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Zacchaeus the Tax Collector
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A
man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax
collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was,
but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him,
since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said
to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at
your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed
him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has
gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look,
Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the
poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will
pay back four times the amount.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this
house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For
the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
The Parable of the Ten Minas
11 While they were listening to this, he went on to
tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the
people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear
at once. 12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant
country to have himself appointed king and then to return.
13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.
‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’
14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation
after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’
15 “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then
he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in
order to find out what they had gained with it.
16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has
earned ten more.’
17 “ ‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied.
‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter,
take charge of ten cities.’
18 “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has
earned five more.’
19 “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five
cities.’
20 “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is
your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21
I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take
out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’
22 “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own
words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a
hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what
I did not sow? 23 Why then didn’t you put my money on
deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it
with interest?’
24 “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina
away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’
25 “ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’
26 “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has,
more will be given, but as for those who have nothing, even
what they have will be taken away. 27 But those enemies of
mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them
here and kill them in front of me.’ ”
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going
up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany
at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his
disciples, saying to them,
30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter
it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever
ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you,
‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”
32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as
he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its
owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the
colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread
their cloaks on the road.
37 When he came near the place where the road goes
down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began
joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles
they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the
Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the
stones will cry out.”
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he
wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known
on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden
from your eyes. 43 The days will come on you when your
enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle
you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to
the ground, you and the children within your walls. They
will not leave one stone on another, because you did not
recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
Jesus at the Temple
45 When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to
drive out those who were selling.
46 “It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will
be a house of prayer;’ but you have made it ‘a den of
robbers.’ ”
47 Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the
chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among
the people were trying to kill him. 48 Yet they could not
find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his
words. |
Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
