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entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but because he was a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus, for He was about to pass that way.
5 When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he climbed down at once and welcomed Him joyfully.
7 All the people who saw this began to complain, “He has gone to be a guest of a man who is a sinner.”
8 But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my goods I will now give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much!”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
11 While they were listening to this, Jesus went on to tell them a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and the people thought that the Kingdom of God was going to appear straight away. 12 He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he summoned ten of his servants, gave them ten minas, and told them, ‘Do business with these until I come back’.
14 “But his subjects all hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us’.
15 “He was made king however, and on his return he summoned those servants to whom he had give the money, so he could find out how much more they had gained with it.
16 “The first came forward and said, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten more minas’.
17 “ ‘Well done, good servant!’ his master told him. ‘Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities’.
18 “The second came and said, ‘Master, your mina has made five minas.
19 “So he said to him, ‘You take charge of five cities’.
20 “Then another servant came and said, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I have kept wrapped in a piece of cloth and hidden away. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You collect what you didn’t deposit and reap what you didn’t sow’.
22 “His master said to him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a hard man, collecting what I didn’t deposit, and reaping what I didn’t sow. 23 Then why didn’t you put my money into the bank, so that when I returned, I could have collected it with interest?’
24 “Then he said to those standing nearby, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas’.
25 “But they said to him, ‘Master, he already has ten minas’.
26 “He replied, ‘I tell you, that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who does not have, even what he does has will be taken away. 27 But those enemies of mine, who did not want me to be king over them, bring them here and kill them in front of me’.”
28 After Jesus had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, He sent two of the disciples, 30 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it’.”
32 So those who were sent went off and found it just as He had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They answered, “The Lord needs it.”
35 Then they brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they helped Jesus get on it. 36 As He was going along, many people spread their cloaks on the road.
37 When He was approaching the descent down from the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began to joyfully praise God in loud voices for the miracles they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”
40 But Jesus said to them, “I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the very stones would cry out!”
41 As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you, and close you in on every side. 44 They will crush you down to the ground, you and your children within your walls, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
45 Then He entered the temple area and began to drive out those who were selling things there, 46 and He said to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it a ‘den of robbers’.”
47 Every day He was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, 48 yet they were not able to do anything to Jesus, because all the people were spellbound by His words.