Luke 19
Of all the stories in the Gospel, perhaps the meeting of Zacchaeus and Jesus is the most underestimated. This is normally considered a children’s message involving a “vertically challenged” tax collector who climbs a tree in front of his city clients, and gets called by Jesus to host a tea party. Of all the people who have encountered Jesus throughout his ministry, perhaps no one is impacted so completely and immediately than Zacchaeus. His life to date has been nothing short of contrary to everything Jesus has taught and shown, but to meet Jesus changes his life forever!
This passage marks the beginning of Jesus’ journey towards Jerusalem, marking the beginning of the most important week of his ministry and his life.
The parable of the minas is a message about how responsible we are with the gifts and talents that Jesus has given us. A mina was worth about 100 days wages, or just over three months pay for a labourer. While some put their fortunes to great use and brought back a profit, no matter how large or small, they were rewarded by their master, but to those who hid their fortunes in a blanket (or hole in the ground) were publicly shamed and stripped of whatever they had. The moral of this parable is for each of us to use our gifts to bring glory to God.
Jesus has finally reached Jerusalem, on the day that we now call Palm Sunday. On the week before the Passover Festival, the Roman regent would stage a military spectacle to announce his arrival. He would arrive from the coastal region, and enter the western gate and proceed through the city to his palace. The crowds would line the way, cheering one of the biggest parades the city would see each year.
At the same time as the Roman ruler was arriving into the city, at the eastern side the true king was arriving! Jesus’ triumphal arrival to Jerusalem was attracting such a crowd that the religious leaders were concerned for Jesus’ safety and those of his followers. When asked to stop the cheering, Jesus answered that if the crowd didn’t sing his praise, then the very stones themselves would sing out! Later that day, Jesus looks at the city, and cries over the fate that is befalling it.
How often have we heard the advice “What would Jesus do?” When considering this advice, perhaps we would be wise to temporarily forget the passage where Jesus went into the Temple, getting physical and throwing the moneychangers out! Of course, Jesus is defending his Father’s house – which had become a lucrative marketplace for traders, with the Temple taking their cut too. This was not what God’s house was supposed to be – it was designed as a house of worship, a place where God would be the foremost centre of the reason to be there.
Perhaps our own churches need to relearn the lesson here – and take our worship back to basics. We are not a profit making business, we are supposed to be a sanctuary for God’s people to come together with the sole purpose of praising God, and to be sent out as instruments to bring God’s Kingdom closer to Earth.
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