1Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it.
2There was a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector, and he was very rich.
3He wanted to see who Jesus was, but he couldn't because of the crowd, as he was a short man.
4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree to see Jesus, because Jesus was going to pass that way.
5When Jesus came to that spot, he looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, because I must stay at your house today.”
6Zacchaeus quickly came down and joyfully welcomed Jesus.
7When they saw it, everyone grumbled, "He has gone to stay with a man who is a sinner."
8But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I will give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone out of anything, I will pay back four times as much."
9Jesus 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 the lost."
11As the people were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought God's Kingdom would appear immediately.
12So he said, “A certain nobleman traveled to a distant country to be appointed king and then return.
13He called ten of his servants and gave each of them a sum of money, telling them, ‘Do business with this until I return.’
14But his citizens hated him. They sent a delegation after him saying, ‘We don't want this man to be our king.’
15"However, he was appointed king and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money in order to find out what they had gained from their business dealings.
16The first one came and said, 'Sir, your one coin has earned ten more.'
17"The king replied, 'Well done, my good servant! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, you will have authority over ten cities.'
18"The second servant came and said, 'Sir, your one coin has made five more.'
19"The king answered, 'You will be in charge of five cities.'
20Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your coin; I have kept it safely wrapped in a piece of cloth.
21I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.'
22"The king told him, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in and reaping what I did not sow.
23Why didn't you put my money in the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.'
24Then he said to those standing by, 'Take the coin from him and give it to the one who has ten coins.'
25"They said to him, 'Sir, he already has ten!'
26"He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given. But from the one who does not have, even what they do have will be taken away.'
27But bring those enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, and execute them in front of me.”
28After saying these things, Jesus went on ahead, traveling up to Jerusalem.
29When he came near Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his followers.
30He told them, “Go into the village ahead. As you enter, you will find a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it to me.
31If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32The ones who were sent went and found everything just as he had told them.
33As they were untying the young donkey, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying this donkey?”
34They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35They brought the donkey to Jesus. They threw their cloaks on the donkey and helped Jesus get on it.
36As he rode along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37As he got closer to the city, at the point where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, all his followers began to joyfully praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen.
38They shouted, “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest places!”
39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell your followers to stop!”
40He answered, “I tell you, if they were silent, the stones would cry out.”
41When he came closer, he saw the city and cried over it.
42He said, “If only you, even you, had known today what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes.
43For the time will come when your enemies will build a wall around you, surround you, and close you in from every side.
44They will completely destroy you and your children within you. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize when God came to visit you.”
45Jesus went into the Temple and began to throw out those who were buying and selling there.
46He told them, “It is written, ‘My house will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a ‘hideout for robbers’!”
47He taught in the temple every day. But the chief priests, the religious scholars, and the leading men among the people were trying to find a way to kill him.
48However, they couldn’t figure out how to do it, because all the people were hanging on to his every word.