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Words of Jesus Part 42
Some verses are skipped only because
they were discussed in the "words of Jesus" in Matthew or Mark.
- Luke 19:1 And Jesus entered and
passed through Jericho.
- 2 And, behold, there was a
man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans,
and he was rich.
- 3 And he sought to see
Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was
little of stature.
- 4 And he ran before, and
climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass
that way.
This reminds me of a children's song we
use to sing in Sunday School about Zacchaeus. Here was a publican
who the religious crowd considered a great sinner above all.
It is good to be dedicated to God. It
is good to love Jesus and live by His teachings. It is good to live
above sin but the worst kind of sin is hypocrisy, self-righteousness
and lack of compassion for the lost. Jesus came to seek the lost and
we sometimes tend to forget that and want to have a church full of
perfect, well-dressed people that are outwardly holy. I'm not
against outward holiness but we must pray to maintain a passion to
save the lost and fulfill the commission Christ told us to do after
we ourselves have been born again by the Spirit.
Not all are called to preach or teach
but we all are called to have love and compassion.
- Luke 19:5 And when Jesus came to
the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him,
Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down;
for to day I must abide at thy house.
- 6
And he made haste, and came down, and
received him joyfully.
Notice, He received Him joyfully.
Compare this so-called sinner's attitude toward Jesus with the
attitude of the so-called religious Pharisees who were supposed to
be teachers of the law.
- Luke 19:7 And when they saw it,
they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a
man that is a sinner.
- 8 And Zacchaeus stood, and
said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to
the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false
accusation, I restore him fourfold.
This is a sign of true repentance.
Zacchaeus repented by his willingness to change and give to the
poor. Giving to the poor cannot save apart from Christ but this
action showed a heart that had believed in Christ and fully repented
of sin. True repentance will bring forth fruits.
Example:
We can't passively say, I believe and then go
our own way, doing our own thing just like before we claimed to
believe.
The words of John the Baptist in Luke chapter
3:9-14
- Luke 3:9 And now also the axe is
laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which
bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the
fire.
- 10 And the people asked him,
saying, What shall we do then?
- 11 He answereth and saith unto
them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath
none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
- 12 Then came also publicans to
be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?
- 13 And he said unto them,
Exact no more than that which is appointed you.
- 14 And the soldiers likewise
demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto
them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be
content with your wages.
All fruits of true repentance may not
be the same for everyone and it cannot save by itself.
A thief cannot be saved from sin by
merely stopping his stealing. However when a thief is born again by
God's spirit, he will not steal any more if he truly has repented.
Jesus came to save us from sin. Old things pass away and all things
become new. Repentance brings true salvation. We must avoid being
afraid of offending the crowds by not teaching repentance along with
the message of receiving Christ as savior. One can't save without
the other. The new birth comes by accepting Christ as savior and
repenting or turning from sin. Jesus came to save us from sin not
save us in our sin.
- Luke 19:9 And Jesus said unto him,
This day is salvation come to
this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.
Zaccaeus was a Jew and a son of
Abraham. Salivation was first offered to the Jews. Those that are
born again by God's spirit become adopted Jews or adopted Israel.
The promise of Abraham was that through his seed all nations would
be blessed.
- Luke 19:10
For the Son of man is come to seek and
to save that which was lost.
This was the mission of Jesus Christ
and should not be our mission.
- Luke 19:11 And as they heard these
things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to
Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God
should immediately appear.
This was their stumbling block. They
expected Jesus to set up the kingdom of God at that time. They
couldn't understand that sin had to be taken care of first. They
were not expecting a Messiah to save them from their sins.
- Luke 19:12 He said therefore,
A certain nobleman went into a
far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
This is also what Jesus is now doing.
He is setting up a literal kingdom to rule when He comes a second
time. His first coming was to bring salvation from sin. The kingdom
of God is now within each and every believer but one day the visible
kingdom will come where those that receive Christ now will reign
with Him for eternity.
- Luke 19:13
And he called his ten servants, and
delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I
come.
Jesus doesn't give us pounds but His
spirit to occupy in whatever we are called to do until He returns.
- Luke 19:14
But his citizens hated him, and sent
a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign
over us.
- 15
And it came to pass, that when he was
returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these
servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money,
that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.
- 16
Then came the first, saying, Lord,
thy pound hath gained ten pounds.
- 17
And he said unto him, Well, thou good
servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have
thou authority over ten cities.
- 18
And the second came, saying, Lord,
thy pound hath gained five pounds.
- 19
And he said likewise to him, Be thou
also over five cities.
- 20
And another came, saying, Lord,
behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a
napkin:
- 21
For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest
up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not
sow.
- 22
And he saith unto him, Out of thine
own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest
that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and
reaping that I did not sow:
- 23
Wherefore then gavest not thou my
money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required
mine own with usury?
- 24
And he said unto them that stood by,
Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten
pounds.
- 25
(And they said unto him, Lord, he
hath ten pounds.)
- 26
For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be
given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be
taken away from him.
We can study this parable along with
the parable of the ten wise and foolish virgins to see how we are to
be faithful until Jesus returns. Another example is this:
- Matthew 24:48
But and if that evil servant
shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
- 49
And shall begin to smite his
fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
- 50
The lord of that servant shall
come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that
he is not aware of,
- 51
And shall cut him asunder, and
appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.
It is a dangerous thing to reject the gospel
and reject His words after the price He paid to bring these things
to us. To make light of the word of God should never be. It will
make a difference as to where we will spend eternity.
- Luke 19:27
But those mine enemies, which would
not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them
before me.
This was the religious crowds that
first heard the gospel and rejected Jesus Christ.
If they had only known who it was that
walked among them. We might say that if we had been there, we would
have been different. Yet we can't say that for sure. Let us take the
opportunity we have now to live each day just as if the Lord was
coming today. God's word is so precious.
Words of
Jesus Part 43
Words of Jesus
Index
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