Zaccheus Converted

19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ² And there was a man called Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector [a superintendent to whom others reported], and he was rich. ³ Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, but he could not see ^[a]because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. ⁴ So he ran on ahead [of the crowd] and climbed up in a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. ⁵ When Jesus reached the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” ⁶ So Zaccheus hurried and came down, and welcomed Jesus with joy. ⁷ When the people saw it, they all began muttering [in discontent], “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a [notorious] sinner.” ⁸ Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “See, Lord, I am [now] giving half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone out of anything, I will give back four times as much.”^{(A) 9} Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this household, because he, too, is a [^[b]spiritual] son of Abraham; ¹⁰ for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Parable of Money Usage

¹¹ While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they assumed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately [as soon as He reached the city]. ¹² So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to obtain for himself a kingdom, and [then] to return. ¹³ So he called ten of his servants, and gave them ten minas [one apiece, each equal to about a hundred days’ wages] and said to them, ‘Do business [with this] until I return.’ ¹⁴ But his citizens [the residents of his new kingdom] hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to be a king over us.’ ¹⁵ When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these servants, to whom he had given the money, be called to him, that he might find out what business they had done. ¹⁶ The first one came before him and said, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten more minas.’ ¹⁷ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you proved yourself faithful and trustworthy in a very little thing, you shall [now] have authority over ten cities [in my kingdom].’ ¹⁸ The second one came and said, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ ¹⁹ And he said to him also, ‘And you shall take charge over five cities.’ ²⁰ Then another came and said, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I have kept laid up in a handkerchief [for safekeeping]. ²¹ I was [always] afraid of you, because you are a stern man; you pick up what you did not lay down and you reap what you did not sow.’ ²² He said to the servant, ‘I will judge and condemn you by your own words, you worthless servant! Did you [really] know that I was a stern man, picking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? ²³ Then why did you not [at the very least] put my money in a bank? Then on my return, I would have collected it with interest.’ ²⁴ Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ ²⁵ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas already!’ ²⁶ [Jesus explained,] ‘I tell you that to everyone who has [because he valued his gifts from God and has used them wisely], more will be given; but from the one who does not have [because he disregarded his gifts from God], even what he has will be taken away.’ ²⁷ [The king ended by saying,] ‘But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them, bring them here and kill them in my presence.’”

The Triumphal Entry

²⁸ After saying these things, Jesus went on ahead [of them], going up to Jerusalem.

²⁹ When He approached Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples,^{(B) 30} saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a [donkey’s] ^[c]colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹ If anybody asks you, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’ you will say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” ³² So those who were sent left and found the colt 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 said, “The Lord needs it.” ³⁵ They brought it to Jesus, and ^[d]they threw their robes over the colt and put Jesus on it.^{(C) 36} As He rode along, people were spreading their coats on the road [as an act of homage before a king].^{(D) 37} As soon as He was approaching [Jerusalem], near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the entire multitude of the disciples [all those who were or claimed to be His followers] began praising God [adoring Him enthusiastically and] joyfully with loud voices for all the miracles and works of power that they had seen, ³⁸ shouting,

³⁹ Some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples [for shouting these Messianic praises].” ⁴⁰ Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these [people] keep silent, the stones will cry out [in praise]!”^(F)

⁴¹ As He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it [and the spiritual ignorance of its people], ⁴² saying, “If [only] you had known on this day [of salvation], even you, the things which make for peace [and on which peace depends]! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ For a time [of siege] is coming when your enemies will put up a barricade [with pointed stakes] against you, and surround you [with armies] and hem you in on every side,^{(G) 44} and they will level you to the ground, you [Jerusalem] and your children within you. They will not leave in you one stone on another, all because you did not [come progressively to] recognize [from observation and personal experience] the time of your visitation [when God was gracious toward you and offered you salvation].”

Traders Driven from the Temple

⁴⁵ Jesus went into the temple [enclosure] and began driving out those who were selling,^{(H) 46} saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer’; but you have made it a robbers’ den.”^(I)

⁴⁷ He was teaching day after day in the temple [porches and courts]; but the chief priests and scribes and the leading men among the people were seeking [a way] to put Him to death, ⁴⁸ and they could not find anything that they could do, for all the people [stayed close to Him and] were hanging on to ^[e]every word He said.

