Luke 19

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

1Jesus then entered Jericho and started to pass through the city. 2A man named Zacchaeus lived there. He was a chief tax collector and he was very rich. 3Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was, but he was a short man, and he couldn’t see Jesus because of the crowd. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree so he could see Jesus, since Jesus was coming that way.

5When Jesus reached the spot where Zacchaeus was, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down at once! I must stay at your house today.” 6He did come down at once, and he welcomed Jesus gladly.

7When all the people saw this, they began to whisper among themselves, “Jesus has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

8But at dinner, Zacchaeus stood up and said, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of what I own to the poor. And if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount I took.”

9Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because you, too, are a member of Abraham’s family line. 10The Son of Man has come to look for the lost and to save them.”

The Story of Three Slaves

11While the people were listening to these things, Jesus told them a story, because he was near Jerusalem, and the people thought that God’s kingdom was going to appear right away. 12Jesus said, “A man from an important family went to a country far away to be made king and to return home to his subjects after that. 13He sent for ten of his slaves and gave each of them about three months’ worth of wages. ‘Put this money to work until I come back,’ he said.

14“But the people who were going to be his subjects hated him. They sent some messengers after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

15“But he was made king anyway, and he then returned home. He sent for the slaves he’d given the money to, because he wanted to find out what they’d earned with it.

16“The first one came to him and said, ‘Sir, your money has earned ten times as much.’

17“ ‘You have done well, my good slave!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have shown that you are faithful through this very small matter, I’m going to put you in charge of ten towns.’

18“The second slave came to his master and said, ‘Sir, your money has earned five times as much.’

19“His master answered, ‘I’m going to put you in charge of five towns.’

20“Then another slave came and said, ‘Sir, here is your money. I kept it hidden in a piece of cloth. 21I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and you harvest what you did not plant.’

22“His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you worthless slave! So you knew that I’m a hard man? You knew that I take out what I didn’t put in and that I harvest what I didn’t plant? 23Then why didn’t you put my money in the bank? That way I could have collected it with interest when I came back.’

24“Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his money away from him and give it to the one who has ten times as much.’

25“ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten times as much!’

26“The master replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given. But as for those who have nothing, even what they do have will be taken away from them. 27And now for those enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them here and kill them in front of me!’ ”

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

28After Jesus had said this, he continued on, going up to Jerusalem. 29As he approached Bethphage and Bethany, at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent out two of his disciples. He said to them, 30“Go to the village ahead of you. As soon as you get there, you’ll find a donkey’s colt tied up. No one has ever ridden on it before. Untie it and bring it here. 31Someone might ask you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ If they do, say, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”

32The disciples who’d been sent on ahead found the young donkey. It was there just as Jesus had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners came and asked, “Why are you untying that colt?”

34They answered, “The Lord needs it.”

35Then the disciples brought the colt to Jesus. They threw their coats on it and had Jesus ride it. 36As he went along, people spread their coats on the road.

37Jesus came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives. There the whole crowd of disciples began to praise God joyfully. In loud voices, they praised him for all the miracles they had seen. They shouted,

38“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“May there be peace and glory in the highest heaven!”

39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell your disciples to stop shouting!”

40“I tell you,” he responded, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

41As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he began to weep. 42He said, “I wish you had known this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes. 43The days will come when your enemies will build a wall of dirt up against your city and surround you and close in on you from every side. 44Because you didn’t recognize the time when God came to you, your enemies will smash you to the ground. They will destroy you and all the people inside your walls, and they won’t leave one stone on top of another.”

Jesus Clears Out the Temple

45Then Jesus entered the temple courtyard. He began to drive out those who were selling there. 46He told them, “It is written that the Lord said, ‘My house will be a house where people can pray.’ But you have made it a ‘den for robbers.’ ”

47Every day Jesus was teaching at the temple. The chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. 48But they couldn’t find any way to do it, because all the people were always crowding around him, wanting to hear everything he said.

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