Hello.
Welcome to my Bible readings.
In this sleep series,
I will be looking at the gospel according to Luke.
In much of the classic literature I read,
There are references to the Bible and religious teachings.
If we wish to educate ourselves fully in a literary capacity,
It makes sense that we should dive into this for reference.
And so here we are.
It is time for sleep.
Close your eyes and take a deep breath in through your nose.
That's it.
Then let it out on a long sigh.
This is your time and your space.
A time where you can relax,
Safe in the knowledge there is nothing to do and nowhere to go.
Happy listening.
Chapter 19 The Parable of the Gold Coins While the people were listening to this,
Jesus continued and told them a parable.
He was now almost at Jerusalem and they supposed the kingdom of God was just about to appear.
So he said,
There was once a man of high rank who was going to a country far away to be made king,
After which he planned to come back home.
Before he left,
He called his ten servants and gave them each a gold coin.
See what you can earn with this while I'm gone,
He said.
Now his own people hated him,
So they sent messengers after him to say we don't want this man to be our king.
The man was made king and came back.
At once he ordered his servants to appear before him in order to find out how much they had earned.
The first one returned and said,
Sir,
I have earned ten gold coins with the one you gave me.
Well done,
He said.
You are a good servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will put you in charge of the ten cities.
The second servant came back and said,
Sir,
I have earned five gold coins with the one you gave me.
To this one,
He said,
You will be in charge of the five cities.
Another servant came and said,
Sir,
Here is your gold coin.
I kept it hidden in a handkerchief.
I was afraid of you because you are a hard man.
You take what is not yours and reap what you did not sow.
He said to him,
You bad servant,
I will use your own words to condemn you.
You know I am a hard man.
Taking what is not mine and reaping what I have not sown.
Well then,
Why didn't you put my money in the bank?
Then I would have received it back with interest when I returned.
Then he said to those that were standing there,
Take the gold coin away from him and give it to the servant who has ten.
But they said,
Sir,
He has already ten coins.
I tell you,
He replied,
To all those who have something,
Even more will be given.
But to those who have nothing,
Even the little they have will be taken away.
Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king,
Bring them here and kill them in my presence.
After Jesus said this,
He went on ahead of them to Jerusalem.
As he came near to the Mount of Olives,
He sent two disciples ahead with these instructions.
Go to the village there ahead of you.
As you go in,
You will find a colt tied up that has never been ridden.
Untie it and bring it back here.
If someone asks you why you are untying it,
Tell him the master needs it.
They went on their way and found everything just as Jesus had said.
As they were untying the colt,
Its owner said,
Why are you untying him?
The master needs it,
They answered,
And they took the colt to Jesus.
Then they threw their cloaks over the animal and helped Jesus get on.
And as he rode,
People spread their cloaks on the road.
When he came near to Jerusalem,
At the place where the road went down the Mount of Olives,
The large crowd of disciples began to thank God and praise him in loud voices for all the great things they'd seen.
God bless the king who comes in the name of the Lord,
They cried.
Peace in heaven and glory to God.
Then some of the Pharisees in the crowd spoke.
Teacher,
They said,
Command your disciples to be quiet.
But Jesus answered,
I tell you,
If they keep quiet,
The stones themselves will start shouting.
Jesus weeps over Jerusalem.
Jesus came closer to the city,
And when he saw it,
He began to cry,
Saying,
If you only knew today what is needed for peace,
But now you cannot see it.
The time will come when your enemies will surround you with barricades,
Blockade you and close you in from every side.
They will completely destroy you and the people within your walls.
Not a single stone will they leave in its place,
Because you did not recognize the time when God came to save you.
Jesus goes to the temple.
Then Jesus went to the temple and began to drive out the merchants.
It is written in the scriptures that God said,
My temple will be a house of prayer,
But you've turned it into a hideout for thieves.
Every day Jesus taught in the temple.
The chief priests,
The teachers of the law,
And the leaders of the people wanted to kill him,
But they could not find a way to do it,
Because all the people kept listening and not wanting to miss a single word.
One day when Jesus was in the temple teaching the people and preaching the good news,
The chief priests and the teachers of the law came together with the elders and said,
Tell us,
What right have you to do these things?
Who gave you this right?
Jesus answered,
Now let me ask you a question.
Tell me,
Did John's right to baptize come from God or human beings?
They started to argue amongst themselves.
What shall we say?
If we say from God,
He'll say,
Why then did you not believe John?
But if we say from human beings,
This whole crowd here will stone us because they're convinced John was a prophet.
So they answered,
We don't know where it came from.
And Jesus said,
Neither will I tell you then by what right I do these things.
The parable of the tenants in the vineyard.
Jesus told the people this parable.
There was once a man who planted a vineyard,
Let it out to tenants and left home for a long time.
When the time came to gather the grapes,
He sent a slave to the tenants to receive from them his share of the harvest.
But the tenants beat the slave and sent him back without a thing.
So he sent another slave.
But the tenants beat him also,
Treated him shamefully and sent him back without a thing.
Then he sent a third slave.
The tenants wounded him too and threw him out.
Then the owner of the vineyard said,
What shall I do?
I will send my own dear son,
Surely they'll respect him.
But when the tenants saw him,
They said to one another,
That's the owner's son,
Let's kill him and his property will be ours.
So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
What then will the owner of the vineyard do to the tenants?
Asked Jesus.
He will come and kill those men and hand the vineyard over to other tenants.
When the people heard this,
They said,
Surely not.
But Jesus looked at them and asked,
What then does this scripture mean?
The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important stone of all.
Everyone who falls on that stone will be cut to pieces.
And if that stone falls on someone,
It will crush him to dust.
The question about paying taxes.
The teachers of the law and the chief priests tried to arrest Jesus on the spot.
Because they knew he told this parable against them.
But they were afraid of all the people,
So they looked for an opportunity.
They bribed someone to pretend they were sincere.
And they sent them to trap Jesus with questions.
So they could hand him over to the authority and power of the Roman governor.
The spies said to Jesus,
Teacher,
We know what you say and teach is right.
We know you pay no attention to anyone's status.
But teach the truth about God's will for people.
Tell us it is against our law to pay taxes to the Roman emperor,
Isn't it?
But Jesus saw through their trick and said,
Show me a silver coin.
Whose face and name are on these?
The emperor's,
They answered.
Well then,
Pay the emperor what belongs to the emperor.
And pay God what belongs to God.
There before the people,
They could not catch him out in anything.
So they kept quiet,
Amazed at his answer.
