Part 31

018:041 "What shall I do for you?" "Sir," he replied, "let me recover my sight."

018:042 "Recover your sight," said Jesus: "your faith has cured you."

018:043 No sooner were the words spoken than the man regained his sight and followed Jesus, giving glory to God; and all the people, seeing it, gave praise to God.

019:001 So He entered Jericho and was passing through the town.

019:002 There was a man there called Zacchaeus, who was the local surveyor of taxes, and was wealthy.

019:003 He was anxious to see what sort of man Jesus was; but he could not because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.

019:004 So he ran on in front and climbed up a mulberry tree to see Him; for He was about to pass that way.

019:005 As soon as Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for I must stay at your house to-day."

019:006 So he came down in haste, and welcomed Him joyfully.

019:007 When they all saw this, they began to complain with indignation. "He has gone in to be the guest of a notorious sinner!" they said.

019:008 Zacchaeus however stood up, and addressing the Lord said, "Here and now, Master, I give half my property to the poor, and if I have unjustly exacted money from any man, I pledge myself to repay to him four times the amount."

019:009 Turning towards him, Jesus replied, "To-day salvation has come to this house, seeing that he too is a son of Abraham.

019:010 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

019:011 As they were listening to His words, He went on to teach them by a parable, because He was near to Jerusalem and they supposed that the Kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.

019:012 So He said to them, "A man of noble family travelled to a distant country to obtain the rank of king, and to return.

019:013 And he called ten of his servants and gave each of them a pound, instructing them to trade with the money during his absence.

019:014 "Now his countrymen hated him, and sent a deputation after him to say, `We are not willing that he should become our king.'

019:015 And upon his return, after he had obtained the sovereignty, he ordered those servants to whom he had given the money to be summoned before him, that he might learn their success in trading.

019:016 "So the first came and said, "`Sir, your pound has produced ten pounds more.'

019:017 "`Well done, good servant,' he replied; `because you have been faithful in a very small matter, be in authority over ten towns.'

019:018 "The second came, and said, "`Your pound, Sir, has produced five pounds.'

019:019 "So he said to this one also, "`And you, be the governor of five towns.'

019:020 "The next came. "`Sir,' he said, `here is your pound, which I have kept wrapt up in a cloth.

019:021 For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man: you take up what you did not lay down, and you reap what you did not sow.'

019:022 "`By your own words,' he replied, `I will judge you, you bad servant. You knew me to be a severe man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow:

019:023 why then did you not put my money into a bank, that when I came I might have received it back with interest?

019:024 "And he said to those who stood by, "`Take the pound from him and give it to him who has the ten pounds.'

019:025 ("They said to him, "`Sir, he already has ten pounds.')