Background

Luke Chapter 18 verses 18 to 43; 19 verses 1 to 27:

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 good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, Honour 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; sell all that you possess and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have 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, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to 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, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”

Peter said, “Behold, we have left our own homes and followed you.” And he said to them, “Truly I say to you, 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 the age to come, eternal life.”

Now he took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, 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. For he will be 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.” 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.

Now as 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, 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, “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; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he regained his sight and began following him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. And 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 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 joyfully. When the people saw this, they all began to complain, saying, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner!” But Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I am giving to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I am giving back four times as much.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. 1For 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 he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. So he said, “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 minas, and said to them, ‘Do business with this money 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, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave; since you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to have authority over ten cities.’ The second one came, saying, ‘Your mina, 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, ‘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.’ ‘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 these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.’ ”