called them unto him, and said, Suffer these little children to come unto me, and forbid them not : 17 for such is the kingdom of God.* Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child,† shall 18 not enter into it. And one of the rulers asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to 19 inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why dost thou call me good? none is perfect20 ly good, but one, even God. Thou knowest the commandments; Do not commit adultry, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother. 21 And he said, All these I have kept from my 22 youth. Now when Jesus heard this, he said, Thou art wanting in one thing: sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor; and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, fol23 low me. And when he heard this, he was

overcome with sorrow, for he was very rich. 24 And when Jesus saw that he was in great sorrow, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 25 For it is casier for a camel to go through a

needle's eye than for a rich man to enter 26 into the kingdom of God. And they that 26 heard it, said, Who then can be saved? And

he said, The things which are impossible with 28 men, are possible with God. Then Peter said, 29 Lo, we have left all and followed thee. And

he said unto them, Verily I say unto you,

* By kingdom of God, is to be understood the Gospel, or the christian church.

That is, with bumility, and a teachable disposition.

there is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the king30 dom of God's sake, who, shall not receive much more in this present time,* and in the world to come life everlasting.

31

Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accom32 plished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and insulted, 33 and spitted on; And they shall scourge him,

and put him to death; but the third day he 34 shall rise again. But they understood not this declaration; and it was hidden from them, nor did they know the meaning of that which was spoken.

35

And it was so, that, as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a blind man sat by the way beg 36 ging; and hearing the multitude pass by, he 37 asked what it meant. And they told him, that 38 Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried,

saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy 39 on me. And they who went before rebuked him, that he should be silent: but he cried so much the more, Thou son of David, have 40 mercy on me. And Jesus stopped; and com

*The sincere christian in this life even has more pleasure than the worldly-minded, derived from the practice of vir tue and the supports of divine grace.

The Jews believed the Messiah would be descended from David. And the fame of Jesus had already become great, so that he was believed by many to be the Messiah.

manded him to be brought unto him and when he was come come near, he asked him, 41 saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto

thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive 42 my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive 43 thy sight thy faith hath saved thee: And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.

1

CHAP. XIX.

AND Jesus entered and passed through 2 Jericho. And behold there was a man named Zaccheus, who was the chief among the pub3 licans, and he was rich. And he wished to see Jesus, who he was: and could not for the crowd, because he was low in stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore-tree to 5 see him for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zaccheus, make haste, and come down : for to-day I 6 must abide at thy house. And immediately he came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all murmured,

saying, He has gone to be a guest with one that 8 is a sinner. And Zaccheus standing up, said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if in any thing I have injured a man, I restore him four-fold. 9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation

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come to this house, as he also is a son of Abra10 ham. For the Son of man is come to seek and 11 to save that which was lost. And while they were listening to him, he added, and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of Then he 12 God would immediately appear. said, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and 13 to return.* And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto But his citizens 14 them, Occupy till I come. hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over 15 us. And it was so, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, he commanded the servants to be called unto him to whom he had given the money, that he might know 16 what every one had gained. Then the first

came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten 17 pounds. And he said unto him, This is well, thou good servant and because thou hast been faithful in a very little, thou shalt have 18 authority over ten cities. And the second

came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained 19 five pounds. And he said likewise to him, 20 Be thou also over five cities. And another

came, saying, Lord, behold, thy pound which 21 I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee because thou art a severe man: thou takest up that thou didst not lay down,

* Implying that they must yet have a season of trial and discipline; and that their happiness depended on the improvement of their privileges.

22 and reapest that thou didst not sow.

And he

saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth I will judge thee, thou wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: 23 Why then did you not put my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have requir24 ed mine own with interest ?* And he said

unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. 25 (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten 26 pounds.) For I say unto you, that unto every one who hath, shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be 27 taken away. But those mine enemies, who would not that I should reign over them, bring hither and slay before me.

28

And when he had thus spoken, he went on 29 before, journeying up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethpage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount 30 of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in which, as you enter it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, 31 and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? ye shall say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. 32 And they who were sent, went their way, and 33 found even as he had said unto them. And

* We are here taught the necessity of active and useful virtue. It is not enough for the Christian, that he be free of gross vices. He must be diligent in doing good and promoting the happiness of his fellow men.