Luke 18–19

18TH CHAPTER

God Will Help His People

¹Jesus used this illustration with his disciples to show them that they need to pray all the time and never give up. ²He said, “In a city there was a judge who didn’t fear God or respect people. ³In that city there was also a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice.’ 

⁴“For a while the judge refused to do anything. But then he thought, ‘This widow really annoys me. Although I don’t fear God or respect people, ⁵I’ll have to give her justice. Otherwise, she’ll keep coming to me until she wears me out.’ ” 

⁶The Lord added, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge thought. ⁷Won’t God give his chosen people justice when they cry out to him for help day and night? Is he slow to help them? ⁸I can guarantee that he will give them justice quickly. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” 

A Pharisee and a Tax Collector

⁹Jesus also used this illustration with some who were sure that God approved of them while they looked down on everyone else. ¹⁰He said, “Two men went into the temple courtyard to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee stood up and prayed, ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people! I’m not a robber or a dishonest person. I haven’t committed adultery. I’m not even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my entire income.’ 

¹³“But the tax collector was standing at a distance. He wouldn’t even look up to heaven. Instead, he became very upset, and he said, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 

¹⁴“I can guarantee that this tax collector went home with God’s approval, but the Pharisee didn’t. Everyone who honors himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be honored.” 

Jesus Blesses Children—Matthew 19:13–15; Mark 10:13–16

¹⁵Some people brought infants to Jesus to have him hold them. When the disciples saw this, they told the people not to do that. 

¹⁶But Jesus called the infants to him and said, “Don’t stop the children from coming to me! Children like these are part of God’s kingdom. ¹⁷I can guarantee this truth: Whoever doesn’t receive God’s kingdom as a little child receives it will never enter it.” 

Eternal Life in the Kingdom—Matthew 19:16–30; Mark 10:17–31

¹⁸An official asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 

¹⁹Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God. ²⁰You know the commandments: Never commit adultery. Never murder. Never steal. Never give false testimony. Honor your father and your mother.” 

²¹The official replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was a boy.” 

²²When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still need one thing. Sell everything you have. Distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then follow me!” 

²³When the official heard this, he became sad, because he was very rich. ²⁴Jesus watched him and said, “How hard it is for rich people to enter God’s kingdom! ²⁵Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.” 

²⁶Those who heard him asked, “Who, then, can be saved?” 

²⁷Jesus said, “The things that are impossible for people to do are possible for God to do.” 

²⁸Then Peter said, “We’ve left everything to follow you.” 

²⁹Jesus said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Anyone who gave up his home, wife, brothers, parents, or children because of God’s kingdom ³⁰will certainly receive many times as much in this life and will receive eternal life in the world to come.” 

For the Third Time Jesus Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life—Matthew 20:17–19; Mark 10:32–34

³¹Jesus took the twelve apostles aside and said to them, “We’re going to Jerusalem. Everything that the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will come true. ³²He will be handed over to foreigners. They will make fun of him, insult him, spit on him, ³³whip him, and kill him. But on the third day he will come back to life.” 

³⁴But they didn’t understand any of this. What he said was a mystery to them, and they didn’t know what he meant. 

Jesus Gives Sight to a Blind Man—Matthew 20:29–34; Mark 10:46–52

³⁵As Jesus came near Jericho, a blind man was sitting and begging by the road. ³⁶When he heard the crowd going by, he tried to find out what was happening. ³⁷The people told him that Jesus from Nazareth was passing by. ³⁸Then the blind man shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹The people at the front of the crowd told the blind man to be quiet. But he shouted even louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 

⁴⁰Jesus stopped and ordered them to bring the man to him. When the man came near, Jesus asked him, ⁴¹“What do you want me to do for you?” 

The blind man said, “Lord, I want to see again.” 

⁴²Jesus told him, “Receive your sight! Your faith has made you well.” ⁴³Immediately, he could see again. He followed Jesus and praised God. All the people saw this, and they, too, praised God. 

19TH CHAPTER

Zacchaeus Meets Jesus

¹Jesus was passing through Jericho. ²A man named Zacchaeus was there. He was the director of tax collectors, and he was rich. ³He tried to see who Jesus was. But Zacchaeus was a small man, and he couldn’t see Jesus because of the crowd. ⁴So Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed a fig tree to see Jesus, who was coming that way. 

