In this Luke 19th chapter we have some of the key events that lead to the fulfillment of Jesus' plan and purpose, which is to die for the sin of the world. It was from here in Luke 19 that the chain of events that will lead to the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord was set in motion!
Luke 18 ended in a way that set the pace for the things to come in Luke 19
"Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spat on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again" Luke 18:31-33 KJV
With Jesus eyes set toward Jerusalem, the stage was set for the triumphant entry of our Lord into Jerusalem, however on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus had an encounter with Zaccheus, and this is one famous story that will be told wherever the gospel is preached. I will go over the story of Zaccheus, clear a misconception, and then we look at one key verse from this chapter and we will be done.
AND THE RICH......
First, we should read the major text of Luke 19
"And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today, I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:1-10 KJV
Here is the story of Zaccheus and on a quick reader some things stand out about Zaccheus
1) He was the chief among the publicans. What does this imply? Israel, in New Testament times, was under Roman control. The Romans levied heavy taxes upon the nations under their control in order to finance their world empire. The Jews opposed these taxes because they went toward the support of Rome’s secular government and its pagan gods. Nevertheless, they were required to pay the taxes. Zacchaeus was a tax collector (a publican), and as such, he was regarded as a “sinner” by the Pharisees. From the text here he was the chief among these tax collectors, meaning that he had an oversight function over other tax collectors who report to him from the region around.
2) Having established what profession Zaccheus was in Luke then proceeded to let us know the financial status he has attained because of this, simply put ZACCHEUS was rich! Probably, stinkingly rich and this would be the major talking point for me in this blog post. But let's leave that for now and go into other things about Zaccheus.
3) Been a tax collector who forcibly collects tax from the people around, of course, he was a sinner! And the Pharisees as always has an issue with that.
4) Zaccheus was curious to see Jesus, but we were told he could not because he had a physical limitation, he was a man of small stature! But here was a man that would not be deterred, Zaccheus creatively overcame his limitations and pressed into his salvation! Where there is a desperation to experience the hand of God every limitation often gives way for the express manifestation of God's blessings!
The limitation here for Zaccheus was he was a man of small stature. It was at this point it occurred to me that the physical stature and look of Christ were never mentioned or described in any way in the gospels! All of the four gospel writers did not in any way give us even a statement, a word to describe the master! Imagine if he was tall, tall people would have seen themselves more Christ-like than the rest that are not tall. Christ fits no physical description, Christ appears to everyone in whatever form we desire him to appear!
Read full blog post here UNDERSTANDING CHRIST: A Look Through The Book Of Luke - Luke 19
Luke 18 ended in a way that set the pace for the things to come in Luke 19
"Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spat on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again" Luke 18:31-33 KJV
With Jesus eyes set toward Jerusalem, the stage was set for the triumphant entry of our Lord into Jerusalem, however on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus had an encounter with Zaccheus, and this is one famous story that will be told wherever the gospel is preached. I will go over the story of Zaccheus, clear a misconception, and then we look at one key verse from this chapter and we will be done.
AND THE RICH......
First, we should read the major text of Luke 19
"And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today, I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:1-10 KJV
Here is the story of Zaccheus and on a quick reader some things stand out about Zaccheus
1) He was the chief among the publicans. What does this imply? Israel, in New Testament times, was under Roman control. The Romans levied heavy taxes upon the nations under their control in order to finance their world empire. The Jews opposed these taxes because they went toward the support of Rome’s secular government and its pagan gods. Nevertheless, they were required to pay the taxes. Zacchaeus was a tax collector (a publican), and as such, he was regarded as a “sinner” by the Pharisees. From the text here he was the chief among these tax collectors, meaning that he had an oversight function over other tax collectors who report to him from the region around.
2) Having established what profession Zaccheus was in Luke then proceeded to let us know the financial status he has attained because of this, simply put ZACCHEUS was rich! Probably, stinkingly rich and this would be the major talking point for me in this blog post. But let's leave that for now and go into other things about Zaccheus.
3) Been a tax collector who forcibly collects tax from the people around, of course, he was a sinner! And the Pharisees as always has an issue with that.
4) Zaccheus was curious to see Jesus, but we were told he could not because he had a physical limitation, he was a man of small stature! But here was a man that would not be deterred, Zaccheus creatively overcame his limitations and pressed into his salvation! Where there is a desperation to experience the hand of God every limitation often gives way for the express manifestation of God's blessings!
The limitation here for Zaccheus was he was a man of small stature. It was at this point it occurred to me that the physical stature and look of Christ were never mentioned or described in any way in the gospels! All of the four gospel writers did not in any way give us even a statement, a word to describe the master! Imagine if he was tall, tall people would have seen themselves more Christ-like than the rest that are not tall. Christ fits no physical description, Christ appears to everyone in whatever form we desire him to appear!
Read full blog post here UNDERSTANDING CHRIST: A Look Through The Book Of Luke - Luke 19
