"The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Luke 19:1-27 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

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 sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. 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 gladly. ⁷ When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone 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 will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I 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.”

¹¹ While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. ¹² So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. ¹³ And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, ‘Do business with this until I come back.’ ¹⁴ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ ¹⁵ When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know what business they had done.¹⁶ The first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’¹⁷ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’ ¹⁸ The second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ ¹⁹ And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ ²⁰ Another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief; ²¹ for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’ ²² He said to him, ‘By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? ²³ Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’²⁴ Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ ²⁵ And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’ ²⁶ I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.²⁷ But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.”

In today’s text it says:  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.” And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly.  When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.”  And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”   Zaccheus is an example to us that Jesus did not and does not judge or discriminate based on the social status of a person. Jesus was not and is not concerned whether a person is rich or poor, man or woman or with any of the other criteria that people tend to judge people. What concerned Jesus is that Zaccheus was lost. Again though, we see that Jesus did not go to the house of this sinner to participate in the lifestyle of sin. Jesus went with Zaccheus to bring salvation to his house. In the presence of Christ, in the presence of righteousness, love and grace, Zaccheus was not condemned by Jesus, but rather he was convicted by the Holy Spirit. Zacceus did not presume on the love and grace of Jesus by justifying and remaining in sin. He repented. He began to think and act differently. Jesus is not concerned with what people were or are. He is concerned with what they will be. He came to seek and save the lost.  

The text continues:  Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, ‘Do business with this until I come back.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know what business they had done.The first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’  And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’ The second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’  Another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’  He said to him, ‘By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’  Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’  And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’ I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.”   The heading at the beginning of this text said:  “A parable about money useage.”  But in truth, we miss the true meaning of this parable if we focus on the money. The parable is really about a king, a kingdom. Its about those who serve the king and those who are his enemies.   Jesus came to be king. Rather than rule over us when He came, He died to redeem us from sin. Like the servants in the parable, Jesus has commissioned us to do His work until He returns. Look then at the parable of the kingdom in regard to how each one responds to the king.  To the first two, who served him faithfully the master responded:  ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’ The second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’    With the third man, look at the interchange:  ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’  He said to him, ‘By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’  Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’    For those who view Jesus and God as an exacting ruler, they will be judged by their own words and belief. Finally, look at what happened to the enimies; to those who tried to prevent the king from coming into power and authority. “These enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.”  People may choose, in this time, to reject and even to try to hinder the kingdom and the King. But, it is not that Jesus will be the King. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. When He comes again, those who are His enemies and those who judge Him as exacting, will be judged by their own words and by the own standard and by their own actions. If they have made Jesus an enemy, they will be judged as enemies. Still, Jesus came not that we would remain as we were or are, but that we would repent, that we would change and be saved.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; thank You that You are not a respecter of peoples position, but rather that You desire to change their condition. Rich or poor, old or young, male or female, regardless of ethnicity or social standing You came to seek and save the lost. May I be counted among those who faithfully serve You until You come again to Your kingdom; that I might hear:  ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing…    In the name of Jesus, my Lord, my Savior; the King of Kings, I pray.  Amen.