Luke 19
Luke 19:1-48
1 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.
3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.
4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.
5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”
6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.
7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”
8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “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.”
9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;
10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.
12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.
13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’
14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’
15 “And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.
16 Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’
17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’
18 And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’
19 Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’
20 “Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.
21 For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’
22 And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.
23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’
24 “And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’
25 (But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’)
26 ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
27 But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’ “
28 When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29 And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples,
30 saying, “Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here.
31 And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it?‘ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’ “
32 So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.
33 But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, “Why are you loosing the colt?”
34 And they said, “The Lord has need of him.”
35 Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.
36 And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.
37 Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen,
38 saying: ” ‘BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”
40 But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”
41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it,
42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side,
44 and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
45 Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it,
46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘MY HOUSE IS A HOUSE OF PRAYER,’ but you have made it a ‘DEN OF THIEVES.’ “
47 And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him,
48 and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.
It is so critical to be aware of your time of visitation. (v44)
At the passing of Jesus, there was a complete transformation of life and identity for the little man who chose to position himself to see. How many others were unaffected and even annoyed by the presence of their Redeemer. For them, there was a return to a life of vulnerability to attacks of the enemy.
The shouts and praises of the crowd that were offensive to the Pharisees were the very things that positioned the disciples for redemption.
The wicked servant didn’t realize the significance of his Master and his chance to honor Him with service. Because he didn’t position himself to honor Him with even the slightest increase on what he had been entrusted with, there would be a loss of access altogether.
Even in the house of the Lord, where the glory of God was to be honored and revered, there was little understanding of their God’s holiness and greatness. He just became a means of gaining wealth.
The word “visitation” has in it a connotation of brevity or time limit. Though He is longsuffering with mercies that are new every morning, it is upon us to be positioned with honor in the moment of His passing. This is no small thing that we get to entertain the presence of the Ancient of Days. What we do with the service opportunities and the care of His treasures is critical to our positioning for the ending. The world around us will all end, and what we did to gain wealth and entertain ourselves in it will be of no worth. Knowing what we have in the presence of the Lord, though, and caring for what He’s placed in our hands will move us to rise above those things that would inhibit our vision of Him. Visitation without positioning is missing out on its affected transformation and preservation.
I had never notice that in verse 41 as Jesus looked upon Jerusalem that he wept over the city. He knew the hearts of men, He knew what was stirring, He knew His own fate at the hands of those who would reject Him. Yet, He didn’t pray for Himself, He prayed for the city. He prayed they’d receive the peace He so freely offered. He then prophesied over the city as what their end would be because they didn’t receive Him. We also have an end if we don’t receive Him, and like Jerusalem, it is one of despair without Him. It is a daily choice to know Him, to accept Him, to follow Him, to stay in the center of His will, to surrender my thoughts for His. I’m so thankful that Jesus made a way for us to live
I too had never seen verse 41 the way I did today, that His concern was over the people of the city and the Peace they rejected. He then prophesies about the destruction to come, destruction that resulted because they took matters of salvation, their understanding of salvation into their own hands and rebelled against the Roman’s. People had political expectations of who the Messaiah was and rather than believe willed it their way- usually a way of self-reliance, rebellion leading to destruction. It is so good to Trust in Him and His precious Spirit.
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