Luke 19:2, 5-6
And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich...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.
Personalize it method (Rick Warren's 40 Days in the Word): Lord please reveal to me what you are telling me in your Word today. In Jesus name I pray, amen.
Jeff, see that I called Zacchaeus from the tree. When I determined it to be time, I called him. He had the beginning of faith in that he joyfully and quickly obliged. Before my Son, the tax collector vowed to repent and to repay all whom he had defrauded.
Luke 19:8-10In response to this repentance Jeff, see that I announce salvation to have come to his house. I refer to his house and to him as a son of Abraham because I need you to know that this salvation was not due to his act of giving or of surrendering his resources (his works), but it was his faith in my Son (in me by extension) that saved him; just as it was with Abraham...
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.”
Romans 4:11-12So see that salvation of the rich is not impossible with me as I saved Zacchaeus. The repentance of his heart, as displayed by the works described, was possible only by my grace Jeff. Zacchaeus had a high cost that I called him to pay. Unlike the rich ruler, this humble and contrite sinner was willing to surrender all. Willing to renounce all that he had, I accepted him as my disciple- despite his past.
He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Now see how I expect you to serve my kingdom and invest yourself to the great commission Jeff...
Luke 19:11-13
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. ’
Luke 19:15
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.
Luke 19:22-24, 26-27
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. ’...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. ’”
From the Bible Knowledge Commentary regarding the parable of the minas-
The analogy of this parable was clear to Jesus' hearers. Jesus was going away to receive a kingship. When He returned, He would establish His kingdom. Until that time His followers were to fulfill the responsibilities He gave them. On His return He would reward the faithful commensurate with their service to Him, and His enemies would be judged before Him.So Jeff, I will give blessings and spiritual gifts to those that exercise the gifts I give them. Those that do not recognize me for who I am and choose to ignore my call for the sake of their own kingdom will find that even the things they thought they had will be taken. I will give spiritual gifts and blessings that will never be destroyed if you answer my call. The one who does not see me for who I am and does not invest the nugget I had given him will lose it all- he will be counted with my enemies.
Now see that my coming into the city on Palm Sunday illustrates my sovereignty and mercy...
Luke 19:37-40Jeff, although my Son understood that this praise was shallow and would soon be replaced by rejection and shouts of "crucify him!" He still had compassion and mercy. See that His sovereignty as my Son is illustrated by His ability to direct the rocks to shout.
As he was drawing near — already on the way down the Mount of Olives — the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that 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 in the crowd said to him, “ Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
Psalms 96:11-13Jeff, as my Son entered Jerusalem and knew that he was entering the final week before He would be hung on the cross, do you understand that He could (by merely speaking it) have destroyed those that would crucify Him? But He had a purpose and He had mercy.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; 12 let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy 13 before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.
See how Jesus expressed sovereign mercy as he wept over Jerusalem, that was to reject Him...
Luke 19:41-43The scripture, and even Jesus Himself, had made plain the way to reconcile with me and the jews were hard hearted. It pained me Jeff to allow my people to not see my Son for who He was, but my sovereign plan required it...
41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “ Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side
From a sermon by John Piper on April 13, 2003-
We have seen all this in Romans 9 . The mercy of God is a sovereign mercy. "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion" ( Romans 9:15 ). But here is the point I want you to see today: This sovereign Christ weeps over hard-hearted, perishing Jerusalem as they fulfilled his plan. It is unbiblical and wrong to make the tears of mercy a contradiction to the serenity of sovereignty. Jesus was serene in sorrow, and sorrowful in sovereignty. Jesus’ tears are the tears of sovereign mercy.Jeff, you can also see my sovereign mercy in the flood...
Genesis 6:6-7Jeff, do you see that the situation grieved Me to the heart? Do you see that man's sin and the fact that I was therefore to destroy the majority of my creation for my greater purpose grieved me deeply? However, for your sake I endured. For the sake of demonstrating how seriously I take sin and to paint the story of redemption for the salvation of those I would call to faith in my Son, I endured.
And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
More from Piper's sermon-
First, Jesus’ mercy is tenderly moved. He feels the sorrow of the situation. This doesn’t mean his sovereign plan has wrecked on the rocks of human autonomy. It means that Jesus is more emotionally complex than we think he is. He really feels the sorrow of a situation. No doubt there is a deep inner peace that God is in control and that God’s wise purposes will come to pass. But that doesn’t mean you can’t cry. In fact, on the contrary, I appeal to you here: pray that God would give you tears. There is so much pain in the world. So much suffering far from you and near you. Pray that God would help you be tenderly moved.So Jeff, how are you showing tender mercy?
Mercy if helpful. It doesn’t just feel — though it does feel — and it doesn’t just deny itself — though it does deny itself — it actually does things that help people. Jesus was dying in our place that we might be forgiven and have eternal life with him. That’s how he helped. What will it be for you? How are you doing in ministries of mercy? How are you and your roommate, or your housemates, doing together? How is your family doing? (That’s what Noël and I asked at Annie’s Parlor.) What is tenderly moving you these days? Is there movement toward pain or suffering or misery or loss or sadness, that means denying yourself — in the short run — and multiplying your joy in the long run? And what help are you actually giving to those in need?
Application:
Today I will determine how best to show tender mercy to those I know are hurting.
Today I will take action to give to those in need.
Today I will work to exercise the gifts and blessings you have given me Lord.
Today I will trust in you to do the impossible with me.
Today I wll continue to consider what it should look like for my family to surrender all of our financial resources to you that we may be as Zacchaeus rather than the rich ruler.
Prayer:
Thank you Lord for your Word. Please help me to apply these lessons today. Cause me to recall your teaching and to be mindful of your call for me to show tender mercy even when those that might receive it are shallow and may not receive it in the manner I would hope. Please help me to know how to use the gifts you give me and even let me understand what they are! Please continue to refine our thoughts and cause me to move forward with planning regarding our finances. Please cause me today to take action in merciful surrender of my resources in support of those in need. I praise you Lord and thank you for your tender mercy that you have toward me and my family. Thank you for your grace that brought us into relationship with you, that reconciled us. Please let me be diligent Lord to teach this to my children.
In Jesus name I pray, amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!
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