Read the Gospels in 40 Days
Jesus and Zacchaeus
19 As Jesus[a] entered Jericho and was passing through it, 2 a man named Zacchaeus appeared. He was a leading tax collector, and a rich one at that! 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he couldn’t do so due to the crowd, since he was a short man. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus,[b] who was going to pass that way.
5 When Jesus came to the tree,[c] he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down! I must stay at your house today.” 6 Zacchaeus[d] came down quickly and was glad to welcome him into his home.[e]
7 But all the people who saw this began to complain: “Jesus[f] is going to be the guest of a notorious[g] sinner!”
8 Later, Zacchaeus stood up and announced to the Lord, “Look! I’m giving half of my possessions to the destitute, and if I have accused anyone falsely, I’m repaying four times as much as I owe.”[h]
9 Then Jesus told him, “Today salvation has come to this home, because this man[i] is also a descendant of Abraham, 10 and the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”
The Parable about the Coins
11 As they were listening to this, Jesus[j] went on to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and because the people[k] thought that the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 So he said, “A prince went to a distant country to be appointed king and then to return. 13 He called ten of his servants and gave them ten coins.[l] He told them, ‘Invest this money until I come back.’ 14 But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation to follow him and to announce, ‘We don’t want this man to rule over us!’
15 “After he was appointed king, the prince[m] came back. He ordered the servants to whom he had given the money to be called so he could find out what they had earned by investing. 16 The first servant[n] came and said, ‘Sir, your coin has earned ten more coins.’ 17 The king[o] told him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.’
18 “The second servant[p] came and said, ‘Your coin, sir, has earned five coins.’ 19 The king[q] told him, ‘You take charge of five cities.’
20 “Then the other servant[r] came and said, ‘Sir, look! Here’s your coin. I’ve kept it in a cloth for safekeeping 21 because I was afraid of you. You are a hard man. You withdraw what you didn’t deposit and harvest what you didn’t plant.’ 22 The king[s] told him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you evil servant! You knew, did you, that I was a hard man, and that I withdraw what I didn’t deposit and harvest what I didn’t plant? 23 Then why didn’t you put my money in the bank? When I returned, I could have collected it with interest.’
24 “So the king[t] told those standing nearby, ‘Take the coin away from him and give it to the man who has the ten coins.’ 25 They answered him, ‘Sir, he already[u] has ten coins!’ 26 ‘I tell you, to everyone who has something, more will be given, but from the person who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence!’”
The King Enters Jerusalem(A)
28 After Jesus[v] had said this, he traveled on and went up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples on ahead. 30 “Go into the village ahead of you,” he said. “As you enter, you will find a colt tied up that no one has ever ridden.[w] Untie it and bring it along. 31 If anyone asks you why you are untying it, say this: ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32 So those who were sent went off and found it as Jesus[x] had told them. 33 While they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 The disciples[y] answered, “The Lord needs it.” 35 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it, and Jesus sat upon it.
36 As he was riding along, people[z] kept spreading their coats on the road. 37 He was now approaching the descent from the Mount of Olives. The whole crowd of disciples began to rejoice and to praise God with a loud voice because of all the miracles they had seen. 38 They said,
“How blessed is the king
who comes in the name of the Lord![aa]
Peace in heaven,
and glory in the highest heaven!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd told Jesus,[ab] “Teacher, tell your disciples to be quiet.”
40 He replied, “I tell you, if they were quiet, the stones would cry out!”
41 When he came closer and saw the city, he began to grieve over it: 42 “If you[ac] had only known today what could have brought you peace! But now it is hidden from your sight, 43 because the days will come[ad] when your enemies will build walls around you, surround you, and close you in on every side. 44 They will level you to the ground—you and those who live[ae] within your city limits.[af] They will not leave one stone on another within your walls,[ag] because you didn’t recognize the time when you were visited.”[ah]
Confrontation in the Temple over Money(B)
45 Then Jesus[ai] went into the Temple and began to throw out those who were selling things. 46 He told them, “It is written, ‘My house is to be called a house of prayer,’[aj] but you have turned it into a hideout[ak] for bandits!”
47 Then he began teaching in the Temple every day. The high priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him, 48 but they couldn’t find a way to do it, because all the people were eager to hear him.
Jesus’ Authority is Challenged(C)
20 One day, while Jesus[al] was teaching the people in the Temple and telling them the good news, the high priests and the scribes came with the elders 2 and asked him, “Tell us: By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”
3 He answered them, “I, too, will ask you a question.[am] Tell me: 4 Was John’s authority to baptize[an] from heaven or from humans?”
5 They discussed this among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From humans,’ all the people will stone us to death, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 7 So they answered that they didn’t know where it was from.
8 Then Jesus told them, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I’m doing these things.”
The Parable about the Tenant Farmers(D)
9 Then he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and went abroad for a long time. 10 At the right time he sent a servant to the farmers in order to get his share of the produce of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him back empty-handed. 11 He sent another servant, and they beat him, too, treated him shamefully, and sent him back empty-handed. 12 Then he sent a third, and they wounded him and threw him out, too.
13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I’ll send my son whom I love. Maybe they’ll respect him.’ 14 But when the farmers saw him, they talked it over among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him so that the inheritance will be ours!’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those farmers and give the vineyard to others.”
Those who heard him said, “That must never happen!”
17 But Jesus[ao] looked at them and asked, “What does this text mean:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone’?[ap]
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”
19 When the scribes and the high priests realized that Jesus[aq] had told this parable about them, they wanted to arrest him right then, but they were afraid of the crowd.
A Question about Paying Taxes(E)
20 So they watched him closely and sent spies who pretended to be honest men in order to trap him in what he would say. They wanted to hand him over to the jurisdiction[ar] of the governor, 21 so they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you’re right in what you say and teach, and that you don’t favor any individual, but teach the way of God truthfully. 22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
23 But he discerned their craftiness and responded to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose face and name does it have?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
25 So he told them, “Then give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
26 So they couldn’t catch him before the people in what he said. Amazed at his answer, they became silent.
A Question about the Resurrection(F)
27 Now some Sadducees, who claim there is no resurrection, came to Jesus[as] 28 and asked him, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no child, the man[at] should marry the widow and have children for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died childless. 30 Then the second 31 and the third married her. In the same way, all seven died and left no children. 32 Finally, the woman died, too. 33 Now in the resurrection, whose wife will the woman be, since the seven had married her?”
34 Jesus told them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are married, 35 but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 36 Nor can they die anymore, because they are like the angels and, since they share in the resurrection, are God’s children. 37 Even Moses demonstrated in the story about the bush that the dead are raised, when he calls the Lord, ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[au] 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, because he considers all people to be alive to him.”
39 Then some of the scribes replied, “Teacher, you have given a fine answer.” 40 Then they no longer dared to ask him another question.
A Question about David’s Son(G)
41 Then he asked them, “How can people[av] say that the Messiah[aw] is David’s son? 42 Because David himself in the book of Psalms says,
‘The Lord[ax] told my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
43 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’[ay]
44 So David calls him ‘Lord.’ Then how can he be his son?”
Jesus Denounces the Scribes(H)
45 While all the people were listening, he told his disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes! They like to walk around in long robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour widows’ houses[az] and say long prayers to cover it up. They will receive greater condemnation!”
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