Day's World

LUKE CHAPTER NINETEEN

Jesus came into Jericho and was

Making his way through it; a wealthy man,

Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, was

 

There. ³ He desired to see who Jesus was,

But being short in stature he could not,

Due to the crowd, ⁴ so he ran on ahead

 

And climbed a tree, a sycamore, to see

Jesus, since he was heading that way. ⁵ When

Jesus came to the spot, he looked up, saw

 

Him and remarked, “Zacchaeus, hurry up

And come down. I must be your guest today,”

⁶ So he came down at once and welcomed him

 

Joyfully. ⁷ Seeing this, the people started

To mutter, “He has gone to be the guest

Of a real sinner,” ⁸ but Zacchaeus stood

 

Up, saying to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Right now

I give one-half of my possessions to

The poor, and if I’ve cheated anyone

 

Of anything, I will repay four times

As much,” ⁹ and Jesus said to him, “Today

Salvation has come in this house, because

 

Zacchaeus, too, is one of Abraham’s

Sons, ¹⁰ for the Son of Man has come to seek

And save that which was lost,” ¹¹ then as the crowd

 

Listened intently, he went on to tell

A parable to them, because he was

Close to Jerusalem and people thought

 

God’s kingdom would appear at once. ¹² He said,

“A man of noble birth went to a far

Country to have himself appointed king

 

And then return, ¹³ so he called ten of his

Servants and gave them each ten minas. ‘Use

This money to invest ‘til I return,’

 

¹⁴ And yet his subjects hated him and sent

A delegation after him to say,

‘We do not want this man to be our king.’

 

¹⁵ He was made king, however, and returned

Home, then he summoned all the servants whom

He’d given money to, to find out what

 

They’d gained with it. ¹⁶ The first one came and said,

‘Sir, your one mina has earned ten more.’ ¹⁷ ‘Well

Done, my good servant!’ he replied. ‘Because

 

You have proved trustworthy with this small sum,

I’m giving you responsibility

Over ten cities,’ ¹⁸ then the second came

 

And said, ‘Your mina, sir, has earned five more.’

¹⁹ His master answered, ‘You take charge of five

Cities,’ ²⁰ and then another servant came

 

And stated, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I

Have kept it hidden in a piece of cloth.

²¹ I was afraid of you, because you are

 

A hard man who takes out what he does not

Put in and reaps what he did not sow.’ ²² His

Master replied, ‘You scoundrel! Your own words

 

Condemn you. You say you knew that I am

A hard man, taking out what I did not

Put in, and reaping what I did not sow?

 

²³ So why then didn’t you deposit my

Money, so that when I returned, I could

Have had it back with interest?’ ²⁴ Then he said

 

To those beside him, ‘Take his mina from

Him; give it to the one who has ten minas.’

²⁵ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’ ²⁶ He

 

Replied, ‘I tell you everyone who has

Will get more given to him, but as for

The one with nothing, even what he has

 

Will be removed. ²⁷ As for those enemies

Of mine who did not want me to be king

Over them–bring them here and kill them in

 

My presence.’” ²⁸ After Jesus had said this,

He went ahead of them on his way to

Jerusalem. ²⁹ As he came close to Bethphage

 

And Bethany near to the hill that’s called

The Mount of Olives, he sent two of his

Disciples, telling them, ³⁰ “Go in the town

 

Ahead of you, and as you enter it,

You’ll find a colt tied, on which no one has

Ever ridden yet. Untie it and bring

 

It here. ³¹ If anybody asks you, ‘Why

Are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord

Needs it.’” ³² The messengers went off ahead

 

And found it just as he had told them. ³³ As

They were untying it, the owners of

The colt did ask them, “Why are you untying

 

The colt?” ³⁴ They answered them, “The Lord needs it.”

³⁵ They brought the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks

Upon it, and put Jesus on it. ³⁶ As

 

He went along, the people spread their cloaks

Upon the road, ³⁷ and when he neared the spot

Where the road slopes down the Mount of Olives,

 

All of the crowd of followers began

Joyfully praising God loudly for all

The miracles they had seen: ³⁸ “Blessed is

 

The king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Peace up in heaven; glory in the highest!”

³⁹ Some Pharisees within the throng told Jesus,

 

“Teacher, rebuke your followers!” ⁴⁰ “I tell

You that if they keep still, the stones themselves

Will cry out,” he replied. ⁴¹ As he approached

 

Jerusalem and saw the city, he

Wept over it, ⁴² exclaiming, “If you had

Only known on this day on what your peace

 

Depends–but now it’s hidden from your eyes.

⁴³ The time is coming when your enemies

Will build a bank against you and surround

 

You, hemming you in on each side. ⁴⁴ They’ll hurl

You and your children to the ground, and will

Not leave one stone upon another, for

 

You did not recognize the time of God’s

Coming to you,” ⁴⁵ then he went in the temple

And started driving out the traders there.

 

⁴⁶ “It’s written,” he told them, “‘My house will be

A house of prayer’; but you’ve transformed it to

‘A den of robbers.’” ⁴⁷ Every day he taught

 

Them at the temple, but the chief priests, scribes

And leaders of the people tried to kill

Him, ⁴⁸ yet they could not find a way to shed

 

His blood, for people hung on what he said.

 

S.D.G.