Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. (Luke 19:1-2)
Zacchaeus lived in the city of Jericho. He was regarded as a wicked character of ill-repute, in the same way, that other tax collectors working for the Roman Empire were regarded: self-enriching, corrupt, and betraying the Jewish community.
But Zacchaeus wasn't just a tax collector; he was a chief tax collector, which meant that he was getting filthy rich by being in charge of other tax collectors. Ironically the name Zacchaeus means "pure."
And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. (Luke 19:3-4)
Zacchaeus was eager to see Jesus. He kept trying to get a look at him, and so he did all that he could in his might. The desire to see Jesus was fulfilled. Keep seeking the Lord; your desire will be met.
Zacchaeus climbed up into a sycamore tree. This tree was planted well in advance by the Lord, knowing that one day Zacchaeus would need it to see Him. It is in His mercy that God has prepared in advance things for those who love Him. (1 Corinthians 2:9). Also, we read in Proverbs, "Wisdom has prepared a great banquet, mixed the wines, and set the table." (Proverbs 9:2.)
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." So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. (Luke 19:5-6)
So Zacchaeus scurried down the tree and came face-to-face with Jesus. (Luke 19:6 TPT) - Face-to-face with Jesus.
Zacchaeus stood in front of the Lord and said, "Half of all that I own I will give to the poor. And Lord, if I have cheated anyone, I promise to pay back four times as much as I stole." (Luke 19:8)
To date, I have never seen people give back what they took wrongly even after salvation. Try and make amends after you have received salvation. That will be the fruit of your salvation.
Philippians 2:12 says, "work out your salvation" Notice it does not say, work for your salvation cause it's not by our works that we receive salvation. Good works do not produce salvation, but salvation produces good works.
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." (Luke 19:9)
From sinner to seeker to follower, Zacchaeus became an example of the change that takes place in our lives because of Christ.
"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. (Luke 19:15)
The nobleman after returning asked for a report from His servants.
3 Important Reasons for a Report
1. Decision-Making Tool
Important decisions can be taken on the basis of the information presented in a report.
2. Investigate
If there is an issue or a problem, a report can help find the reason behind the issue or the problem.
3. Evaluate
Sometimes, due to the scale of operations, it is not possible to macro manage. At such time, a report will help evaluate the performance of various departments or units.
All these three principles were seen in the nobleman's actions in dealing with His servants.
And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.' (Luke 19:17)
Authority is also delegated according to faithfulness. The servant was faithful in very little, and hence he was given authority over ten cities which is significant.
The degree of your multiplication is the degree of your authority.
The first servant multiplied ten times; he had authority over ten cities.
The second servant multiplied five times, he had authority over five cities.
'Splendid! You have done well, my excellent servant. (Luke 19:17 TPT)
There are servants, and then there are excellent servants
You see, I live in fear of you, for everyone knows you are a strict master and impossible to please. You push us for a high return on all that you own, and you always want to gain from someone else’s efforts. (Luke 19:21 TPT)
The servant literally accused his master.
Out of your own mouth, I will judge you, (Luke 19:22)
The words that come out of our mouths carry consequences before God and man.
“‘Yes,’ replied the king. ‘But to all who have been faithful, even more, will be given them. (Luke 19:26 TPT)
The key to receiving more is being faithful in what has been entrusted to you
The parable of talents gives us a clear idea of what God expects from us. Instead of overprotecting what we have, we should be multiplying it.
“Multiplying” will always have an element of risk involved, but the alternative of staying put doesn’t yield results. In fact, it’s often based in fear. Remember, the gifts we’ve been given are God’s, not ours. It would be a great shame for us to underutilize our time, money, relationships, or talents because of fear of the future. God wants us to further His kingdom. In order to do that, we must be active with our resources.
And if anyone stops you and asks, ‘What are you doing?’ just tell them this: ‘It is needed for the Lord of All.” The disciples replied, “We need this donkey for the Lord of All.” (Luke 19:31,34 TPT)
There are Lord of some things, Lord of many things and then He is the Lord of All.
They brought the colt to Jesus. Then they placed their prayer shawls on its back, and Jesus rode it as he descended the Mount of Olives toward Jerusalem. As he rode along, people spontaneously threw their prayer shawls on the path in front of him like a carpet. (Luke 19:35-36 TPT)
Lord Jesus did not just ride on the donkey; He rode on the prayers of his disciples. Even his donkey walked on the prayer shawls of the people. It is combined intercession that brought Jesus into Jerusalem. It will be continuous intercession that will also bring Jesus back into Jerusalem, in the church, in a city
Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, 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. (Luke 19:41-42)
Lord Jesus said to the people, there are things that make for you peace but they were hidden from their eyes. I believe there are things that can make up for our peace, our prosperity, our future etc. If you dont see those things then how can we reach out for them? Our spiritual eyes need to open so that we can see those things.
For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 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.” (Luke 19:43-44)
What Jesus essentially said was, “Since they would not recognize God’s day of visitation, their day of devastation was coming!”. There is a principle here: If one can recognize the day of God’s visitation then you will be kept from the day of devastation. (Luke 19:44) Not knowing the time of your visitation will cause the enemy to have the upper hand in your life. Discernment is of prime importance.
Chapters