOR.
- Now it occurred that as they went their way, they were cleansed. One
of the lepers, a Samaritan, when he found himself cured, turned back and
started praising God at the top of his voice. Going to Jesus, the man
fell on his face at his feet and thanked him.
- JESUS.
- Weren't there ten of you that were made clean? The other nine, where
are they? It appears that no one has come back to give praise to God,
except this foreigner. Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has made
you whole.
Luke 17:11-19
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The Kingdom Comes Without Notice
- NARRATOR.
- Now the Pharisees demanded that Jesus tell them when the Kingdom of
God was to come, in reply he said:
- JESUS.
- The Kingdom of God comes without being noticed [observation]. Neither
will anyone be able to say, 'Look, here it is, or look, there is!' For
you must know that the kingdom of God is among you.
Luke 17:20,21
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The Days of the Son of Man
- NARRATOR.
- He said to the disciples:
- JESUS.
- A time will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son
of Man and you will not see it. They will say to you, 'Look there!' or,
'Look here!' Don't go after them or follow them. For just as the
lightning when it flashes from one part of the sky also illuminates the
other part, so will be the Son of Man when his day arrives. But first he
must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
- For as it was in the days of Noah, so will it also be in the days of
the Son of Man. People were eating, they were drinking, marrying wives
and being given in marriage, right up until the day that Noah went into
the ark, and the Flood came and destroyed them all. It will be the same
as it was in Lot's day. People were eating, they were drinking, they
brought and sold, they planted and they built. But on the same day that
Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and it destroyed
them all. It will be the same as this when the day comes for the Son of
Man to be revealed.
- When that day comes, the person on the housetop, with his possessions
in the house, must not come down to collect them, nor must anyone in the
fields turn back either. Remember Lot's wife! Anyone who will try to
save his life will lose it and anyone who will lose his life will
preserve it. I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed: one
will be taken and the other left. Two will be grinding together, the one
will be taken and the other left. Two will be in the field, the one will
be taken and the other left.
- NARRATOR.
- The disciples interrupted.
- DISCIPLES.
- Where, Lord?
- JESUS.
- Wherever the body is, there will the vultures be gathered together.
Luke 17:22-37
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The Widow and the Judge
- NARRATOR.
- He then told them a parable about the need to pray continually and
never lose heart.
- JESUS.
- There was in a certain town a judge and this judge neither feared God
or respected any man. In that same town there was a widow and she went
to him and said, 'I want justice from you against my enemy!' For a long
time he refused, but at last he said to himself, 'Even though I don't
fear God or respect any man, nevertheless, because she has persisted, I
will give this woman her just rights. If I don't, she will keep coming
and that will wear me out.' Did you notice what the unjust judge has to
say? Will not God see that justice is realized for his own chosen who
cry out to Him day and night, even though he delays in helping them? I
promise you, He will see that justice done to them, and done speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?
Luke 18:1-8
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The Tax Collector and the Pharisee
- NARRATOR.
- He spoke the following parable to some people who trusted in
themselves that they were righteous and despised everyone else.
- JESUS.
- Two men went up to the Temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, the other
a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to
himself, 'I thank you God, that I am not like other men are,
extortioners; unjust, adulterers and like this tax collector here. I
fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.' The tax collector stood
some distance away and would not even dare to raise his eyes to heaven;
but he beat his breast and said, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner.' I
tell you that this man, went home again forgiven; the other did not. For
everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles
himself will be exalted.'
Luke 18:9-14
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