Luke 13 Round Two: Narrow Road

A narrow door that opens into a wide table—Luke 13 is full of contrasts that make spiritual life feel both urgent and deeply hopeful. We sit with hard headlines and local tragedies, then hear Jesus push past the blame game to a single call: repent, not because some are worse, but because all need mercy. From there, a barren fig tree introduces a Gardener who doesn’t give up quickly. He asks for one more year, promising care and cultivation. That’s the pulse of grace—patient and purposeful, kind but not casual about fruit.

The scene shifts to a synagogue where Jesus frees a woman bent for eighteen years, and a leader objects because it’s the Sabbath. That tension exposes the danger of tidy religion without love. Jesus restores dignity in real time, and the people rejoice. Then two quick parables—mustard seed and yeast—reframe our expectations for growth. The kingdom often starts small and works quietly, but it doesn’t stop until every branch can hold a nest and every part of life is leavened with hope. If you’ve wondered why change feels slow, this is the map: hidden roots, steady expansion, lasting strength.

Finally, the question everyone asks: how many will be saved? Jesus answers with a warning and an invitation. Strive to enter through the narrow door, because social proximity isn’t the same as being known. Yet the vision widens—people from east, west, north, and south will sit with Abraham and the prophets. The door is narrow because love has a shape, and it opens wide because grace is global. We also talk about surrender as the pathway to freedom, why “Lord” is not a title we can keep at arm’s length, and how God keeps working in us until the good work is complete. If this resonates, share it with a friend, hit follow, and leave a quick review to help more people find the journey.

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The More We Dig. The More We Find.

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT).
Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Chapters

• 0:00 Setting The Scene In Luke
• 2:45 Why Parables And What They Teach
• 4:28 Tragedy, Repentance, And Equality Of Sin
• 6:20 The Barren Fig Tree And God’s Patience
• 8:32 Healing On Sabbath And Missing The Point
• 11:20 Mustard Seed And Yeast: Quiet Growth

