The Picture-Story of the Woman Whose Husband Had Died

18 Jesus told them a picture-story to show that men should always pray and not give up. ² He said, “There was a man in one of the cities who was head of the court. His work was to say if a person was guilty or not. This man was not afraid of God. He did not respect any man. ³ In that city there was a woman whose husband had died. She kept coming to him and saying, ‘Help me! There is someone who is working against me.’ ⁴ For awhile he would not help her. Then he began to think, ‘I am not afraid of God and I do not respect any man. ⁵ But I will see that this woman whose husband has died gets her rights because I get tired of her coming all the time.’” ⁶ Then the Lord said, “Listen to the words of the sinful man who is head of the court. ⁷ Will not God make the things that are right come to His chosen people who cry day and night to Him? Will He wait a long time to help them? ⁸ I tell you, He will be quick to help them. But when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

The Picture-Story of the Proud Religious Law-Keepers and the Tax-Gatherers

⁹ Jesus told another picture-story to some people who trusted in themselves and thought they were right with God. These people did not think well of other men. ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Two men went up to the house of God to pray. One of them was a proud religious law-keeper. The other was a man who gathered taxes. ¹¹ The proud religious law-keeper stood and prayed to himself like this, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men. I am not like those who steal. I am not like those who do things that are wrong. I am not like those who do sex sins. I am not even like this tax-gatherer. ¹² I go without food two times a week so I can pray better. I give one-tenth part of the money I earn.’ ¹³ But the man who gathered taxes stood a long way off. He would not even lift his eyes to heaven. But he hit himself on his chest and said, ‘God, have pity on me! I am a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went back to his house forgiven, and not the other man. For whoever makes himself look more important than he is will find out how little he is worth. Whoever does not try to honor himself will be made important.”

Jesus Gives Thanks for Little Children ^(A)

¹⁵ People took their little children to Jesus so He could put His hand on them. When His followers saw it, they spoke sharp words to the people. ¹⁶ Jesus called the followers to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me. Do not try to stop them. The holy nation of God is made up of ones like these. ¹⁷ For sure, I tell you, whoever does not receive the holy nation of God as a child will not go into the holy nation.”

Jesus Teaches about Keeping the Law ^(B)

¹⁸ A leader of the people asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to have life that lasts forever?” ¹⁹ Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? There is only One Who is good. That is God. ²⁰ You know the Laws. You must not do any sex sins. You must not kill another person. You must not steal. You must not tell a lie about someone else. Respect your father and your mother.” ²¹ The leader said, “I have obeyed all these Laws since I was a boy.”

²² When Jesus heard this, He said to the leader of the people, “There is still one thing you need to do. Sell everything you have. Give the money to poor people. Then you will have riches in heaven. Come and follow Me.” ²³ When the leader heard this, he was very sad because he had many riches. ²⁴ When Jesus saw that he was very sad, He said, “It is hard for those with riches to go into the holy nation of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go into the holy nation of God.”

²⁶ Those who heard this, said, “Then who can be saved from the punishment of sin?” ²⁷ Jesus said, “God can do things men cannot do.” ²⁸ Then Peter said, “See, we have left everything and have followed You.” ²⁹ Jesus said to them, “For sure, I tell you, anyone who has left his house or parents or brothers or wife or children because of the holy nation of God ³⁰ will receive much more now. In the time to come he will have life that lasts forever.”

Jesus Tells of His Death the Third Time ^(C)

³¹ Then Jesus took the twelve followers to one side and said, “See! We are going up to Jerusalem. All the things the early preachers wrote about the Son of Man are going to happen. ³² He will be given over to the people who are not Jews. He will be made fun of. He will be hurt. He will be spit on. ³³ They will beat Him and kill Him. After three days He will be raised again.”

³⁴ The followers did not understand these words. The meaning of these words was hidden from them. They did not know what He said.

Healing of the Blind Man ^(D)

³⁵ Jesus was coming near Jericho. A blind man was sitting by the side of the road, begging. ³⁶ He heard many people going by and asked what was happening. ³⁷ They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was going by. ³⁸ Then he cried out and said, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.” ³⁹ The people spoke sharp words to him and told him not to call out. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.”

⁴⁰ Jesus stopped and told the people to bring the blind man to Him. When the man was near, Jesus asked, ⁴¹ “What do you want Me to do for you?” He answered, “Lord, I want to see.” ⁴² Jesus said to him, “Then see! Your faith has healed you.” ⁴³ At once he could see. He followed Jesus and gave thanks to God. All the people gave thanks to God when they saw it.

