¹⁵ Now they were also bringing their babies to Him, so that He would touch and bless them, and when the disciples noticed it, they began reprimanding them. ¹⁶ But Jesus called them to Himself, saying [to the apostles], “Allow the children to come to Me, and do not forbid them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁷ I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God [with faith and humility] like a child will not enter it at all.”

The Rich Young Ruler

¹⁸ A certain ruler asked Him, “Good Teacher [You who are essentially and morally good], what shall I do to inherit eternal life [that is, eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom]?”^{(A) 19} Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is [essentially and morally] good except God alone. ²⁰ You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not testify falsely, Honor your father and your mother.’”^{(B) 21} He replied, “I have kept all these things from my youth.” ²² When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “You still lack one thing; sell everything that you have and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have [abundant] treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk].” ²³ But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. ²⁴ Jesus looked at him and said, “How difficult it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man [who places his faith in wealth or status] to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ And those who heard it said, “^[a]Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”^(C)

²⁸ Peter said, “Look, we have left all [things—homes, families, businesses] and followed You.” ²⁹ And He said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly 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, ³⁰ who will not receive many times as much in this present age and in the age to come, eternal life.”

³¹ Then taking the ^[b]twelve [disciples] aside, He said to them, “Listen carefully: we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that have been written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled and completed.^{(D) 32} He will be betrayed and handed over to the Gentiles (Roman authorities), and will be mocked and ridiculed and insulted and abused and spit on,^{(E) 33} and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and on the third day He will rise [from the dead].”^{(F) 34} But the disciples understood none of these things [about the approaching death and resurrection of Jesus]. This statement was hidden from them, and they did not grasp the [meaning of the] things that were said [by Jesus].

Bartimaeus Receives Sight

³⁵ As He was approaching Jericho [on His way to Jerusalem], it happened that a blind man was sitting beside the road begging.^{(G) 36} Now when he heard a crowd going by, he began to ask what this was [about]. ³⁷ They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” ³⁸ So he shouted out, saying, “Jesus, ^[c]Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” ³⁹ Those who were leading the way were sternly telling him to keep quiet; but he screamed all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁰ Then Jesus stopped and ordered that the blind man be led to Him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, ⁴¹ “What do you want Me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me regain my sight!” ⁴² Jesus said to him, “Regain your sight; your [personal trust and confident] faith [in Me] has made you well.” ⁴³ Immediately he regained his sight and began following Jesus, glorifying and praising and honoring God. And all the people, when they saw it, praised God.

Zaccheus Converted

19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ² And there was a man called Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector [a superintendent to whom others reported], and he was rich. ³ Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, but he could not see ^[d]because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. ⁴ So he ran on ahead [of the crowd] and climbed up in a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. ⁵ When Jesus reached the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” ⁶ So Zaccheus hurried and came down, and welcomed Jesus with joy. ⁷ When the people saw it, they all began muttering [in discontent], “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a [notorious] sinner.” ⁸ Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “See, Lord, I am [now] giving half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone out of anything, I will give back four times as much.”^{(H) 9} Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this household, because he, too, is a [^[e]spiritual] son of Abraham; ¹⁰ for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Parable of Money Usage

¹¹ While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they assumed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately [as soon as He reached the city]. ¹² So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to obtain for himself a kingdom, and [then] to return. ¹³ So he called ten of his servants, and gave them ten minas [one apiece, each equal to about a hundred days’ wages] and said to them, ‘Do business [with this] until I return.’ ¹⁴ But his citizens [the residents of his new kingdom] hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to be a king over us.’ ¹⁵ When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these servants, to whom he had given the money, be called to him, that he might find out what business they had done. ¹⁶ The first one came before him and said, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten more minas.’ ¹⁷ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you proved yourself faithful and trustworthy in a very little thing, you shall [now] have authority over ten cities [in my kingdom].’ ¹⁸ The second one came and said, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ ¹⁹ And he said to him also, ‘And you shall take charge over five cities.’ ²⁰ Then another came and said, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I have kept laid up in a handkerchief [for safekeeping]. ²¹ I was [always] afraid of you, because you are a stern man; you pick up what you did not lay down and you reap what you did not sow.’ ²² He said to the servant, ‘I will judge and condemn you by your own words, you worthless servant! Did you [really] know that I was a stern man, picking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? ²³ Then why did you not [at the very least] put my money in a bank? Then on my return, I would have collected it with interest.’ ²⁴ Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ ²⁵ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas already!’ ²⁶ [Jesus explained,] ‘I tell you that to everyone who has [because he valued his gifts from God and has used them wisely], more will be given; but from the one who does not have [because he disregarded his gifts from God], even what he has will be taken away.’ ²⁷ [The king ended by saying,] ‘But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them, bring them here and kill them in my presence.’”

The Triumphal Entry

²⁸ After saying these things, Jesus went on ahead [of them], going up to Jerusalem.

²⁹ When He approached Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples,^{(I) 30} saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a [donkey’s] ^[f]colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹ If anybody asks you, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’ you will say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” ³² So those who were sent left and found the colt just as He had told them. ³³ As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” ³⁴ They said, “The Lord needs it.” ³⁵ They brought it to Jesus, and ^[g]they threw their robes over the colt and put Jesus on it.^{(J) 36} As He rode along, people were spreading their coats on the road [as an act of homage before a king].^{(K) 37} As soon as He was approaching [Jerusalem], near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the entire multitude of the disciples [all those who were or claimed to be His followers] began praising God [adoring Him enthusiastically and] joyfully with loud voices for all the miracles and works of power that they had seen, ³⁸ shouting,

³⁹ Some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples [for shouting these Messianic praises].” ⁴⁰ Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these [people] keep silent, the stones will cry out [in praise]!”^(M)

⁴¹ As He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it [and the spiritual ignorance of its people], ⁴² saying, “If [only] you had known on this day [of salvation], even you, the things which make for peace [and on which peace depends]! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ For a time [of siege] is coming when your enemies will put up a barricade [with pointed stakes] against you, and surround you [with armies] and hem you in on every side,^{(N) 44} and they will level you to the ground, you [Jerusalem] and your children within you. They will not leave in you one stone on another, all because you did not [come progressively to] recognize [from observation and personal experience] the time of your visitation [when God was gracious toward you and offered you salvation].”

Traders Driven from the Temple

⁴⁵ Jesus went into the temple [enclosure] and began driving out those who were selling,^{(O) 46} saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer’; but you have made it a robbers’ den.”^(P)

⁴⁷ He was teaching day after day in the temple [porches and courts]; but the chief priests and scribes and the leading men among the people were seeking [a way] to put Him to death, ⁴⁸ and they could not find anything that they could do, for all the people [stayed close to Him and] were hanging on to ^[h]every word He said.