Part 29

It came to pass, as Jesus continued toward Jerusalem, He passed through the middle of Samaria and Galilee. As He went into a village, ten lepers met Him. Standing at a distance, they lifted their voices and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. When He saw them, Jesus said, Go show yourselves to the priests. And, it happened that, as they went, they were cleansed.

When one of them, a Samaritan, saw that he was healed, he turned back, and with a loud voice, glorified God. He fell down at Jesus' feet and thanked Him. Jesus said, Were there not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Of the ten, the only one to return thanks to God is the foreigner. Jesus said to him, Arise and go thy way. Thy faith has made thee whole.

When the Pharisees demanded to know when the kingdom of God should come, He answered, The kingdom of God does not come by observation. No one will say, Look here! or, look there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Then He said to the disciples, The days will come, when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of man, but you will not see it. They will say to you, See here; or, see there. Do not go after them or follow them. For just as lightning flashes and lights the heavens from one part to another; so also shall the Son of man be in His day.

But first you must suffer many things, and be rejected by this generation. As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of man. People ate and drank, they married and were given in marriage up until the day that Noah entered the ark when the flood came and destroyed them all.

It was the same in the days of Lot. They ate and drank, bought and sold, planted and built. But the same day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.

This is how it shall be on the day when the Son of man is revealed. On that day, he who is up on the housetop, and his belongings downstairs in the house should not go down for them. He who is in the field should not turn back. Remember Lot's wife.

Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life will save it. In that night there will be two sleeping in a bed; one will be taken, the other will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken, and the other left. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken, and the other left. Then they asked Him, Where, Lord? He said to them, Wherever the body is, there will also the vultures be gathered.

18 Jesus told another parable. In a certain city, there was a judge who feared neither God nor man. A widow in that city came to him and said, Avenge me of my adversary. At first, the judge gave her no attention. But afterward he said to himself, Though I do not fear God nor man; I will avenge her because she bothers me and her continual coming to me will wear me out.

The Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge said. Shall God not avenge His own elect, who cry day and night to Him, though He has great patience with them? I tell you, He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, shall He find faith on the earth?

He spoke this parable to those who trusted in their own righteousness, and despised others: Two men went into the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed, God, I thank thee that I am not like other men who are extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even publicans. I fast twice a week and I give tithes of all that I possess.

The publican, standing far off, would not so much as lift his eyes to heaven, but struck his breast, said, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this second man went home justified, but not the first man, for every one that exalts himself shall be abased; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted.

Many people brought infants to Jesus that He would touch them. But when the disciples saw the large crowd, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to Him and said, Let the little children come to me. Do not forbid them for of such is the kingdom of God. Whoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no way enter therein.

A certain ruler asked Him, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good, except one, that is, God. Know the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Honor thy father and thy mother.

And he said, All these commandments I have kept from my youth up. Then Jesus said to him, Yet you lack one thing. Sell all you have and give to the poor. You will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.

When he heard this, he was very sorrowful because he was very rich and had many possessions. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, He said, How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Those who heard this asked, Who then can be saved? Jesus answered, The things which are not possible for men are possible for God. And Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee. Jesus said to them, Verily I say to you, There is no one who has left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive a great reward in this present time and in life everlasting.

Then Jesus took the twelve aside and said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem where all things that are written by the prophets about the Son of man will be accomplished. He shall be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully treated, and spit on. They will scourge Him and put Him to death. And, on the third day, He shall rise again.

And it came to pass, as He was near Jericho, a blind man sat begging by the wayside. When he was told that Jesus was passing by, he cried, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. When some told him to hold his peace, he cried out again, Thou son of David, have mercy on me.

Jesus stopped and commanded that the blind man be brought to Him. Then Jesus said to the man, What do you want me to do for you? The man said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. Jesus said, Receive thy sight. Thy faith has saved thee. And immediately he received his sight and followed Him, glorifying God. The people, also, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

19 In Jericho there was a rich man named Zacchaeus, who was the head of the publicans. When Jesus passed through the town, Zacchaeus wanted to see Him. Zacchaeus was short of stature and could not see Jesus through the press of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a tree to see Jesus as He passed by.

When Jesus came to the place, He looked up, saw him and said, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down. Today I must abide at your house. He hurried down from the tree and received Jesus joyfully. When the people saw this, they all murmured and said that Jesus was gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.

Then Zacchaeus said, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have taken anything from any one by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. Jesus said to him, Today salvation comes to this house, for now you are also a son of Abraham. The Son of man is come to seek and to save those who were lost.

As the people listened to these things, Jesus added a parable, because He was now near Jerusalem and many thought that the kingdom of God should appear immediately.

He said therefore, A nobleman went a great distance to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. He called his ten servants together and delivered over to them ten talents. He said to them, Handle my business until I return. But the citizens hated this nobleman, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man reign over us.

After he received the kingdom, he returned and called the servants to him for an accounting of what they had done with the talents. The first servant said, Lord, thy talent has gained ten more. He said to him, Very good. Because you have been faithful in this little matter, you now have authority over ten cities. The second servant said, Lord, the talent has gained another five. He said likewise to him, You now have authority over five cities.

Then came another servant who said, Lord, here is your talent which I have kept tied up in a cloth for I feared thee because thou art a hard man. You take up what you have not laid down and reap what you have not sown.

He said to this servant, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. If you knew that I was a hard man, taking up what I laid not down, and reaping what I did not sow, why, then, did you not put the talents in the bank, that, on my return, I would get my own back with interest? Give this talent to the servant who gained ten more. To every one who has, more shall be given. And from him who has not, even the little he has shall be taken away from him. And those who are my enemies and say I should reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me.