The Changed Life of Zaccheus

19 Jesus went on to the city of Jericho and was passing through it. ² There was a rich man named Zaccheus. He was a leader of those who gathered taxes. ³ Zaccheus wanted to see Jesus but he could not because so many people were there and he was a short man. ⁴ He ran ahead and got up into a sycamore tree to see Him. Jesus was going by that way.

⁵ When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw Zaccheus. He said, “Zaccheus, come down at once. I must stay in your house today.” ⁶ At once he came down and was glad to have Jesus come to his house. ⁷ When the people saw it, they began to complain among themselves. They said, “He is going to stay with a man who is known to be a sinner.”

⁸ Zaccheus stood up and said to the Lord, “Lord, see! Half of what I own I will give to poor people. And if I have taken money from anyone in a wrong way, I will pay him back four times as much.” ⁹ Jesus said to him, “Today, a person has been saved in this house. This man is a Jew also. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to look for and to save from the punishment of sin those who are lost.”

The Picture-Story of the Ten Servants and the Money

¹¹ As they heard these things, Jesus told them a picture-story. Because He was near Jerusalem, they thought the holy nation of God would come at once. ¹² So Jesus said, “A leader of a country went to another country far away. A nation was to be given to him, then he would return home. ¹³ He called ten of the servants he owned. He gave them ten pieces of money and said to them, ‘Put this money to use until I return.’ ¹⁴ But other men in his country hated him. They sent men after him to tell him they did not want him as their king. ¹⁵ After he had been given the other nation, he returned as king. He asked for his servants who had received the money to come to him. He wanted to know how much more they had after putting it to use. ¹⁶ The first one came and said, ‘Lord, the piece of money you gave me has made ten more pieces of money.’ ¹⁷ He said to him, ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful in using a little. Now you will be leader over ten cities.’

¹⁸ “The second man came to him and said, ‘Lord, the piece of money you gave me has made five more pieces of money.’ ¹⁹ He said to him, ‘You are to be leader over five cities.’

²⁰ “Another one came saying, ‘Lord, look! Here is your piece of money. I have kept it hid in a piece of cloth. ²¹ I was afraid of you. You are a hard man. You take what you have not put down. You gather where you have not planted.’ ²² The king said to him, ‘By the words from your own mouth I must say that you are guilty. You are a sinful servant. You knew I was a hard man. You knew I take what I have not put down. You knew I gather where I have not planted. ²³ Why did you not put my money in the bank? Then when I came back I could have had my own money and what the bank paid for using it.’

²⁴ “Then he said to those who were standing by, ‘Take the piece of money from him and give it to the one who has ten pieces of money.’ ²⁵ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he already has ten pieces of money.’”

²⁶ Jesus said, “I tell you, he who has, to him will be given more. To him who does not have, even the little he has will be taken from him. ²⁷ ‘Bring here those who hated me and did not want me to be their king and kill them in front of me.’” ²⁸ When He had finished the picture-story, He went on ahead of them up to Jerusalem.

The Last Time Jesus Goes into Jerusalem ^(E)

²⁹ When Jesus was coming near the towns of Bethphage and Bethany by the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His followers on ahead. ³⁰ He said, “Go into the town ahead of you. There you will find a young donkey tied. No man has ever sat on it. Let it loose and bring it to Me. ³¹ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you letting it loose?’ say to him, ‘Because the Lord needs it.’”

³² Those who were sent found everything as Jesus had told them. ³³ As they were letting the young donkey loose, the owners said to them, “Why are you letting the young donkey loose?” ³⁴ They answered, “The Lord needs it.” ³⁵ Then they brought it to Jesus. They put their coats on the donkey and they put Jesus on it.

³⁶ As Jesus was going, they put their coats down on the road. ³⁷ Jesus was near the city and ready to go down the Mount of Olives. The many people who were following Him began to sing with loud voices and give thanks for all the powerful works they had seen. ³⁸ They said, “Great and honored is the King Who comes in the name of the Lord. There is peace and greatness in the highest heaven.”

³⁹ Some of the proud religious law-keepers who were in among the people said to Jesus, “Teacher, speak sharp words to Your followers.” ⁴⁰ Jesus said to them, “I tell you that if these did not speak, the very stones would call out.”

Jesus Cried as He Saw Jerusalem

⁴¹ When Jesus came near the city, He cried as He saw it. ⁴² He said, “If you had only known on this great day the things that make peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ The time is coming when those who hate you will dig earth and throw it up around you making a wall. They will shut you in from every side. ⁴⁴ They will destroy you and your children with you. There will not be one stone on another. It is because you did not know when God visited you.”

