Luke 19:1-27 ~ He entered Jericho and was passing through

Luke 19:13 A mina was about three months' wages for a laborer

Luke 19:1-27

He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ 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, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and 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 the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”


Deists believe God was passing through, set up the earth, saw it was good and maybe watches a lot of Humphrey Bogart films and likes the George Burns "Oh God" movies.

And because we all have some doubt in us, these two passages are one of my favorites and one of my least favorites.

I love Zacchaeus. Truly, I really do. Zacchaeus is like Cornelius, he believes if you show Jesus "I'm here - You matter to me," Jesus is going to have a glad and willing heart to say, "There you are!" Zacchaeus is a mirror showing all of us - how MUCH Jesus Loves. You don't have to search and search and search for the LORD, He is always going to say "My special, chosen, precious, created-purposefully, unique, Loved Child."

Zacchaeus shows us perfectly when Jesus loves, our response is to say - "Please let me give back." Love has been explained for millenniums as a circle - Zacchaeus completes the desire for the circle to continue. He is part of God's Love.


Then we get to the minnows of life. Small and stinky. Unbecoming. The things you just don't want to put on your good table and display as "I love these things." Small talents. Flaws. Indecisive. Cropping up again and again. No disguising this is not so wonderful. And we are told, we can be doubters, fearful, ungrateful and we displease HIM. It makes me feel like I did nothing much for HIM today. Nagged. Unhappy. Unwilling. And all this measure up ness is not fun. At all. Then, suddenly I worry I'm not little minnows, but big fish, and I've not been feeding the others. It makes you want to abandon the fish tank. Tank is the exact word.

However compare and contrast, you see something. If we see Jesus as the Judge, we are negative, whiney, authoritarian adverse, and BAM. Jesus did not come as the Judge to condemn us, Jesus came as the ONE who reached down into the water for Peter - who Thought he could self-righteously walk on water. Jesus sat with the woman caught in adultery. And HE called Zacchaeus to come down from an ivory tower, while honoring the effort to get there.

Luke 9:50
"Do not stop him," Jesus said, "for whoever is not against you is for you."

Luke 11:23
"Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

How do we see God? Judging us or Helping us? This places us either up there with Zacchaeus or down there with the enemies of HIS, who did not want HIM to reign over them.

God wants us - so - dearly. To acknowledge HE loves us. And to say - Let Your will be mine. To believe HIM so much, we have honest conversations with HIM, saying today I'm Zacchaeus. Help me not to be mina-small tomorrow, or ever again. It's the effort to reach Him, that pleases Him the most. With trust. He is not asking us to sit next to HIM and say - I'm god too. He wants us to say, Lord, I love you! And know we are for HIM. And He for us. 

The talents, mino, can worry me. Instead I pray, "Lord, today  Your Lord's Prayer says, 'Give us the day!' Today, Father GOD, I need Your help making the day You've given me the talent You want. Let Your Word, Your Will, Your Love - be my day and I put out my hands to You in prayer. In the highest name of Jesus Christ the LORD. Amen" 

Today salvation has come to this house. 

Deuteronomy 31:8
It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Matthew 28:20
Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Hebrews 4:16
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Matthew 10:6
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

Luke 21:28
Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.

Hebrews 13:5
I will never leave you nor forsake you.


<><