3. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but, being a short man, he couldn’t because of the crowd.
4. So he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus, who was about to pass that way.
5. When Jesus came to that spot, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, come down at once. I must stay in your home today."
6. So Zacchaeus came down at once, happy to welcome Jesus.
7. Everyone who saw this grumbled, saying, "He has gone to be the guest of a sinner."
8. Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I repay them four times as much."
9. Jesus said to him, "Today, salvation has come to this household because he too is a son of Abraham.
10. The Human One came to seek and save the lost."
11. As they listened to this, Jesus told them another parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought God’s kingdom would appear right away.
12. He said, “A certain man who was born into royalty went to a distant land to receive his kingdom and then return.
13. He called together ten servants and gave each of them money worth four months’ wages. He said, ‘Do business with this until I return.’
14. His citizens hated him, so they sent a representative after him who said, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’
15. After receiving his kingdom, he returned and called the servants to whom he had given the money to find out how much they had earned.
16. The first servant came forward and said, ‘Your money has earned a return of one thousand percent.’
17. The king replied, ‘Excellent! You are a good servant. Because you have been faithful in a small matter, you will have authority over ten cities.’