Jesus Stops the Buying and Selling in the House of God ^(F)

⁴⁵ Jesus went into the house of God. He made those leave who were buying and selling there. ⁴⁶ He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer.’ ‘But you have made it a place of robbers.’” ^(G)

⁴⁷ Jesus taught each day in the house of God. But the religious leaders and the teachers of the Law and other leaders of the people tried to think of some way they could kill Him. ⁴⁸ They could not find a way because the people were always near Him listening to Him teach.

They Ask Jesus Who Gave Him the Power to Do These Things ^(H)

20 As He was teaching and preaching the Good News, the religious leaders and the teachers of the Law and the elders came. ² They said to Him, “Tell us, by what right and power are You doing these things? Who gave You the right and the power?” ³ Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question also. You answer Me. ⁴ Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?”

⁵ They said to themselves, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ then all the people will throw stones at us because they believe John was one who spoke for God.” ⁷ They said that they did not know where John’s baptism came from. ⁸ Jesus said to them, “And I will not tell you where I get the right and the power to do these things.”

The Picture-Story of the Grape-Field ^(I)

⁹ Jesus began to tell the people a picture-story, saying, “There was a man who planted a grape-field. He rented it to farmers. Then he went to a country far away for a long time. ¹⁰ At the time of gathering fruit he sent one of his servants to the farmers to get some of the fruit. But the farmers beat him and sent him away without fruit. ¹¹ He sent another servant. The farmers beat him also. They made it very hard for him and sent him away without fruit. ¹² He sent a third servant. They hurt him and threw him out of the grape-field.

¹³ “Then the owner of the grape-field said, ‘What should I do? I will send my much-loved son. They might respect him.’ ¹⁴ The farmers saw the son. They said to themselves, ‘This is the one who will get everything when the owner dies. Let us kill him, and we will get everything.’ ¹⁵ They put him out of the grape-field and killed him. Now what will the owner of the grape-field do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and kill those farmers. Then he will rent the grape-field to other farmers.”

When they heard this, they said, “May this never be done!” ¹⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “What does this writing mean, ‘The Stone that was put aside by the workmen has become the most important Stone in the building’? ^{(J) 18} Whoever falls on this Stone will be broken. And on the one it falls, it will make him like dust.” ^(K)

They Try to Trap Jesus ^(L)

¹⁹ At this time the religious leaders and the teachers of the Law tried to take Jesus, but they were afraid of the people. These leaders knew Jesus had told this picture-story against them. ²⁰ They watched Jesus and they sent men who pretended to be good people to watch Him. They wanted to trap Him in something He said. Then they could give Him over to the leader of the people who had the right and the power to say what to do with Him.

²¹ These men who were sent asked Jesus, “Teacher, we know what You say and teach is right. We know You do not show more respect to one person than to another. We know You teach the truth about God. ²² Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” ²³ Jesus knew they were trying to trap Him. He said, ²⁴ “Show Me a piece of money. Whose picture is this? Whose name is on it?” And they said, “Caesar’s.” ²⁵ Jesus said to them, “Pay to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar. Pay to God the things that belong to God.” ²⁶ They could find nothing wrong with what He taught. They were surprised and wondered about what He told the people, so they said nothing more.

They Ask about Being Raised from the Dead ^(M)

²⁷ Some people from the religious group who believe no one will be raised from the dead came to Jesus. They asked Him, ²⁸ “Teacher, Moses wrote to us in the Law, ‘If a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, then his brother must marry her. He should have children for his brother who died.’ ^{(N) 29} There were seven brothers. The first had a wife but died without children. ³⁰ The second brother took her for his wife. He died without children. ³¹ The third brother took her for his wife. In the same way all seven took her for a wife. They all died without children. ³² Then the woman died also. ³³ When people are raised from the dead, whose wife will she be? All seven brothers had her for a wife.”

³⁴ Jesus said to them, “People of this earth marry and are given in marriage. ³⁵ But those who have the right to have that life and are raised from the dead do not marry and are not given in marriage. ³⁶ They cannot die anymore. They are as the angels and are sons of God. They are children who have been raised from the dead. ³⁷ As for the dead being raised, even Moses spoke of that when he told of the burning bush. There he calls the Lord, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. ³⁸ For He is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living. All live for Him.”

³⁹ One of the teachers of the Law said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” ⁴⁰ After that they were afraid to ask Him anything.

