--- title: "The Kingdom of God Is Like…" description: "A surprise healing on the Sabbath has sparked a fierce debate over religious rules versus human compassion, while new parables explain the mysterious growth of the Kingdom of God." image: "" book: "Luke" bookId: "LUK" testament: "new" startChapter: 13 startVerse: 10 endChapter: 13 endVerse: 21 coversChapters: [13] aiTitle: "Breaking News: Public Confrontation as Healer Challenges Religious Elite" aiDescription: "A surprise healing on the Sabbath has sparked a fierce debate over religious rules versus human compassion, while new parables explain the mysterious growth of the Kingdom of God." hasAiStory: true location: "Jerusalem" persons: ["Abraham","God","Jesus","Satan"] hashtags: ["mercy","parable","redemption","repentance"] genre: "gospel" readingTime: 2 type: "adaptive" slug: "LUK/the-kingdom-of-god-is-like" canonicalId: "LUK.13.10-13.21" chronologicalOrder: 1351 relatedSlugs: ["MAT/parables-of-the-kingdom","MRK/parables-of-the-kingdom","PSA/psalm-107-thanksgiving-for-deliverance","DAN/nebuchadnezzars-pride","LUK/jesus-calls-his-disciples-2","LUK/jesus-heals-a-man-with-dropsy","LUK/a-sinful-woman-anoints-jesus-women-minister-to-jesus"] prevSlug: "LUK/the-parable-of-the-barren-fig-tree" nextSlug: "LUK/the-narrow-door" --- Tensions are running high at the local synagogue today. During a regular teaching session, a woman who has been suffering for eighteen years with a severe spinal condition was suddenly healed by [Jesus](/persons/jesus). Witnesses describe the moment as startling and immediate: the woman, who had been unable to stand upright for nearly two decades, was suddenly standing tall and praising [God](/persons/god). The reaction from the religious leadership was swift and negative. The synagogue leader publicly rebuked the crowd, arguing that such work is strictly prohibited on the Sabbath. He insisted that if people need healing, they should schedule it for any of the other six days of the week, essentially calling the miraculous act a violation of religious law. Jesus did not back down, responding with sharp criticism. He called his opponents hypocrites, pointing out the inconsistency of their own logic. 'If you can untie your ox or donkey to give it water on the Sabbath, why shouldn't this woman be freed from her burden today?' he asked. The question silenced his critics, leaving many embarrassed while the rest of the crowd broke into celebration over the display of power and mercy. Following the confrontation, the focus shifted to the nature of the Kingdom of God. Using simple analogies, the teacher compared this kingdom to a mustard seed, which starts small but eventually grows into a massive tree capable of housing birds. He further likened the movement to leaven, which starts as a hidden ingredient but eventually transforms the entire batch of dough it is mixed into. These parables suggest that the work currently unfolding is not merely an isolated incident of healing, but the start of a quiet, inevitable expansion that will eventually impact everything it touches. ### Jesus Heals a Disabled Woman One Sabbath [Jesus](/persons/jesus) was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman there had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was hunched over and could not stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your disability.” Then He placed His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and began to glorify [God](/persons/god). But the synagogue leader was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work,” he told the crowd. “So come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath.” “You hypocrites!” the Lord replied. “Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it to water? Then should not this daughter of [Abraham](/persons/abraham), whom [Satan](/persons/satan) has kept bound for eighteen long years, be released from her bondage on the Sabbath day?” When Jesus said this, all His adversaries were humiliated. And the whole crowd rejoiced at all the glorious things He was doing. ### The Parable of the Mustard Seed Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man tossed into his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.” ### The Parable of the Leaven Again He asked, “To what can I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”

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