Jesus entered Jericho and made His way through the town. There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. 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.” Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled. 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!” Jesus responded,”Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Luke 19:1-10
Before we move on to the next segment let me share with you Karen’s response to yesterday’s Gem. It is too good for me to not pass it on. (The stuff we left behind)
Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. (Mark 10:50)
Hi Ian, you probably already know this [no I didn’t – see there is always more for everyone to find] but I heard someone preach on this recently and they said from his Hebraic studies with a Jewish scholar, people in that time needed a licence to beg. Those with the correct licence got a cloak that defined them. Apparently there were different cloaks depending on the type of begging occupation. To get this kind of cloak required proof of absolute poverty and dependency upon the ‘state’ to provide the special cloak so they could beg. It not only provided the evidence of permission to beg and was used upon which the coins were sometimes tossed but also provided warmth. So, yes this man had a special cloak that allowed an income, and he gave it all up to follow Jesus. So when Mark says he threw his cloak off prior to running to Jesus – he had acted on faith prior to receiving his healing and this is what is amazing. Most of us want to get something first and then we cast off our cloaks …… Regards Karen
What Karen shared above just teaches you (and me) to look in every direction when we come to digging into the Bible deeper. I was focused more on Luke and looking to something further ahead and didn’t look at every little detail in Mark, so missed this one. Look everywhere. The better you can balance the big picture with the details, the more thorough your understanding of the whole segment. Then taking the time to look behind and look ahead will reveal the context in which the passage you are examining is sitting. Just as a jewel or precious stone (Gem) is enhanced by its setting, so too each Bible verse, you must take time to look in detail. The Bible is far more detailed and deep than you realise.
Now we have a Luke only story, coupled with another Luke only story (The behaviour of the servants when the boss is away – Luke 19:11-28). After these stories, Matthew, Mark and Luke all follow the narrative to Bethany / Bethage. These two stories are uniquely Luke. Examine them carefully in all the ways you know how. But first, lets look at Zaccheus. There are no parallel passages for you to compare it with in the other synoptic Gospels. This is the only account of the Zaccheus story. Remember the four-fold schema you need to keep in mind. In this case it is very important. This passage is packed to the rafters with interesting, important elements. Isn’t Luke always like that? But also, you need to bear in mind other factors or connections beyond the scope of this passage alone. This passage holds a wider view. Check it out. That’s all I will say for the moment. Allow me to leave you with the schema I have shared with you before.
I know some of you are probably thinking: Ian has forgotten what he promised about coming back to the issues of approaching or leaving Jericho, and just how many blind men there were. No, I haven’t forgotten. We haven’t come to that point yet! That should give you a clue, shouldn’t it.
Note also the major thematic statement found in Luke 19:10.
“For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Do not worry about those who talk about you behind your back. For them to be behind you is a reason in itself.
Billy Simpson
Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by the age of eighteen.
Albert Einstein
God can’t ever swing between two polarities, truth and love. The truth is love. Love is truth.
Al Mohler
The more you trust God, the more you realize how trustworthy he is.
Rick Warren
Every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor. Develop a heart for reaching the lost!
Charles Spurgeon