Luke 19:1-13 ▼

1 As Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it,

2 a man named Zacchaeus appeared. He was a leading tax collector, and a rich one at that!

3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he couldn't do so due to the crowd, since he was a short man.

4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus, who was going to pass that way.

5 When Jesus came to the tree, he looked up and said, |Zacchaeus, hurry and come down! I must stay at your house today.|

6 Zacchaeus came down quickly and was glad to welcome him into his home.

7 But all the people who saw this began to complain: |Jesus is going to be the guest of a notorious sinner!|

8 Later, Zacchaeus stood up and announced to the Lord, |Look! I'm giving half of my possessions to the destitute, and if I have accused anyone falsely, I'm repaying four times as much as I owe.|

9 Then Jesus told him, |Today salvation has come to this home, because this man is also a descendant of Abraham,

10 and the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.|

11 As they were listening to this, Jesus went on to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and because the people thought that the kingdom of God would appear immediately.

12 So he said, |A prince went to a distant country to be appointed king and then to return.

13 He called ten of his servants and gave them ten coins. He told them, 'Invest this money until I come back.'