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Luke 13 · a question people ask

Jesus said, "the third day I complete my mission" (13:32). What did he mean?

In the text

Luke gives the words and doesn't explain them, so these notes give them as they stand. "He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I complete my mission." (13:32). The next verse goes on, "Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, for it can’t be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem.’" (13:33). These notes don't count the days, don't set these words beside other verses, and don't say what "my mission" is or when it is completed.

The verses

“On that same day, some Pharisees came, saying to him, “Get out of here and go away, for Herod wants to kill you.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I complete my mission. Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, for it can’t be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem.’”
Luke 13:31-33 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Luke 13

Luke 13: Leave it alone this year also

The ruler says there are six days "in which men ought to work" (13:14), and Jesus answers, "Ought not this woman … be freed from this bondage on the Sabbath day?" (13:16): in the Greek, the same verb. And the "I wanted" and "you refused" of Jesus's words to Jerusalem (13:34) are one verb.

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Last reviewed October 2, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions