"And another came, saying, 'Lord, here is your pound, which I have kept wrapped up in a napkin; for I feared you, because you are a harsh master; you take up what you did not lay down, and you reap what you did not sow.' He said to the servant, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you unfaithful servant. If you knew that I was a harsh master, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow, then why did you not put my money into the bank, so that when I came I should have had my own money and its gains?' And he said to those who were standing by, 'Take away from him the pound, and give it to him that has the ten pounds.'
"They said to him, 'Lord, he hath ten pounds already!'
"But the king said, 'Unto every one who cares for what he has, more shall be given; but the one who cares not for it, what he has shall be taken away from him.'
"And the king added, 'Those, my enemies, who would not have me to reign over them; bring them here, and slay them before me.' "
And after giving this parable Jesus went before his disciples up the mountains toward Jerusalem.
JESUS ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES LOOKING AT JERUSALEM
Palm Sunday
Matthew xxi: 1 to 11; xxvi: 6 to 16; Mark ii: 1 to 11; xiv: 3 to 11; Luke xix: 29 to 41; xxii: 3 to 6; John xii: 1 to 19.
From Jericho, Jesus and his disciples went up from the mountains, and came to Bethany, where his friends Martha and Mary lived, and where he had raised Lazarus to life, as we read in Story Twenty-six. Many people in Jerusalem heard that Jesus was there; and they went out of the city to see him, for Bethany was only two miles from Jerusalem. Some came also to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead; but the rulers of the Jews said to each other:
"We must not only kill Jesus, but Lazarus also, because on his account so many of the people are going after Jesus and are believing on him."
The friends of Jesus in Bethany made a supper for Jesus at the home of a man named Simon. He was called "Simon the Leper;" and perhaps he was one whom Jesus had cured of leprosy. Jesus and his disciples, with Lazarus, leaned upon the couches around the table, as the guests; and Martha was one of those who waited upon them. While they were at the supper, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, came into the room, carrying a sealed jar of very precious perfume. She opened the jar, and poured some of the perfume upon the head of Jesus, and some upon his feet, and she wiped his feet with her long hair. And the whole house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
But one of the disciples of Jesus, Judas Iscariot, was not pleased at this. He said, "Why was such a waste of the perfume made? This might have been sold for more than forty-five dollars, and the money given to the poor!"
This he said, but not because he cared for the poor. Judas was the one who kept the bag of money for Jesus and the twelve, and he was a thief, and took away for his own use all the money that he could steal.
But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you find fault with the woman? She has done a good work for me. You have the poor always with you, and whenever you wish you can give to them. But you will have me with you only a little while. She has done what she could; for she has come to perfume my body for its burial. And truly I say to you, that wherever the gospel shall be preached throughout the world, what this woman has done shall be told in memory of her." Perhaps Mary knew what others did not believe, that Jesus was soon to die; and she showed her love for him, and her sorrow for his coming death, by this rich gift.
But Judas, the disciple who carried the bag, was very angry at Jesus; and from that time he was looking for a chance to betray Jesus, or to give him up to his enemies. He went to the chief priests, and said, "What will you give me if I will put Jesus into your hands?"
They said, "We will give you thirty pieces of silver."
And for thirty pieces of silver Judas promised to help them take Jesus, and make him their prisoner.
On the morning after the supper at Bethany, Jesus called two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the next village, and at a place where two roads cross, and there you will find an ass tied, and a colt with it. Loose them, and bring them to me. And if anyone says to you, 'Why do you do this?' say 'The Lord has need of them,' and they will let them go."
They went to the place, and found the ass and the colt, and were loosing them, when the owner said, "What are you doing, untying the ass?"
And they said, as Jesus had told them to say, "The Lord has need of it!"
Then the owner gave them the ass and the colt for the use of Jesus. They brought them to Jesus, on the Mount of Olives, and they laid some of their own clothes on the colt for a cushion, and set Jesus upon it. Then all the disciples and a very great multitude threw their garments upon the ground for Jesus to ride upon. Others cut down branches from the trees and laid them on the ground.
And as Jesus rode over the mountain toward Jerusalem many walked before him waving branches of palm-trees. And they all cried together:
"Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord! Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"
These things they said because they believed Jesus was the Christ, the Anointed King, and they hoped that he would now set up his throne in Jerusalem. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd, who did not believe in Jesus, said to him, "Master, stop your disciples!"
But Jesus said, "I tell you, that if these should be still, the very stones would cry out!"
And when he came into Jerusalem with all this multitude, all the city was filled with wonder. They said, "Who is this?"
And the multitude answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth in Galilee!"
JESUS RIDES INTO JERUSALEM
And Jesus went into the temple, and looked around it; but he did not stay, because the hour was late. He went again to Bethany, and there stayed at night with his friends.
These things took place on Sunday, the first day of the week; and that Sunday in the year is called Palm Sunday, because of the palm-branches which the people carried before Jesus.
The Last Visits of Jesus to the Temple
Matthew xxi: 18, to xxiii: 39; Mark xi: 12, to xii: 44; Luke xix: 45, to xxi: 4.
On Monday morning, the second day of the week, Jesus rose very early in the morning and, without waiting to take his breakfast, went with his disciples from Bethany over the Mount of Olives toward Jerusalem. On the mountain he saw at a distance a fig-tree covered with leaves, and although it was early for figs to be ripe, he hoped that he might find upon it some figs fit to be eaten. Among the Jews, and by their law, any one passing a tree could eat of its fruit, even though he were not the owner; but he would not be allowed to carry any away.
But when Jesus came near to this tree he saw that there was no fruit upon it, neither ripe nor green, but leaves only. Then a thought came into the mind of Jesus; and he spoke to the tree, while his disciples heard his words, "No fruit shall grow on thee from this time forever." And then he walked on his way to Jerusalem. We shall see later why Jesus spoke those words, and what came from them.
You remember that when Jesus came to Jerusalem the first time after he began to preach, he found the courts of the Temple filled with people buying, and selling, and changing money, and he drove them all out. This we read in Story Seven of this Part. But that had been three years before; and now when Jesus came into the Temple on the Monday morning before the Passover he found all the traders there once more, selling the oxen, and sheep, and doves for sacrifices and changing money at the tables.
And again Jesus rose up against these people who would make his Father's house a shop and a place of gain. He drove them all out; he turned over the tables of the money-changers, scattering their money on the floor; he cleared away the seats of those that were selling doves; and whenever he saw any one even carrying a jar, or a basket, or any load through the Temple, he stopped him, and made him go back. He said to all the people, "It is written in the prophets, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a den or robbers!' "