Luke 18–19

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18He then told them a parable on the need for them to pray ^salways and not become discouraged: ^t2“There was a judge in a certain town who didn’t fear God ^uor respect man. ³And a widow ^vin that town kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’

⁴“For a while he was unwilling, but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or respect man, ⁵yet because this widow keeps ^wpestering me, ^xI will give her justice, so she doesn’t wear me out ^yby her persistent coming.’ ”

⁶Then the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷Will not God grant justice ^zto His elect ^awho cry out to Him day and night? ^bWill He delay ^cto help them? ^d8I tell you that He will swiftly grant them justice. Nevertheless, when the ^•Son of Man comes, ^ewill He find that faith ^fon earth?”

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹He ^galso told this parable to some who trusted in themselves ^hthat they were righteous ⁱand looked down ^jon everyone else: ¹⁰“Two men went up to the ^•temple complex to pray, ^kone a ^•Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee took his stand ^lmand was praying like this: ‘God, I thank You that I’m not like other people ⁿ—greedy, ^ounrighteous, ^padulterers, ^qor even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast ^rtwice a week; I give a tenth ^stof everything I get.’

¹³“But the tax collector, standing far off, ^uwould not even raise his eyes to heaven ^vbut kept striking his chest ^wxand saying, ‘God, turn Your wrath from me ^yz—a sinner!’ ^a14I tell you, this one went down to his house ^•justified ^brather than the other; because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” ^c

Blessing the Children

¹⁵Some ^dpeople were even bringing infants to Him so He might touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. ¹⁶Jesus, however, invited them: “Let the little children come to Me, ^eand don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ^17•I assure you: ^fWhoever does not welcome ^gthe kingdom of God like a little child ^hwill never enter it.”

The Rich Young Ruler

¹⁸A ⁱruler ^jasked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ^k

¹⁹“Why do you call Me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good but One—God. ²⁰You know the commandments:

Do not commit adultery;

do not murder;

do not steal;

do not bear false witness;

honor your father and mother.” ^lm

²¹“I have kept all these from my youth,” he said.

²²When Jesus heard this, He told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, ⁿand you will have treasure in heaven. ^oThen come, follow Me.” ^p

²³After he heard this, he became extremely sad, ^qbecause he was very rich.

Possessions and the Kingdom

²⁴Seeing that he became sad, ^rJesus said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁶Those who heard this asked, “Then who can be saved?” ^s

²⁷He replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” ^t

²⁸Then Peter said, “Look, we have left what we had and followed ^uYou.”

²⁹So He said to them, “I assure you: There is no one who has left a house, wife or ^•brothers, parents or children because of the kingdom of God, ³⁰who will not receive many times more at this time, ^vand eternal life in the age to come.”

The Third Prediction of His Death

³¹Then ^wHe took the Twelve aside and told them, “Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem. ^xEverything that is written ^ythrough the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. ^z32For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, ^aand He will be mocked, ^binsulted, spit ^con; ³³and after they flog Him, they will kill Him, and He will rise on the third day.” ^d

³⁴They understood none of these things. ^eThis saying ^fgwas hidden ^hfrom them, and they did not grasp what was said.

A Blind Man Receives His Sight

³⁵As ⁱHe drew near Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. ³⁶Hearing a crowd passing by, he inquired what this meant. ³⁷“Jesus the Nazarene ^jis passing by,” they told him.

³⁸So he called out, ^k“Jesus, Son of David, ^lhave mercy ^mon me!” ³⁹Then those in front told him to keep quiet, ⁿbut he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁰Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him. When he drew near, He asked him, ⁴¹“What do you want Me to do for you?”

“Lord,” he said, “I want to see!”

⁴²“Receive your sight!” ^oJesus told him. “Your faith has healed you.” ^pq43Instantly he could see, and he began to follow Him, glorifying God. ^rAll the people, ^swhen they saw it, gave praise to God.

Jesus Visits Zacchaeus

19He entered Jericho and was passing through. ²There was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. ³He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because of the crowd, since he was a short man. ⁴So running ahead, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus, since He was about to pass that way. ⁵When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today I must stay at your house.”

