The Meaning of Luke 13:18 Explained

Luke 13:18

KJV: Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?

YLT: And he said, 'To what is the reign of God like? and to what shall I liken it?

Darby: And he said, To what is the kingdom of God like? and to what shall I liken it?

ASV: He said therefore, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I liken it?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then  said he,  Unto what  is  the kingdom  of God  like?  and  whereunto  shall I resemble  it? 

What does Luke 13:18 Mean?

Context Summary

Luke 13:18-30 - The Penalty Of Neglected Opportunity
Notice here the inward movement and the outward effect of the gospel whether in the heart or in the world of men. The garden and the kitchen, the lives of men and women, respectively yield the same lesson. Though the seed of the divine nature is sown in secret, it cannot remain secret, but works its way into manifestation. Man's method is from without inward; God's, from within outward. You cannot estimate the results when a little child receives the incorruptible seed, 1 Peter 1:23.
But the entrance into the full power and blessedness of Christ is by a narrow way. The strait gate is open to all, but it means that we have to deny and leave behind all that is carnal, whether good or bad in the estimate of men, so that the divine life may have the entire field. Merely to eat and drink in Christ's presence betrays a self-indulgence which is foreign to His Spirit. You may sit at the Lord's table and yet be a worker of iniquity! We may be first in privilege, but last in grace. Luke 13:29-30 remind us of Acts 10:34-35 and Romans 2:13. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 13

1  Jesus preaches repentance upon the punishment of the Galilaeans and others
6  The fruitless fig tree may not stand
10  He heals the crooked woman;
18  shows the powerful working of the word, by the parable of the grain of mustard seed,
20  and of leaven;
22  exhorts to enter in at the strait gate;
31  and reproves Herod and Jerusalem

Greek Commentary for Luke 13:18

He said therefore [ελεγεν ουν]
It is not clear to what to refer “therefore,” whether to the case of the woman in Luke 13:11, the enthusiasm of the crowd in Luke 13:17, or to something not recorded by Luke. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 13:18

Mark 4:30 In what parable shall we set it forth? [εν τινι αυτην παραβοληι τωμεν]
Deliberative second aorist subjunctive. The graphic question draws the interest of the hearers (we) by fine tact. Luke 13:18. retains the double question which Matthew 13:31. does not have, though he has it in a very different context, probably an illustration of Christ‘s favourite sayings often repeated to different audiences as is true of all teachers and preachers. [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 13:18 mean?

He was saying then To what like is the kingdom - of God And shall I liken it
Ἔλεγεν οὖν Τίνι ὁμοία ἐστὶν βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ὁμοιώσω αὐτήν

Ἔλεγεν  He  was  saying 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
Τίνι  To  what 
Parse: Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun, Dative Neuter Singular
Root: τίς  
Sense: who, which, what.
ὁμοία  like 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: ὅμοιος  
Sense: like, similar, resembling.
βασιλεία  kingdom 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: βασιλεία  
Sense: royal power, kingship, dominion, rule.
τοῦ  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Θεοῦ  of  God 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: θεός  
Sense: a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities.
ὁμοιώσω  shall  I  liken 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: ὁμοιόω  
Sense: to be made like.