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Welcome to the Bible Breakdown Podcast. Every day, we take one chapter of the Bible, dig deeper, and discover that the more we dig, the more we find. You can find out more at the BibleBreakdown.com. Now let's grow in God's word together. Well, hello, and welcome back to your journey through the Gospel of Luke. Today, Luke chapter 13. And man, I love this idea of what Jesus is going to talk about today. But before that, I want to just remind you that this is just a Bible tour guide. This is your host, Pastor Brandon, and it's such an honor to be able to just sit across the table from you. That's the mental image I have is that we're sitting across the coffee table. We've both got our Bibles open, cup of coffee in our hands, just enjoying God's word together. And I love the gospel of Luke because we know that from the very first chapter that Luke was commissioned by a guy named Theopolis. And we know that he says, most excellent Theopolis, both in Luke and in Acts, which is also something that Luke wrote. And so this is probably a high-ranking official in the Roman government. And he's commissioned Luke to go and to investigate the claims made about Jesus. And I wonder if that was because maybe he had heard Peter preach about Jesus. Maybe he'd received Jesus for himself as his Lord. And he just, he wants that, you know, give me all the details. And so the Bible says that he went and he had an orderly made an orderly account of everything that was happening. And so even though Luke was trained as a physician, very educated man, he becomes an investigative journalist, going around and talking. And what we've been doing over the past couple of chapters is Luke is writing down a lot of the different discourses that Jesus has with the disciples. So there really is no telling who he got this information from. And I just have this picture in my head of what if, you know, Luke is sitting around a table, maybe at a I don't know, place where people would eat someone's house, and there's people that had been in that crowd going, hey, he said this, and he he said this, and all this, and and just the Holy Spirit just inspiring this whole thing. Because we know that really Theopolis didn't really commission Luke. It was the Holy Spirit that commissioned Luke, and he used Theopolis to do it. The Holy Spirit has inspired this text, and that's what we're gonna see today as Jesus is gonna tell a series of parables that is explaining a complex spiritual principle. And remember, that is what a parable is. Jesus would often tell parables, which is stories that were intended to share a complex theological thing that we need to get our heads around. And many times it was about how the kingdom of God works. And so he's gonna talk about this idea of the parable of yeast, the parable of a mustard seed, and the parable of a barren fig tree. And all of these are trying to help us get our minds around how the kingdom of God works. So what we're gonna do, we're gonna read this together, stop along the way, because once again is your tour guide to get, hey, notice this, let's look at this, and then we're gonna move through this together. Here we go. Luke chapter 13, verse 1. The Bible says, about this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some of the some people from Galilee, that they were officers that were sacrificing at the temple. He said, Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people in Galilee? Jesus asked. Is that why they suffered? No, not at all. And you will perish too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. And what about the 18 people who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them? These were they worse sinners in Jerusalem? No, I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish too. Now pause. Now what Jesus is doing is he is referring to some local events that have happened in the city of Jerusalem. And what Jesus is making sure that they knew, and we know as well, that he doesn't count sins as, okay, you're a worse sinner, and so I'm not going to forgive you, but you're you're a nice guy, so I'm going to forgive you, or anything like that. But no, the Bible says actually in Romans 3, verse 23, that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But the wages of sin are is death. The gift of God is eternal life. So, in other words, one sin is what can keep you out of the perfect holiness of God. That's why Jesus came. Is so that no matter what you have done, no matter where you have been, all can receive forgiveness through Christ. And that's what is amazing, is he's trying to make sure they realize it. What you need to do is not count your sins, but count your Savior and make sure you know where you stand with God. Here we go, verse 6. 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 have waited three years, and there still isn't a single fig. Cut it down. It's taking up space in my garden. The gardener answered, Sir, can you give it one more chance? Leave it another year, and I'll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. And if we get figs next year, fine. If not, you can cut it down. The spiritual principle that Jesus is sharing is the unyielding, faithful patience of the Lord. That even if we go through seasons where people are sharing the gospel with us and we continue to turn away, God is so infinitely kind and continues to reach out to us again and again. All right, verse 10. One Sabbath day, as Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for 18 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. And he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. And how she praised God. If the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, there are six days of the week for working, he said to the crowd. Come on those days and be healed, not on the Sabbath. But the Lord replied, You hypocrites, each of you works on the Sabbath day. Don't you untie your ox and your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water? This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for 18 years. Isn't it right that she be released even on the Sabbath? This shamed his enemies, but the people rejoiced at the wonderful things that he did. Pause. Like I really don't have words for this. I just so so imagine this for a moment. Imagine someone you know who has some kind of illness, some kind of disease, and they go to church and they know that they can be healed that day. Like just there's faith in them for it. I mean, God wants to do it. And then literally the pastor gets up and goes, you know, we're not gonna do that today. We're not gonna pray over you because it's Sunday. Why don't you come see me on Monday and we'll see if we can get you healed then? That's just stupid. But that's what this guy was saying. And once again, it's not seeing the forest for the trees. And so we want to give him a little bit of a break