In Today's Email:
Luke 19 Notes
In this chapter arrives at Jerusalem for the final Passover.
vs. 1-10 – Zacchaeus (“pure”) was Jew that worked for the Roman authorities collecting taxes. Rome used a system of tax farming where they assigned a quota to an area. As long as they got their money and peace was kept, the tax collectors could keep anything they took above the quota. You can understand why these men were so unpopular! Zacchaeus wanted to see Christ but could not because of his diminutive stature. He resorts to climbing a tree to get a look at Christ. Christ recognizes his faith and calls him down. Of all the people He could have spent the day with, He chose Zacchaeus. Zaccheaus responds with true repentance.
vs. 11-27 – The Parable of the Pounds tells of a ruler entrusting his wealth to his servants as he goes abroad. A pound here is the Jewish mina, equal to 60 shekels or 1/60 of a talent. If silver, this would be about $1,200 today. On his return, the servants are rewarded for what they had accomplished in his absence. One, however, had simply hidden his portion and not attempted to invest or trade with it. He claimed to fear his master, but his actions showed otherwise. Perhaps he is one of those mentioned in verse 14 that hoped the ruler would not return and he could keep the money. The purpose of this parable is to show that Christ’s Kingdom was not coming at that time, but that when it did come, He would hold the people responsibility for their actions.
vs. 28-44 – This parallels Matthew 21;1-11, Mark 11:1-11, and John 12:12-19. Christ enters Jerusalem in the Triumphal Entry. He rides a young donkey. A donkey symbolized peace while a horse symbolized war. He was signaling that it was not time for the Messiah to conquer. The people gather and celebrate His arrival. Their excitement is superficial. They wanted a kingdom, not a suffering Savior. Christ weeks over Jerusalem, knowing the He would be rejected and that the city would be later destroyed. The hopes of the people would not come at this time.
vs. 45-48 – This parallels Mathew 21:12-17 and Mark 11:15-19. Christ cleanses the Temple by running the merchants and moneychangers out. The merchants sold animals and supplies for sacrifice, supposedly for a convenience to travelers. The moneychangers exchanged all types of currency into the Tyrian shekels that were the only coins accepted in the Temple. It does not take much of an imagination to see how these practices could be corrupted. Christ throws them out, citing Isaiah 56:7. He then teaches publicly in the Temple in the days leading up to the Passover.
Luke 20 Notes
In this chapter Christ spars with His enemies in the Temple.
vs. 1-8 – This parallels Matthew 21:23-27 and Mark 11:27-33. Christ is challenged on what authority He acted on in cleansing the Temple and teaching there. Instead of answering the question, He responds with His own. He asks them whose authority John the Baptist acted under. They could not answer this without falling into a trap. If they could not recognize that God had ordained John’s ministry, they certainly were not going to accept the same of Christ’s ministry.
vs. 9-19 – This parallels Matthew 21:33-46 and Mark 12:1-12. The Parable of the Husbandmen illustrates God’s patience and longsuffering in dealing with Israel. A man has a garden that he leaves in the care of others. These refuse to acknowledge the owner’s representatives, including his son who they kill. Israel had rejected the Law and the prophets. Soon they would reject the Son. There was no option left for God other than to judge them. He had done everything He could, yet they rejected Him repeatedly.
vs. 20-26 – This parallels Matthew 22:15-22 and Mark 12:13-17. Another trap is set for Christ. This time it was the question of taxes. Should the Jews pay taxes to the Romans? The nationalist Jews would hate Him if He said yes, and the Roman leaders would hate Him if He said no. He asks to see a coin: a Roman denarius which bore the likeness of Caesar with his many titles displayed. Christ does not dodge the question but recognizes that both human government and true religion are both ordained by God and have their spheres of influence that men should obey.
vs. 27-40 – This parallels Matthew 22:23-33 and Mark 12:18-27. The Sadducees rejected the doctrine of the resurrection, saying that the Old Testament did not explicitly teach it. This was just one of their many errors, but it became their defining doctrine. They concoct a ridiculous scenario to mock the idea of the resurrection. They asked who a woman would be married to if she was married to seven brothers but had not children by any. This is based on Deuteronomy 25:5. Christ responds that they have erred in assuming the future life is identical with the present one. The words Christ quotes in verse 37 can be found in Exodus 3:6,16. Moses was born 400+ years after Abraham died, yet Moses spoke of Abraham in the present tense. This acknowledged life beyond death.
vs. 41-44 – This parallels Matthew 22:41-46 and Mark 12:35-37. Christ now presses His enemies with a question they cannot answer. He appeals to Psalm 110:1, where David wrote prophetically about the Messiah. In Jewish thought, a son was inferior to his father and forefathers. However, David says that God (“LORD”) spoke to the Messiah (“Lord”), who David acknowledges as “my Lord.” Why would David claim his descendant was greater than himself? The experts could not answer, but the reason is that Christ was not just the Son of David, He was the Son of God.
vs. 45-47 – This parallels Matthew 23:1-39 and Mark 12:38-40. Christ warns the people to beware of the scribes (and Pharisees in the parallel passages). These made a show of having true religion but were guilty of terrible crimes.
Closing Thoughts
It is easy to say we follow Christ but is something else entirely to live out true repentance of our sins. Zaccheaus’ story is remarkable in that we see the evidence of his changed heart in his actions. His walk matched his talk. Christ ought to so affect our lives that we live differently than we would without Him.
Hymn for Today
Our hymn today is “Hosanna to Christ,” written by Isaac Watts.
Hosanna to the Royal Son
Of David's ancient Line,
His Natures Two, his Person One,
Mysterious and Divine.
The Root of David here we find,
And Offspring is the same;
Eternity and Time are join'd
In our Emanuel's Name.
Blest He that comes to wretched Men
With peaceful News from Heav'n;
Hosannas of the highest Strain
To Christ the Lord be giv'n.
Let Mortals ne'er refuse to take
Th' Hosanna on their Tongues,
Lest Rocks and Stones should rise, and break
Their Silence into Songs.