Luke 19

19 ¹ Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ² And there was a man named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. ³ He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he could not because of the crowd — he was a short man. ⁴ So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, because Jesus was about to pass that way. ⁵ When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." ⁶ So he hurried down and welcomed him joyfully. ⁷ And when they all saw it, they grumbled, "He has gone in to stay with a man who is a sinner."

⁸ But Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much."

⁹ And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham." ¹⁰ "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."

Faithful Servants Await the King

¹¹ As they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and they supposed that the kingdom of our Father was about to appear at once. ¹² So he said, "A nobleman traveled to a distant land to receive a kingdom for himself and then return." ¹³ "Calling ten of his servants, he gave each of them about three months' wages and said to them, 'Do business with this until I come.'" ¹⁴ "But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.'"

¹⁵ "When he returned, having received the kingdom, he summoned the servants he had given money to — to find out what they had earned." ¹⁶ "The first came before him, saying, 'Lord, the money you gave me has earned ten times as much.'"

¹⁷ "And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.'"

¹⁸ "And the second came, saying, 'Lord, the money you gave me has earned five times as much.'"

¹⁹ "And he said to him, 'And you will be in charge of five cities.'"

²⁰ "Then another came, saying, 'Lord, here is your money back, which I kept wrapped in a cloth;'" ²¹ "'for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.'"

²² "He said to him, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?'" ²³ "'Why then did you not put my money in the bank? When I returned, I would have collected it with interest.'" ²⁴ "And he said to those standing by, 'Take the money from him and give it to the one who has ten times as much.'"

²⁵ "And they said to him, 'Lord, he has ten times as much!'" ²⁶ "'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.'" ²⁷ "'But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.'"

The Son Enters Jerusalem as King

²⁸ And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

²⁹ When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, ³⁰ saying, "Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter, you will find a colt tied there that no one has ever sat on. Untie it and bring it here." ³¹ "If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' say, 'The Lord needs it.'"

³² So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. ³³ As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, "Why are you untying the colt?" ³⁴ And they said, "The Lord needs it." ³⁵ And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. ³⁶ And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. ³⁷ As he was now drawing near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began to rejoice and praise our Father with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, ³⁸ saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of our Father! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

³⁹ And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples."

⁴⁰ He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out."

⁴¹ And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, ⁴² saying, "If only you had known, even today, the things that would bring you peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes." ⁴³ "For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side, ⁴⁴ and they will tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation." ^a a v44 The 'time of your visitation' is the time when God came to Jerusalem in the person of Jesus.

Jesus Cleanses His Father's House

⁴⁵ And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling, ⁴⁶ saying to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer,' but you have made it a den of robbers."

⁴⁷ And he was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the leaders of the people were seeking to destroy him, ⁴⁸ yet they could not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.