Study Desk

^(C1)Now they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them.

But Jesus called for ^(F1)the little ones, saying, "Allow the children to come to Me, and do not ^(F2)forbid them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

"Truly I say to you, ^(C1)whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all."

^(C1)A ruler questioned Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

But Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me ^(F1)good? No one is ^(F1)good except God alone.

"You know the commandments, '^(C1)DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT GIVE FALSE TESTIMONY, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.'"

And he said, "All these things I have kept since my youth."

Now when Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack; ^(C1)sell all that you possess and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have ^(C2)treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely wealthy.

And Jesus looked at him and said, "^(C1)How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!

"For ^(C1)it is easier for a camel to ^(F1)go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God!"

Those who heard Him said, "And so who can be saved?"

But He said, "^(C1)The things that are impossible with people are possible with God."

Peter said, "Behold, ^(C1)we have left ^(F1)our own homes and followed You."

And He said to them, "Truly I say to you, ^(C1)there is no one who has left house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children for the sake of the kingdom of God,

who will not receive many times as much at this time, and in ^(C1)the age to come, eternal life."

Now He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, ^(C2)we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that have been written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished.

"^(C1)For He will be ^(F1)handed over to the Gentiles, and will be ridiculed, and abused, and spit upon,

and after they have flogged Him, they will kill Him; and on the third day He will rise."

^(F1)(C1)The disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.

^(C1)Now as ^(F1)(C2)Jesus was approaching Jericho, a man who was blind was sitting by the road, begging.

But when he heard a crowd going by, he began inquiring what this was.

They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.

And he called out, saying, "Jesus, ^(C1)Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, "^(C1)Son of David, have mercy on me!"

And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He asked him,

"What do you want Me to do for you?" And he said, "Lord, I want to regain my sight!"

And Jesus said to him, "Regain your sight; ^(C1)your faith has ^(F1)made you well."

And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, ^(C1)glorifying God; and when ^(C2)all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.

Jesus ^(C1)entered Jericho and was passing through.

And ^(F1)there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich.

Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable due to the crowd, because he was short in stature.

So he ran on ahead and climbed up a ^(F1)(C1)sycamore tree in order to see Him, because He was about to pass through that way.

And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house."

And he hurried and came down, and received Him ^(F1)joyfully.

When the people saw this, they all began to complain, saying, "He has gone in ^(F1)to be the guest of a man who is a sinner!"

But Zaccheus stopped and said to ^(C1)the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I am giving to the poor, and if I have ^(C2)extorted anything from anyone, I am giving back ^(C3)four times as much."

And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is ^(C1)a son of Abraham.

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

Now while they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because ^(C1)He was near Jerusalem and they thought that ^(C2)the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.

So He said, "^(C1)A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then to return.

"And he called ten of his own slaves and gave them ten ^(F1)minas, and said to them, 'Do business with this money ^(F2)until I come back.'

"But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.'

"When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be summoned to him so that he would learn how much they had made by the business they had done.

"The first slave appeared, saying, '^(F1)Master, your ^(F2)mina has made ten minas more.'

"And he said to him, 'Well done, good slave; since you have been ^(C1)faithful in a very little thing, you are to have authority over ten cities.'

"The second one came, saying, 'Your ^(F1)mina, ^(F2)master, has made five minas.'

"And he said to him also, 'And you are to be over five cities.'

"And then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I kept tucked away in a handkerchief;

for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.'

"He ^(*)said to him, '^(F1)From your own lips I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am a demanding man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow?

'And so why did you not put my money in the bank, and when I came back, I would have collected it with interest?'

"And then he said to the other slaves who were present, 'Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.'

"And they said to him, 'Master, he already has ten minas.'

'^(C1)I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.

'But as for ^(C1)these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and ^(C2)slaughter them in my presence.'"

After Jesus said these things, He ^(C1)was going on ahead, ^(C2)going up to Jerusalem.

^(C1)When He approached Bethphage and ^(C2)Bethany, near the ^(F1)mountain that is called ^(C3)Olivet, He sent two of the disciples,

saying, "Go into the village ^(F1)ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here.

"And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' you shall say this: '^(F1)The Lord has need of it.'"

So those who were sent left and found it just as He had told them.

And as they were untying the colt, its ^(F1)owners said to them, "Why are you untying the colt?"

They said, "^(F1)The Lord has need of it."

And they brought it to Jesus, ^(C1)and they threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.

Now as He was going, they were spreading their cloaks on the road.

And as soon as He was approaching, near the descent of ^(C1)the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to ^(C2)praise God ^(F1)joyfully with a loud voice for all the ^(F2)miracles which they had seen,

^(F1)shouting: "^(C1)BLESSED IS the ^(C2)King, THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Peace in heaven and ^(C3)glory in the highest!"

^(C1)And yet some of the Pharisees ^(F1)in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!"

Jesus replied, "I tell you, if these stop speaking, ^(C1)the stones will cry out!"

When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and ^(C1)wept over it,

saying, "If you had known on this day, even you, the conditions for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.

"For the days will come upon you ^(F1)when your enemies will ^(C1)put up a ^(F2)barricade against you, and ^(C2)surround you and hem you in on every side,

and they will level you to the ground, and throw down your children within you, and ^(C1)they will not leave in you one stone upon ^(F1)another, because you did not recognize ^(C2)the time of your visitation."

^(C1)And Jesus entered the temple grounds and began to drive out those who were selling,

saying to them, "It is written: '^(C1)AND MY HOUSE WILL BE A HOUSE OF PRAYER,' ^(C2)but you have made it a DEN OF ROBBERS."

And ^(C1)He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people ^(C2)were trying to put Him to death,

and yet they could not find ^(F1)anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to ^(F2)every word He said.