Luke 19-20

Luke 19

¹Then Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.

²And there was a man named Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, who was very wealthy.

³He was trying to see who Jesus was, but could not see over the crowd because he was small in stature.

⁴So he ran on ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see Him, since Jesus was about to pass that way.

⁵When Jesus came to that place, He looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down, for I must stay at your house today.”

⁶So Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed Him joyfully.

⁷And all who saw this began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinful man!”

⁸But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.”

⁹Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham.

¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

¹¹While the people were listening to this, Jesus proceeded to tell them a parable, because He was near Jerusalem and they thought the kingdom of God would appear imminently.

¹²So He said, “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to lay claim to his kingship and then return.

¹³Beforehand, he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Conduct business with this until I return,’ he said.

¹⁴But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’

¹⁵When he returned from procuring his kingship, he summoned the servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what each one had earned.

¹⁶The first servant came forward and said, ‘Master, your mina has produced ten more minas.’

¹⁷His master replied, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you shall have authority over ten cities.’

¹⁸The second servant came and said, ‘Master, your mina has made five minas.’

¹⁹And to this one he said, ‘You shall have authority over five cities.’

²⁰Then another servant came and said, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have laid away in a piece of cloth.

²¹For I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man. You withdraw what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.’

²²His master replied, ‘You wicked servant, I will judge you by your own words. So you knew that I am a harsh man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?

²³Why then did you not deposit my money in the bank, and upon my return I could have collected it with interest?’

²⁴Then he told those standing by, ‘Take the mina from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’

²⁵‘Master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’

²⁶He replied, ‘I tell you that everyone who has will be given more; but the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

²⁷And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”

²⁸After Jesus had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

²⁹As He approached Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, He sent out two of His disciples,

³⁰saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here.

³¹If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

³²So those who were sent went out and found it just as Jesus had told them.

³³As they were untying the colt, its owners asked, “Why are you untying the colt?”

³⁴“The Lord needs it,” they answered.

³⁵Then they led the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks over it, and put Jesus on it.

³⁶As He rode along, the people spread their cloaks on the road.

³⁷And as He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully in a loud voice 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!”

³⁹But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!”

⁴⁰“I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.”

⁴¹As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it

⁴²and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes.

⁴³For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side.

⁴⁴They will level 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 your visitation from God.”

⁴⁵Then Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling there.

⁴⁶He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be a house of prayer.’ But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

⁴⁷Jesus was teaching at the temple every day, but the chief priests, scribes, and leaders of the people were intent on killing Him.

⁴⁸Yet they could not find a way to do so, because all the people hung on His words.

Luke 20

¹One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and scribes, together with the elders, came up to Him.

²“Tell us,” they said, “by what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”

³“I will also ask you a question,” Jesus replied. “Tell Me:

⁴John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men?”

⁵They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why did you not believe him?’

⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”

⁷So they answered that they did not know where it was from.

⁸And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

⁹Then He proceeded to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it out to some tenants, and went away for a long time.

¹⁰At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed.

¹¹So he sent another servant, but they beat him and treated him shamefully, sending him away empty-handed.

¹²Then he sent a third, but they wounded him and threw him out.

¹³‘What shall I do?’ asked the owner of the vineyard. ‘I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’

¹⁴But when the tenants saw the son, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

¹⁵So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

¹⁶He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” And when the people heard this, they said, “May such a thing never happen!”

¹⁷But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?

¹⁸Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

¹⁹When the scribes and chief priests realized that Jesus had spoken this parable against them, they sought to arrest Him that very hour. But they were afraid of the people.

²⁰So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor.

²¹“Teacher,” they inquired, “we know that You speak and teach correctly. You show no partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.

²²Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²³But Jesus saw through their duplicity and said to them,

²⁴“Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they answered.

²⁵So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

²⁶And they were unable to trap Him in His words before the people. And amazed at His answer, they fell silent.

²⁷Then some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to question Him.

²⁸“Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him.

²⁹Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a wife but died childless.

³⁰Then the second

³¹and the third married the widow, and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children.

³²And last of all, the woman died.

³³So then, in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven were married to her.”

³⁴Jesus answered, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.

³⁵But those who are considered worthy to share in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage.

³⁶In fact, they can no longer die, because they are like the angels. And since they are sons of the resurrection, they are sons of God.

³⁷Even Moses demonstrates that the dead are raised, in the passage about the burning bush. For he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’

³⁸He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.”

³⁹Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, You have spoken well!”

⁴⁰And they did not dare to question Him any further.

⁴¹Then Jesus declared, “How can it be said that the Christ is the Son of David?

⁴²For David himself says in the book of Psalms: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand

⁴³until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’

⁴⁴Thus David calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?”

⁴⁵In the hearing of all the people, Jesus said to His disciples,

⁴⁶“Beware of the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, and they love the greetings in the marketplaces, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets.

⁴⁷They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”