Study Desk

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.

^(C1)On one of the days while ^(C2)He was teaching the people in the temple and ^(C3)preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders ^(C4)confronted Him,

and they declared, saying to Him, "Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?"

But He replied to them, "I will also ask you a ^(F1)question, and you tell Me:

"Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?"

They discussed among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why did you not believe him?'

"But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us to death, since they are convinced that John was a ^(C1)prophet."

And so they answered that they did not know where it came from.

And Jesus said to them, "Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things."

^(C1)But He began to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard and leased it to ^(F1)vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time.

"At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

"And he proceeded to send another slave; but they beat him also and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.

"And he proceeded to send a third; but this one too they wounded and threw out.

"Now the ^(F1)owner of the vineyard said, 'What am I to do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will ^(C1)respect him.'

"But when the vine-growers saw him, they discussed with one another, saying, 'This is the heir; let's kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.'

"And so they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the ^(F1)owner of the vineyard do to them?

"He will come and ^(C1)put these vine-growers to death, and will give the vineyard to others." However, when they heard this, they said, "^(C2)May it never happen!"

But ^(F1)Jesus looked at them and said, "Then what is this statement that has been written: '^(C1)A STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS HAS BECOME ^(C2)THE ^(F2)CHIEF CORNERSTONE'?

"^(C1)Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will crush him."

The scribes and the chief priests ^(C1)tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and yet they feared the people; for they were aware that He had spoken this parable against them.

^(C1)And so they watched Him ^(F1)closely, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order ^(C2)that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could hand Him over to the jurisdiction and authority of ^(C3)the governor.

And the spies questioned Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You ^(F1)are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God on the basis of truth.

"Is it ^(F1)permissible for us ^(C1)to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"

But He saw through their trickery and said to them,

"Show Me a ^(F1)denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?" They said, "Caesar's."

And He said to them, "Then ^(C1)pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

And they were unable to ^(C1)catch Him in a statement in the presence of the people; and they were amazed at His answer, and said nothing.

^(C1)Now some of the ^(C2)Sadducees (who maintain that there is no resurrection) came to Him,

and they questioned Him, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ^(C1)if ^(F1)a man's brother dies, ^(F2)leaving a wife, and he is childless, that his brother is to ^(F3)marry the wife and raise up children ^(F4)for his brother.

"So then, there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless;

and the second

and the third ^(F1)married her; and in the same way ^(F2)all seven ^(F3)died, leaving no children.

"Finally the woman also died.

"Therefore, in the resurrection, ^(F1)which one's wife does the woman become? For ^(F2)all seven ^(F3)married her."

Jesus said to them, "The sons of ^(C1)this age marry and the women are given in marriage,

but those who are considered worthy to attain to ^(C1)that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;

for they cannot even die anymore, for they are like angels, and are ^(C1)sons of God, being ^(F1)sons of the resurrection.

"But as for the fact that the dead are raised, even Moses revealed this in ^(C1)the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord ^(C2)THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB.

"^(C1)Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for ^(C2)all live to Him."

Some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."

For ^(C1)they did not have the courage to question Him any longer about anything.

^(C1)But He said to them, "How is it that they say the ^(F1)Christ is ^(C2)David's son?

"For David himself says in the book of Psalms, '^(C1)THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

^(C1)UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET."'

"Therefore David calls Him 'Lord,' and so how is He his son?"

^(C1)And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples,

"Beware of the scribes, ^(C1)who like to walk around in long robes, and love personal greetings in the marketplaces, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets,

who ^(F1)devour widows' houses, and for appearance's sake offer long prayers. These will receive all the more condemnation."