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Change Your Hearts

¹Some people there with Jesus at that time told him about what had happened to some worshipers from Galilee. Pilatea had them killed. Their blood was mixed with the blood of the animals they had brought for sacrificingb. ²Jesus answered, "Do you think this happened to those people because they were more sinful than all other people from Galilee? ³No, they were not. But if you don't decide now to change your lives, you will all be destroyed like those people! ⁴And what about those 18 people who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them? Do you think they were more sinful than everyone else in Jerusalem? ⁵They were not. But I tell you if you don't decide now to change your lives, you will all be destroyed too!"

The Useless Tree ⁶Jesus told this story: "A man had a fig tree. He planted it in his garden. He came looking for some fruit on it, but he found none. ⁷He had a servant who took care of his garden. So he said to his servant, 'I have been looking for fruit on this tree for three years, but I never find any. Cut it down! Why should it waste the ground?' ⁸But the servant answered, 'Master, let the tree have one more year to produce fruit. Let me dig up the dirt around it and fertilize it. ⁹Maybe the tree will have fruit on it next year. If it still does not produce, then you can cut it down.'"

Jesus Heals a Woman on the Sabbath ¹⁰Jesus taught in one of the synagoguesc on the Sabbathd day. ¹¹A woman was there who had an evil spirit inside her. It had made the woman crippled for 18 years. Her back was always bent; she could not stand up straight. ¹²When Jesus saw her, he called to her, "Woman, you have been made free from your sickness!" ¹³He laid his hands one her, and immediately she was able to stand up straight. She began praising God.
¹⁴The synagogue leader was angry because Jesus healed on the Sabbath day. He said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come to be healed on one of those days. Don't come for healing on the Sabbath day."
¹⁵The Lord answered, "You people are hypocritesf! All of you untie your work animals and lead them to drink water every day - even on the Sabbath day. ¹⁶This woman that I healed is a true descendant of Abrahamg. But Satanh has held her for 18 years. Surely it is not wrong for her to be made free from her sickness on a Sabbath day!" ¹⁷When Jesus said this, all those who were criticizing him felt ashamed of themselves. And all the people were happy for the wonderful things he was doing.

What Is God’s Kingdom Like?(Mt. 13:31-33; Mk. 4:30-32) ¹⁸Then Jesus said, "What is God's kingdomi like? What can I compare it to? ¹⁹God's kingdom is like the seed of the mustardj plant. Someone plants this seed in their garden. The seed grows and becomes a tree, and the birds build nests on its branches."
²⁰Jesus said again, "What can I compare God's kingdom with? ²¹It is like yeast that a woman mixes into a big bowl of flour to make bread. The yeast makes all the dough rise."

The Narrow Door(Mt. 7:13-14, 21-23) ²²Jesus was teaching in every town and village. He continued to travel toward Jerusalem. ²³Someone said to him, "Lord, how many people will be saved? Only a few?"
Jesus said, ²⁴"The door to heaven is narrow. Try hard to enter it. Many people will want to enter there, but they will not be able to go in. ²⁵If a man locks the door of his house, you can stand outside and knock on the door, but he won't open it. You can say, 'Sir, open the door for us.' But he will answer, 'I don't know you. Where did you come from?' ²⁶Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you. You taught in the streets of our town.' ²⁷Then he will say to you, 'I don't know you. Where did you come from? Get away from me! You are all people who do wrong!'
²⁸"You will see Abrahamk, Isaacl, Jacobm, and all the prophetsn in God's kingdomi. But you will be left outside. There you will cry and grind your teeth with pain. ²⁹People will come from the east, west, north, and south. They will sit down at the table in God's kingdom. ³⁰People who have the lowest place in life now will have the highest place in God's kingdom. And people who have the highest place now will have the lowest place in God's kingdom."

Jesus Will Die in Jerusalem(Mt. 23:37-39) ³¹Just then some Phariseeso came to Jesus and said, "Go away from here and hide. Herodp wants to kill you!"
³²Jesus said to them, "Go tell that foxq, 'Today and tomorrow I am forcing demonsr out of people and finishing my work of healing. Then, the next day, the work will be finished.' ³³After that I must go, because all prophetsn should die in Jerusalem.
³⁴"Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets. You stone to death the people God has sent to you. How many times I wanted to help your people. I wanted to gather them together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you did not let me. ³⁵Now your home will be left completely empty. I tell you, you will not see me again until that time when you will say, 'Welcome! God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"s

^aPilate, Pontius The Roman governor of Judea, 26-36 a.d. Read Lk. 23:1-3.
^bsacrifice To offer a gift to God as an expression of worship, thanksgiving, or payment for sin. Also, the gift that is offered. In the Old Testament it was usually a special animal that was killed and burned on an altar. The Old Testament sacrifices offered for sins were symbolic of the perfect sacrifice that God himself would provide through Jesus Christ. Jesus gave his own life as a sacrifice to pay for the sins of all people. See Heb. 10:1-14.
^csynagogue A place in many cities where Jews gathered for prayer, study of the Scriptures, and other public meetings.
^dSabbath Saturday, the seventh day of the week and a special day for Israelites or Jews. By God’s command it was set aside as a time for the people to rest and honor God.
^elay hands on This act was a way of asking God to bless people in a special way - to heal them, to cause the Holy Spirit to come into them, or to give them power for a special work.
^fhypocrite A person with wrong motives who pretends to be good.
^g13:16 true descendant of Abraham Literally, “daughter of Abraham.”
^hSatan A name for the devil meaning “the enemy,” or “the accuser.”
ⁱGod’s kingdom The “reign” or “rule” of God over all people who submit to him by accepting Jesus as the Messiah (the appointed king), who represents God’s kingdom on earth. Jesus was the perfect example of submission to the will of God. When people give control of their lives to Jesus, they become part of God’s kingdom and begin to enjoy the blessings he has promised his people from the beginning. (Note that in Matthew this term also translates the Greek word “kingdom” by itself or the phrase, “the kingdom of the heavens,” which was used by Jews as a way to avoid saying the divine name.)
^jmustard A plant that has a very small seed but grows taller than a man.
^kAbraham The most respected ancestor of the Jewish people. Through him God promised to make a great nation and bless all the people of the earth. Read Gen. 12:1-3.
^lIsaac The son of Abraham and one of the most important ancestors of the Israelites or Jews.
^mJacob Or “Israel,” ancestor of the people of Israel (also called Israelites and, later, Jews). See Gen. 32:24-28 for the story of how Jacob was given the name Israel. He was the father of twelve sons from whom the twelve tribes of Israel descended, and the name Jacob continued to be used for the nation or people of Israel.
ⁿprophet A person who speaks a message from God. Many of the books in the Old Testament are messages spoken or written by “the prophets,” who were some of those God chose to speak for him. God often used dreams or visions to tell or show his prophets what they should say.
^oPharisee A person who belonged to a Jewish religious group that claimed to follow carefully all Jewish laws and customs.
^pHerod (1) Herod I (the Great), king of Judea and all of Palestine (40-4 b.c.), Mt. 2:1-22; Lk. 1:5; Acts 23:35. (2) Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, tetrarch (ruler) of Galilee and Perea (4 b.c.-39 a.d.), Mt. 14:1-6; Mk. 6:14-22; 8:15; Lk. 3:1, 19; 8:3; 9:7, 9; 13:31; 23:7-15; Acts 4:27; 13:1. (3) Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great, king of Palestine (37-44 a.d.), Acts 12:1, 6-21.
^q13:32 fox Jesus means that Herod is clever and sly like a fox.
^rdemon An evil spirit from the devil.
^s13:35 Quote from Ps. 118:26.