⁶So he quickly came down and welcomed Him joyfully. ⁷All who saw it began to complain, ^t“He’s gone to lodge with a sinful man!”

⁸But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give ^uhalf of my possessions to the poor, ^vLord! And if I have extorted ^wanything from anyone, I’ll pay ^xback four times as much!” ^y

⁹“Today salvation ^zhas come to this house,” Jesus told him, “because he too is a son of Abraham. ^a10For the ^•Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.” ^bc

The Parable of the 10 Minas

¹¹As ^dthey were listening to this, He went on to tell a parable because He was near Jerusalem, ^eand they thought the kingdom of God was going to appear right away. ^f

¹²Therefore He said: “A nobleman traveled to a far country to receive for himself authority to be king ^gand then return. ¹³He called 10 of his ^•slaves, gave them 10 minas, ^hand told them, ‘Engage in business until I come back.’

¹⁴“But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We don’t want this man to rule over us!’

¹⁵“At his return, having received the authority to be king, ⁱhe summoned those slaves he had given the money to, so he could find out how much they had made in business. ¹⁶The first came forward and said, ‘Master, your mina has earned 10 more minas.’

¹⁷“ ‘Well done, good ^jslave!’ he told him. ‘Because you have been faithful ^kin a very small matter, have authority over 10 towns.’

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

¹⁹“So he said to him, ‘You will be over five towns.’

²⁰“And another came and said, ‘Master, here is your mina. I have kept it hidden away in a cloth ²¹because I was afraid of you, for you’re a tough man: you collect what you didn’t deposit and reap what you didn’t sow.’ ^l

²²“He told him, ‘I will judge you by what you have said, ^myou evil slave! If you knew I was a tough man, collecting what I didn’t deposit and reaping what I didn’t sow, ²³why didn’t you put my money in the bank? And when I returned, I would have collected it with interest!’ ²⁴So he said to those standing there, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has 10 minas.’

²⁵“But they said to him, ‘Master, he has 10 minas.’

²⁶“ ‘I tell you, that to everyone who has, more will be given; and from the one who does not have, even what he does have will be taken away. ⁿ²⁷But bring here these enemies of mine, ^owho did not want me to rule over them, and slaughter ^pthem in my presence.’ ”

The Triumphal Entry

²⁸When ^qHe had said these things, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. ^r29As He approached Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, ^sHe sent two of the disciples ³⁰and said, “Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter it, you will find a young donkey tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say this: ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”

³²So those who were sent left and found it just as He had told them. ^t33As they were untying the young donkey, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the donkey?”

³⁴“The Lord needs it,” they said. ³⁵Then ^uthey brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their robes on the donkey, they helped Jesus get on it. ^v36As He was going along, they were spreading their robes on the road. ^w37Now He came near the path down the Mount of Olives, and the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen:

³⁸The King ^xwho comes

in the name of the Lord ^yza

is the blessed One.

Peace in heaven

and glory ^bin the highest heaven! ^c

³⁹Some of the Pharisees from the crowd told Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”

⁴⁰He answered, “I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out!” ^d

Jesus’ Love for Jerusalem

⁴¹As He approached and saw the city, He wept ^eover it, ⁴²saying, “If you knew ^fthis day what would bring peace—but now it is hidden ^gfrom your eyes. ⁴³For the days will come on you ^hwhen your enemies will build an embankment against you, surround you, and hem you in on every side. ⁱ⁴⁴They will crush you and your children within you to the ground, ^jand they will not leave one stone on another ^kin you, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” ^l

Cleansing the Temple Complex

⁴⁵He ^mwent into the temple complex and began to throw out those who were selling, ⁿ⁴⁶and He said, “It is written, My house will be a house of prayer, ^obut you have made it a den of thieves!” ^pq

⁴⁷Every day He was teaching ^rin the temple complex. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people were looking for a way to destroy ^sHim, ⁴⁸but they could not find a way to do it, because all the people ^twere captivated by what they…