Jesus Asks the Teachers of the Law about the Christ ^(O)

⁴¹ Jesus said to them, “How do they say that Christ is the Son of David? ⁴² For David himself said in the Book of Psalms, ‘The Lord said to My Lord, “Sit at my right side ⁴³ until I make those who hate You a place to rest Your feet.”’ ^{(P) 44} David calls Him, ‘Lord!’ Then how can He be his son?”

False Teachers ^(Q)

⁴⁵ All the people were listening. He said to His followers, ⁴⁶ “Look out for the teachers of the Law. They like to walk around in long coats. They like to have people speak words of respect to them in the center of town where people gather. They like the important seats in the places of worship. They like the important places at big suppers. ⁴⁷ They take houses from poor women whose husbands have died. They cover up their actions by making long prayers. They will be punished all the more.”

A Woman Whose Husband Had Died Gave All She Had ^(R)

21 Jesus looked up and saw rich men putting their money into the money box in the house of God. ² He saw a poor woman whose husband had died. She put in two very small pieces of money. ³ He said, “I tell you the truth, this poor woman has put in more than all of them. ⁴ For they have put in a little of the money they had no need for. She is very poor and has put in all she had. She has put in what she needed for her own living.”

Jesus Tells of the House of God ^(S)

⁵ Some people were talking about the house of God. They were saying that the stones were beautiful and that many gifts had been given. Jesus said, ⁶ “As for these things you see, all these stones will be thrown down. Not one will be left on another.” ⁷ They asked Jesus, “Teacher, when will this take place? What are we to look for to show us these things are about to happen?” ⁸ He said, “Be careful that no one leads you the wrong way. For many people will come in My name. They will say, ‘I am the Christ.’ The time is near. Do not follow them. ⁹ When you hear of wars and fighting in different places, do not be afraid. These things have to happen first, but the end is not yet.”

¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Nations will have wars with other nations. Countries will fight against countries. ¹¹ The earth will shake and break apart in different places. There will be no food. There will be bad diseases among many people. Very special things will be seen in the sky that will make people much afraid.

¹² “But before all this happens, men will take hold of you and make it very hard for you. They will give you over to the places of worship and to the prisons. They will bring you in front of kings and the leaders of the people. This will all be done to you because of Me. ¹³ This will be a time for you to tell about Me. ¹⁴ Do not think about what you will say ahead of time. ¹⁵ For I will give you wisdom in what to say and I will help you say it. Those who are against you will not be able to stop you or say you are wrong.

¹⁶ “You will be handed over by your parents and your brothers and your family and your friends. They will kill some of you. ¹⁷ All men will hate you because of Me. ¹⁸ Yet not one hair of your head will be lost. ¹⁹ But stay true and your souls will have life.

Days of Trouble and Pain and Sorrow

²⁰ “When you see armies all around Jerusalem, know that it will soon be destroyed. ²¹ Those in the country of Judea must run to the mountains. Those in the city must leave at once. Those in the country must not go into the city. ²² People will be punished in these hard days. All things will happen as it is written.

²³ “It will be hard for women who will soon be mothers. It will be hard for those feeding babies in those days. It will be very hard for the people in the land and anger will be brought down on them. ²⁴ People will be killed by the sword. They will be held in prison by all nations. Jerusalem will be walked over by the people who are not Jews until their time is finished.

Jesus Will Come Again in His Shining-Greatness

²⁵ “There will be special things to look for in the sun and moon and stars. The nations of the earth will be troubled and will not know what to do. They will be troubled at the angry sea and waves. ²⁶ The hearts of men will give up because of being afraid of what is coming on the earth. The powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with power and much greatness. ²⁸ When these things begin to happen, lift up your heads because you have been bought by the blood of Christ and will soon be free.”

The Picture-Story of the Fig Tree

²⁹ Jesus told them a picture-story. He said, “Look at the fig tree and all the other trees. ³⁰ When you see their leaves coming out, you know summer is near. ³¹ In the same way, when you see these things happening, you will know the holy nation of God is near. ³² For sure, I tell you, that the people of this day will not die before all these things happen.

³³ “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will not pass away. ³⁴ Watch yourselves! Do not let yourselves be loaded down with too much eating and strong drink. Do not be troubled with the cares of this life. If you do, that day will come on you without you knowing it. ³⁵ It will come on all people over all the earth. ³⁶ Be sure you watch. Pray all the time so that you may be able to keep from going through all these things that will happen and be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

³⁷ Everyday Jesus taught in the house of God. At night He went to the Mount of Olives and stayed there. ³⁸ Early in the morning all the people came to the house of God to hear Him.