and go, don't we do the same thing? Don't don't we sometimes miss the forest for the trees in various areas of our life? And it's amazing how we can do that. And what Jesus is is trying to kind of just wave a huge flag and go, hey, don't miss the forest for the trees. I'm here. Let healing, let my presence, let what I want to do always supersede your programs. Make sure you always keep the main thing, the main thing. All right, Jesus is about to tell two more parables. And once again, remember, spiritual principle is kind of put together, wrapped up in a story. Jesus said this in verse 18. What is the kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden to make his nests in his branches. He also asked, What else is the kingdom of God like? It is like the yeast a woman used to making bread. Even though she put only a little bit of yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough. Once again, what he's saying is that the kingdom of God, the life with God, doing life in the kingdom of God, it grows and grows and grows until it takes over every part of our life. Because God will never stop. You just need to know this. God is never gonna stop working into your life, in your life, until you are whole and complete and completely healed of everything. Now that's gonna take the rest of your life to get there. And the honest truth is we're probably gonna die still having a few things to work on. That's why Philippians 1 verse 6 says, I can be confident of this. He who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until it's finally finished on the day when Christ returns. And so he's never gonna stop working on you, and he's just gonna keep on healing you and keep on bringing wholeness into your life. And that's what he's saying, the kingdom of God is like is an ongoing process. All right, verse 22. Jesus went through the towns and villages teaching as he went, always pressing on toward Jerusalem. Someone asked him, Lord, will only a few be saved? And he replied, Work hard to enter the narrow door to God's kingdom. For many will try to enter, but will fail. When the master of the house was locked, has locked the door, it will be too late. And you will be standing outside, knocking and pleading, Lord, open the door to us. But he will reply, I don't know you or where you come from. Then you will say, But we ate and drank with you. You taught us in this our streets, and he will reply to you, I tell you, I don't know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, and you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets of the kingdom of God, but you will be thrown out. And people will come from all over the world, from the east, the west, the north, and the south, to take their places in the kingdom of God. And this and note this some who seem least important now will be greatest then, and some who seem greatest now will be least important then. And at that time some of the Pharisees said to him, Get away from here if you want to live. Herod Antipos wants to kill you. Jesus replied, You go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will accomplish my purpose. Yes, today, tomorrow, and the next day I must proceed on my way. For I wouldn't do, it wouldn't do for a prophet of God to be killed except in Jerusalem. So, by the way, Jesus throwing some massive shade at the Pharisees just then. And then he said, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stone God's messengers. How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let me. And now look, your house is abandoned. This, and you will never see me again until you say, Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. So to finish all of this up, if I were to sum this up into one statement, that is this the kingdom of God is a narrow road, but Jesus wants all of us to enter it. So once again, the kingdom of God is a narrow road, but Jesus wants all of us to enter it. Notice how he keeps talking about the idea that the kingdom of God is going to overtake you. The kingdom of God grows in you. But here's the thing it's not easy. It is not automatic for so many people. Notice that he said that it is hard. You have to work at it to enter the narrow gate. That doesn't mean that we're saved by our works, that we're saved by grace through faith in Christ. But what he's saying is there's always things that's going to be pulling on us, pulling us away from the kingdom of God. And Jesus is always going to hold on to us. But we got to make sure that we keep holding on to him. You know, we once again, we gotta make sure that you you get this right. He is not saying at all that you are saved by your works. That is not it at all. You are only saved by the grace of God in Christ alone. Only that. But what he is saying is that you work in order to let yourself become free from all the things that hold you down. Sanctification is what that old word we used to use, and it's the process of walking toward freedom every single day. That's what he's talking about here is that salvation is free. Freedom is an opportunity, and you have to work on that freedom by allowing Christ to move in your life. And so he says, you know, in that verse 24, to work hard to enter the narrow gate, the narrow door to God's kingdom. For many will try to enter it and fail. And the best way that you can enter is to let go, to surrender your life to Christ. So many people want Jesus to be their savior, but they don't want him to be their Lord. They don't want him to run the run the shots, you know, call the shots in their life. And that's why they end up turning their back on God. And that's what Jesus is saying is that it's hard to give up your own control and to give it to me. But that's where the freedom is. And so he's constantly saying, You gotta let me lead. You gotta let me lead because you know me and you both know you can't be trusted with leading leading yourself because it's hard, but I love you enough to lead you the right way. And so the kingdom of God is a narrow road, but Jesus wants us all to enter it. I hope you enjoyed this today. Let me pray for you, and then we'll be out of here. God, thank you so much for your goodness and your mercy. Thank you that salvation is free. It wasn't free for you, it cost you everything, but it is free for us that we're saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. And then I'm so thankful that once we enter into the kingdom, that it can grow in our hearts, and that you never stop working on us. You're always bringing your freedom into our lives. And so we just submit ourselves to your authority. We say, God, have your way in us because we trust you, and you only reveal what you intend to heal. So, Holy Spirit, clean us up from the inside out so that we can have more freedom, not less. And we celebrate that in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right. I love you. God bless you. I'll see you tomorrow for Luke chapter 14.