⁵When Jesus came to the tree, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down! I must stay at your house today.” 

⁶Zacchaeus came down and was glad to welcome Jesus into his home. ⁷But the people who saw this began to express disapproval. They said, “He went to be the guest of a sinner.” 

⁸⸤Later, at dinner,⸥ Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Lord, I’ll give half of my property to the poor. I’ll pay four times as much as I owe to those I have cheated in any way.” 

⁹Then Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “You and your family have been saved today. You’ve shown that you, too, are one of Abraham’s descendants. ¹⁰Indeed, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save people who are lost.” 

A Story about a King

¹¹Jesus was getting closer to Jerusalem, and the people thought that God’s kingdom would appear suddenly. While Jesus had the people’s attention, he used this illustration. ¹²He said, “A prince went to a distant country to be appointed king, and then he returned. ¹³⸤Before he left,⸥ he called ten of his servants and gave them ten coins. He said to his servants, ‘Invest this money until I come back.’ 

¹⁴“The citizens of his own country hated him. They sent representatives to follow him and say ⸤to the person who was going to appoint him⸥, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ 

¹⁵“After he was appointed king, he came back. Then he said, ‘Call those servants to whom I gave money. I want to know how much each one has made by investing.’ 

¹⁶“The first servant said, ‘Sir, the coin you gave me has earned ten times as much.’ 

¹⁷“The king said to him, ‘Good job! You’re a good servant. You proved that you could be trusted with a little money. Take charge of ten cities.’ 

¹⁸“The second servant said, ‘The coin you gave me, sir, has made five times as much.’ 

¹⁹“The king said to this servant, ‘You take charge of five cities.’ 

²⁰“Then the other servant said, ‘Sir, look! Here’s your coin. I’ve kept it in a cloth for safekeeping because ²¹I was afraid of you. You’re a tough person to get along with. You take what isn’t yours and harvest grain you haven’t planted.’ 

²²“The king said to him, ‘I’ll judge you by what you’ve said, you evil servant! You knew that I was a tough person to get along with. You knew that I take what isn’t mine and harvest grain I haven’t planted. ²³Then why didn’t you put my money in the bank? When I came back, I could have collected it with interest.’ ²⁴The king told his men, ‘Take his coin away, and give it to the man who has ten.’ 

²⁵“They replied, ‘Sir, he already has ten coins.’ 

²⁶“ ‘I can guarantee that everyone who has something will be given more. But everything will be taken away from those who don’t have much. ²⁷Bring my enemies, who didn’t want me to be their king. Kill them in front of me.’ ” 

The King Comes to Jerusalem—Matthew 21:1–11; Mark 11:1–11; John 12:12–19

²⁸After Jesus had given this illustration, he continued on his way to Jerusalem. 

²⁹When he came near Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives (as it was called), Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead of him. ³⁰He said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter, you will find a young donkey tied there. No one has ever sat on it. Untie it, and bring it. ³¹If anyone asks you why you are untying it, say that the Lord needs it.” 

³²The men Jesus sent found it as he had told them. ³³While they were untying the young donkey, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the donkey?” 

³⁴The disciples answered, “The Lord needs it.” 

³⁵They brought the donkey to Jesus, put their coats on it, and helped Jesus onto it. ³⁶As he was riding along, people spread their coats on the road. ³⁷By this time he was coming near the place where the road went down the Mount of Olives. Then the whole crowd of disciples began to praise God for all the miracles they had seen. ³⁸They shouted joyfully, 

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! 

Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven.” 

³⁹Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell your disciples to be quiet.” 

⁴⁰Jesus replied, “I can guarantee that if they are quiet, the stones will cry out.” 

⁴¹When he came closer and saw the city, he began to cry. ⁴²He said, “If you had only known today what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden, so you cannot see it. ⁴³The time will come when enemy armies will build a wall to surround you and close you in on every side. ⁴⁴They will level you to the ground and kill your people. One stone will not be left on top of another, because you didn’t recognize the time when God came to help you.” 

Jesus Throws Out the Moneychangers—…