The Way - Day 019 (Luke 19)

Pastor Tom's Journal on Today's Reading:
Luke 19:1-27
 When Jesus passes through Jericho, there is a rich tax collector named Zacchaeus who "sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature" (19:1-3). Realizing that it would be impossible to see Jesus from his current location, Zacchaeus ran ahead of the crowd and climbed up a tree in order to get a better view when Jesus would pass by (19:4). Upon arriving to the place where Zacchaeus had climbed into the tree, Jesus stops and says, " "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house" (19:5). Zacchaeus immediately came down from the tree and received Jesus into his house (19:6); however, many religious leaders complained against Jesus because He shared a meal with such a terrible sinner (19:7). During the meal Zacchaeus evidenced a change of heart when he exclaimed, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold" (19:8). This was not some pious statement by Zacchaeus, but an admission of his sin and guilt before God. When Jesus heard Zacchaeus' confession He said, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (19:9-10). Jesus did not grant forgiveness based on his nationality (a Jew), but upon Zacchaeus' willingness to humble himself before a holy God in repentance and faith. Within the context of this event and conversation, Jesus provides Luke's readers with His one mission on earth - "to seek and to save that which was lost." Jesus did not come to waste His time debating theology with the "religious people" of His day, but to bring salvation to those who truly recognized their sinfulness and inability to obtain forgiveness on their own.

As the people heard these things, Jesus decided to speak a parable "because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately" (19:11). Again, the disciples still did not understand the timing of the kingdom of God, so Jesus provided some teaching about the importance of faithfulness of His followers, even after He left. Jesus tells His disciples about a nobleman who went into a far away country in order to receive a kingdom and return (19:12), but prior to his departure he called ten servants and gave them "ten minas" (about three months' wages) and said, "Do business till I come" (19:13). When the nobleman finally returned, he called three of his servants and asked them to give an account of what they had done with the money he had given them (19:14-15). The first servant had earned "ten minas" (19:16) so the noble man said, "Well done, good servant; because you have been faithful in very little, have authority over ten cities" (19:17). The second servant came and he had earned "five minas" while the nobleman was gone, so he was given authority over five cities (19:18-19). The third servant came to the nobleman saying, " Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow" (19:20-21). The nobleman responded to the third servant's laziness saying, "Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?" (19:22-23). In reality, the third servant did not expect the nobleman to return so he was not concerned about carrying on his business while he was gone. As a punishment, the one mina was given to the servant who had accomplished the most with the nobleman's money (19:24). Jesus' teaching here is clear. The two servants were rewarded because they believed in the return of the king and worked as if he would return by being faithful with what had been entrusted to them; however, the unfaithful servant revealed his true beliefs by wasting his time and refusing to use what had been entrusted to him. Those who profess faith in Jesus Christ do not quit working for Him while He is gone, but will continue to work until He finally returns and rewards those who have been faithful.

Luke 19:28-48
Jesus, on His final approach to Jerusalem, was about to pass through Bethphage and Bethany when He told two of His disciples to go into the village where they would find a colt "on which no one has ever sat" (19:28-31). The disciples did as Jesus had commanded them and they found a colt and brought it back to Jesus. They threw their clothes on the donkey colt and Jesus sat upon it. While riding the donkey into Jerusalem, "many spread their clothes on the road" and the other gospel writers reveal that they also spread palm branches before Him on the ground (Matthew 21:8; Mark 11:8; John 12:13). Jesus' actions fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah, who predicted that the Messiah would ride on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9). Throughout His life and ministry, Jesus often resisted others' recognition of Him as the Messiah because it was not yet God's time, but these events reveal that Jesus was entering Jerusalem to present Himself to the religious leaders as the promised Messiah. Making His descent from the Mount of Olives, the multitudes began praising Him for all the great works he had done. The gospel of John says that many had come to see Him because they had heard that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead (John 12:17-18). Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem was probably the height of His popularity as people cried out, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" (19:38). Some of the Pharisees objected to the crowd's shouts of praise (19:39), but Jesus said, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out" (19:40). As Jesus came near to Jerusalem, Luke is the only gospel writer to record the fact that Jesus grieved over the city (19:41-42), mostly because Jesus knew that many of the people praising Him now would be the same ones who would also demand His crucifixion just a few days later. A part of Jesus' grief was also His knowledge of Jerusalem's future destruction by Titus in A.D. 70 (19:43-44) when the Romans would overthrow the entire city including the temple, homes, and the people. Ultimately, the destruction of Jerusalem was God's judgment upon the city for failing to receive Jesus as the promised Messiah.

Upon His arrival in Jerusalem, Jesus went to the temple where He drove out "those who bought and sold in it saying, 'It is written, My house is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves'" (19:45-46). This was Jesus' way of cleansing the temple from those who were simply attempting to make a profit using "religion" as their means; in other words, these people had no love for God but a love for taking advantage of those who did. Jesus began teaching in the temple daily, but the religious leaders "sought to destroy Him" (19:47); however, they could not because Jesus was still popular with the crowds (19:48). From this time forward, the religious leaders allowed their unbelief and bitterness toward Jesus drive them to do whatever was necessary to restore their "normal" religious practices to the temple. Eventually, these leaders would sway the opinion of the multitudes, which would result in Jesus facing the hardest days of His very short life.

Dear God, may my praise not be conditional, based on the opinions of the people, but help me to remain committed to my faith in You.