Part 11

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 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.

It came to pass, when Jesus was near Bethphage and Bethany not far from Jerusalem, He called two of His disciples and said, Go into the village over there. When you enter you will find a colt whereon no man has ever sat. Loose him and bring him here. If any man asks you why you untie him say, Because the Lord has need of him.

And they that were sent went their way and found everything as He had said to them. As they were loosing the colt, the owners said to them, Why do you loose the colt? They said, The Lord has need of him. And they brought him to Jesus, cast their garments upon the colt, and set Jesus thereon. And as He went, they spread their clothes in the way. When He was near the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen. They called out, Blessed be the King that comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.

Some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said to Him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. Jesus answered, I tell you, if they held their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

When He was near, He beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou had known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong to thy peace! But now they are hid from your eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because you knew not the time of thy visitation.

Jesus went into the temple and began to cast out those who sold and those who bought; saying to them, It is written: My house is the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves.

He taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests, scribes, and ruler of the people sought to destroy Him, but could not find a way to do it because all the people were very glad to hear Him.

20 One day, as Jesus taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, the chief priests and scribes came in with the elders, and said to Him, Tell us by what authority you do these things and who gives you this authority? Jesus said to them, I will ask you something also. Tell me, the baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?

They discussed it among themselves, saying, If we say, From heaven; He will say, Why, then, did you not believe him? And if we say, Of men; the people will stone us for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.

Finally, they told Jesus that they could not tell where it came from. And Jesus said to them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. Then Jesus told the people a parable.

A man planted a vineyard, then let it out to husbandmen, and he went into a far country for a long time. At the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen to get the fruit of the vineyard, but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty.

Again he sent another servant. They beat him also, and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. And again he sent a third servant. They wounded him and cast him out.

Then the lord of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. They will respect him when they see him. But, when the husbandmen saw him, they said, This is the heir. Let us kill him so the inheritance will be ours. So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

What, therefore, shall the lord of the vineyard do to them? He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. When the people heard this, they said, God forbid.

Jesus looked at them and said, What is this then that is written: The stone that the builders rejected, has become the cornerstone? Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.

The chief priests and the scribes then wanted to lay hands on Him but they feared the people who saw clearly that He had spoken this parable against them.

They had Him watched and they sent out spies. They looked for ways to take hold of His words so they could deliver Him to the power and authority of the governor. They asked Him, Master, we know that you say and teach the way of God. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar?

Jesus perceived their craftiness and said, Why test me? Show me a coin. Whose image and superscription is on it? They answered and said, Caesar's. Jesus said to them, Render, therefore, to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. They marvelled at His answer and had to hold their peace.

Then some of the Sadducees, who deny the resurrection, came to Him and said, Master, Moses wrote, If any man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed to his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife and died without children. The second took her as a wife and he died childless. The third took her; and, in like manner, all seven. They died and left no children. Last of all the woman died also. Now, in the resurrection, whose wife is she? Each of the seven had her as a wife.