Jesus’ Authority Questioned

20 On one of the days, as Jesus was instructing the people in the temple [area] and preaching the good news (gospel), ^[f]the chief priests and the scribes along with the elders confronted Him,^{(J) 2} and said to Him, “Tell us by what kind of authority You are doing these things? Or who is the one who gave You this authority?” ³ Jesus replied, “I will also ask you a question. You tell Me: ⁴ The baptism of John [the Baptist]—was it from heaven [that is, ordained by God] or from men?” ⁵ They discussed and debated it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are firmly convinced that John was a prophet.” ⁷ So they replied that they did not know from where it came. ⁸ Then Jesus said to them, “Nor am I telling you by what [kind of] authority I do these things.”

Parable of the Vineyard Owner

⁹ Then He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey for a long time [to another country].^{(K) 10} At harvest time he sent a servant [as his representative] to the tenants, so that they would give him his share of the fruit of the vineyard; but the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹ So he again sent another servant; they also beat him and dishonored and treated him disgracefully and sent him away empty-handed. ¹² And he sent yet a third; and this one too they wounded and threw out [of the vineyard]. ¹³ Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will have respect for him.’ ¹⁴ But when the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves, saying, ‘This [man] is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ ¹⁵ So they threw the son out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and put these tenants to death and will give the vineyard to others.” When the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders heard this, they said, “May it never be!” ¹⁷ But Jesus looked at them and said, “What then is [the meaning of] this that is written:

¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken and shattered in pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”^(M)

Tribute to Caesar

¹⁹ The scribes and the chief priests tried to [find a way to] arrest Him at that very hour, but they were afraid of the people; because they understood that He spoke this parable against them. ²⁰ So they watched [for a chance to trap] Him. They sent spies who pretended to be upright and sincere, in order that they might catch Him in some statement [that they could distort and use against Him], so that they could turn Him over to the control and authority of [Pilate] the governor.^{(N) 21} They asked Him, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and that You show no partiality to anyone, but teach the way of God truthfully. ²² Is it lawful [according to Jewish law and tradition] for us to pay taxes (tribute money) to ^[g]Caesar or not?” ²³ But He saw through their trickery and said to them, ²⁴ “Show Me a [Roman] denarius. Whose image and inscription does the coin have?” They answered, “[the Emperor Tiberius] Caesar’s.” ²⁵ He said to them, “Then pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” ²⁶ They were not able to seize on anything He said in the presence of the people; and being unnerved at His reply, they were silent.

Is There a Resurrection?

²⁷ Now some of the Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Him^{(O) 28} and they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us [a law that] if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife and no children, his brother should ^[h]marry the wife and raise children for his brother.^{(P) 29} Now there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless. ³⁰ And the second, ³¹ and the third married her, and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children. ³² Finally the woman also died. ³³ So in the [life after] resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had married her.”

³⁴ Jesus said to them, “The sons of this [world and present] age marry and [the women] are given in marriage; ³⁵ but those who are considered worthy to gain that [other world and that future] age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; ³⁶ and they cannot die again, because they are [immortal] like the angels (equal to, angel-like). And they are ^[i]children of God, being ^[j]participants in the resurrection. ³⁷ But [as for the fact] that the dead are raised [from death], even Moses showed, in the passage about the burning bush, when he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.^{(Q) 38} Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living [so these forefathers will be among the resurrected]; for all live [in a definite relationship] to Him.” ³⁹ Some of the scribes replied, “Teacher, you have spoken well [so that there is no room for blame].” ⁴⁰ And they did not dare to question Him further about anything [because of the wisdom He displayed in His answers].

⁴¹ Then He said to them, “How is it that people say that the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) is David’s son?^{(R) 42} For David himself says in the book of Psalms,

^44 [k]So David calls Him (the Son) ‘Lord,’ and how then is He David’s son?”

⁴⁵ And with all the people listening, He said to His disciples, ⁴⁶ “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes [displaying their prominence], and love respectful greetings in the [crowded] market places, and ^[l]chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁷ These [men] who confiscate and devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense [to appear devout] offer long prayers. These [men] will receive the greater [sentence of] condemnation.”