Luke 19:11-14

Rachel Workman: ¹¹ The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. ¹² He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. ¹³ Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver,^[b] saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’ ¹⁴ But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’

Interesting that I've never caught that before. Jesus left us to be crowned King. He is the first and the last. He is forever our King.

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Tuesday’s reading for Luke 19:15-19

¹⁵ “After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were. ¹⁶ The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’

¹⁷ “‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’

¹⁸ “The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’

¹⁹ “‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’

Luke 19:5-10

Rachel Workman: ⁵ When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”

⁶ Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. ⁷ But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.

⁸ Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

⁹ Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man^[a] came to seek and save those who are lost.”

I'll never deserve what Christ has already done for me. It's very humbling to think that Christ came to seek us and save us.

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John Burnett:  ⁵ When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”⁶ And he hurried and came down and received Him ^[a]gladly. ⁷ When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone ^[b]to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” ⁸ Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I ^[c]will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I ^[d]will give back four times as much.” ⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”  Was Zaccheus saved because he gave half of his possessions to the poor?  I don’t think so.  I believe it is because he called Jesus, Lord and to prove he no longer trusted his riches and trusted Jesus alone, Zaccheus gave half of his possessions away.  Have a great spring break.

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There will be no reading next week. We will pick up again on March 19^th. Monday’s reading for Luke 19:11-14

¹¹ The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. ¹² He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. ¹³ Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver,^[b] saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’ ¹⁴ But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’

Luke 19:1-4

Rachel Workman: No reading today.

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John Burnett:  19 He entered Jericho and was passing through. ² And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. ³ Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. ⁴ So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a ^[a]sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way.

It was part of God’s plan for Zaccheus to climb that tree.  The Holy Spirit prompted him to do so because rich men, camels, and needles come into play.  Thankfully, for Zacchaeus’s sake, and ours all things are possible with God. 

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Pat Bell: We don't have to look for Jesus..

He is here with us! How blessed are we?

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Tomorrow’s reading for Luke 19:5-10

⁵ When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”

⁶ Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. ⁷ But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.

⁸ Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

⁹ Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man^[a] came to seek and save those who are lost.”

Luke 18:40-43

Rachel Workman: ⁴⁰ When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him, ⁴¹ “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord,” he said, “I want to see!”

⁴² And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” ⁴³ Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.

His faith in who Christ was and what Christ is capable of is what restored his site. And I would do well to remember that the same thing is going to save me.

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John Burnett:  ⁴⁰ And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He questioned him, ⁴¹ “What do you want Me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, I want to regain my sight!” ⁴² And Jesus said to him, “^[a]Receive your sight; your faith has ^[b]made you well.”⁴³ Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.  This is foreshadowing the future for those who put their trust in Jesus Christ.  One of the promises that comes with eternal life is a new body that can no longer get sick, ache, or have any type of handicapping condition.  Our faith has made us well just like the blind man’s faith made him well.  We were all blind but not those of us who know Christ now see.

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Tomorrow’s reading for Luke 19:1-4

19 Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. ² There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. ³ He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.