Luke 18–19

The Parable of the Unjust Judge

18And he told them a parable to show that they must always pray and not be discouraged, ²saying, “There was a certain judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not respect people. ³And there was a widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary!’ ⁴And he was not willing for a time, but after these things he said to himself, ‘Even if I do not fear God or respect people, ⁵yet because this widow is causing trouble for me, I will grant her justice, so that she does not wear me down in the end by her^* coming back!’ ” ⁶And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying! ⁷And will not God surely see to it that justice is done^a to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them? ⁸I tell you that he will see to it that justice is done^b for them soon! Nevertheless, when^* the Son of Man comes, then will he find faith on earth?”

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹And he also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and looked down on everyone else:^{c 10}“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee stood and^* prayed these things with reference to himself: ‘God, I give thanks to you that I am not like other people—swindlers, unrighteous people, adulterers, or even like this tax collector! ¹²I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all that I get.’ ¹³But the tax collector, standing far away, did not want even to raise his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than that one! For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Little Children Brought to Jesus

¹⁵Now they were bringing even their^* babies to him so that he could touch them. But when^* the disciples saw it,^* they rebuked them. ¹⁶But Jesus called them to himself, saying, “Allow the children to come to me, and do not forbid them, for to such belongs^d the kingdom of God. ¹⁷Truly I say to you, whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God like a young child will never enter into it.”

A Rich Young Man

¹⁸And a certain ruler asked him, saying, “Good Teacher, by^* doing what will I inherit eternal life?” ¹⁹And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. ²⁰You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’ ”^{e 21}And he said, “All these I have observed from my^f youth.” ²²And when he^* heard this,^* Jesus said to him, “You still lack one thing:^g Sell all that you have, and distribute the proceeds^* to the poor—and you will have treasure in heaven—and come, follow me.” ²³But when he^* heard these things he became very sad, because he was extremely wealthy.

²⁴And Jesus took notice of him^h and^* said, “How difficult it is forⁱ those who possess wealth to enter into 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 into the kingdom of God. ²⁶So those who heard this^* said, “And who can be saved?” ²⁷But he said, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

²⁸And Peter said, “Behold, we have left all that is ours^j and^* followed you.” ²⁹And he said to them, “Truly I say to you that there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children on account of the kingdom of God, ³⁰who will not receive many times more in this time and in the age to come, eternal life.”

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection a Third Time

³¹And taking aside the twelve, he said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that are written by the prophets with reference to the Son of Man will be accomplished. ³²For he will be handed over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and mistreated and spit on, ³³and after^* flogging him^* they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” ³⁴And they understood none of these things, and this saying was concealed from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.

A Blind Man Healed at Jericho

³⁵Now it happened that as he drew near to Jericho, a certain blind man was sitting on the side of the road begging. ³⁶And when he^* heard a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. ³⁷And they told him, “Jesus the Nazarene is passing by.” ³⁸And he called out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹And those who were in front rebuked him, that he should be silent, but he cried out even more loudly,^k “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁰So Jesus stopped and^* ordered him to be brought to him. And when^* he approached, he asked him, ⁴¹“What do you want me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, that I may regain my sight. ⁴²And Jesus said to him, “Regain your sight! Your faith has saved you.” ⁴³And immediately he regained his sight and began to follow^* him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they^* saw it,^* gave praise to God.

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19And he entered and^* traveled through Jericho. ²And there was^a a man named^b Zacchaeus, and he was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. ³And he was seeking to see Jesus—who he was—and he was not able to as a result of the crowd, because he was short in stature. ⁴And he ran on ahead and^* climbed up into a sycamore tree so that he could see him, because he was going to go through that way. ⁵And when he came to the place, Jesus looked up and^* said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, because it is necessary for me to stay at your house today!” ⁶And he came down quickly and welcomed him joyfully. ⁷And when they^* saw it,^* they all began to complain,^* saying, “He has gone in to find lodging with a man who is a sinner!” ⁸And Zacchaeus stopped and^* said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I am giving to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I am paying it^* back four times as much!” ⁹And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save those who are lost.”

The Parable of the Ten Minas

¹¹Now while^* they were listening to these things, he went on and^* told a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. ¹²Therefore he said, “A certain nobleman traveled to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. ¹³And summoning ten of his own slaves, he gave them ten minas^c and said to them, ‘Do business until I come back.’^{d 14}But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to be king over us!’ ¹⁵And it happened that when he returned after^* receiving the kingdom, he ordered these slaves to whom he had given the money to be summoned to him, so that he could know what they had gained by trading. ¹⁶So the first arrived, saying, ‘Sir, your mina has made ten minas more!’ ¹⁷And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful in a very small thing, have authority^e over ten cities.’ ¹⁸And the second came, saying, ‘Sir, your mina has made five minas.’ ¹⁹So he said to this one also, ‘And you be over five cities.’ ²⁰And another came, saying, ‘Sir, behold your mina, which I had put away for safekeeping in a piece of cloth. ²¹For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man—you withdraw what you did not deposit, and you reap what you did not sow!’ ²²He said to him, ‘By your own words^f I will judge you, wicked slave! You knew that I am a severe man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. ²³And why did you not give my money to the bank, and I, when I^* returned, would have collected it with interest?’ ²⁴And to the bystanders he said, ‘Take away from him the mina and give it^* to the one who has the ten minas!’ ²⁵And they said to him, ‘Sir, he has ten minas.’ ²⁶‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. ²⁷But these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them^* here and slaughter them in my presence!’ ”

The Triumphal Entry

²⁸And after he^* had said these things, he traveled on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. ²⁹And it happened that when he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, to the hill^g called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, ³⁰saying, ‘Go into the village in front of you, in which as you^* enter you will find a colt tied, on which no person has ever^h sat, and untie it and^* bring it.^{* 31}And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’^* you will say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ” ³²So those who were sent went and^* found it^* just as he had told them. ³³And as^* they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’ ³⁴So they said, ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ³⁵And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they put Jesus on it. ³⁶And as^* he was going along, they were spreading out their cloaks on the road. ³⁷Now as^* he was drawing near by this time to the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began rejoicing to praise God with a loud voice for all the miracles that they had seen, ³⁸saying,

“Blessed is the king,

the one who comes in the name of the Lord!ⁱ

Peace in heaven

and glory in the highest!”

³⁹And some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” ⁴⁰And he answered and^* said, “I tell you that^j if these keep silent, the stones will cry out!”

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

⁴¹And when he approached and^* saw the city, he wept over it, ⁴²saying, “If you had known on this day—even you—the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³For days will come upon you and your enemies will put up an…