SCRIPTURE 19:1-10
zacchaeus the tax collector
He came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house. And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.”
And Jesus said to him, “Today salvationc has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”
REFLECTION
As Jesus is making his way to Jerusalem to complete His mission from the Father, he passes through Jericho but something gets his attention…one more chance at conversion. He spies a small man in a tree who has a heart of a believer. “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”
Jesus affirms He has come for the salvation of everyone. Do we see others with the eyes of Jesus that all are children of God whether they appear lost or not? Do we pray daily for the conversion of sinners?
SCRIPTURE 19:36-40
the the ride to jerusalem
…As he rode along, the people were spreading their cloaks on the road; and now as he was approaching the slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to praise God aloud with joy for all the mighty deeds they had seen. They proclaimed, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord Peace in heaven and glory in the highest”. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He said in reply, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!”
REFLECTION
As Jesus approaches the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem people begin to gather in praise, welcoming him with palm branches and throwing down their cloaks before Him. “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” But the Pharisees and other religious leaders rebuke Jesus for fear of the Romans and also the loss of their authority. Jesus answers them, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!” Do we cry out in praise of Jesus our Savior and Lord despite the consequences?
SCRIPTURE 19:41-44
the lament for jerusalem.*
As he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
REFLECTION
On the Mount of Olives Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, for He knows what is coming…Because Jerusalem did not recognize the time of their visitation, they will be crushed, smashed to pieces, separated from their One true God and their light to the nations extinguished “I will also make you a light to the nations—. so that all the world may be saved.”. Isaiah 49:6
We are so fickle when it comes to Jesus. One day it is yes to Jesus and another day is please leave me to my own devices. Let’s not miss our time of “visitation.” Our “visitation” is each and every day, We embrace Jesus or reject Jesus for something else. Which will it be? We know the consequences of rejection, disaster, separation from God, and failure to witness to the Gospel.
SCRIPTURE 20:9-26
the parable of the tenant farmers.*
Then he proceeded to tell the people this parable. “[A] man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and then went on a journey for a long time. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenant farmers to receive some of the produce of the vineyard. But they beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. So he proceeded to send another servant, but him also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed.
Then he proceeded to send a third, but this one too they wounded and threw out. The owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I shall send my beloved son; maybe they will respect him. But when the tenant farmers saw him they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him that the inheritance may become ours. So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
He will come and put those tenant farmers to death and turn over the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they exclaimed, “Let it not be so! But he looked at them and asked, “What then does this scripture passage mean: The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’ Everyone who falls on that stone will be dashed to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls. The scribes and chief priests sought to lay their hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people, for they knew that he had addressed this parable to them.
REFLECTION
After the cleansing or the Temple area of idol worship, His enemies continue to plot against Him. Jesus preaches this parable of the tenants. The tenants in this parable are really all of us who are stewards of the kingdom, not the King.
In this parable Jesus gives a little history lesson to the religious leaders of the time about the prophets God sent before Him to preach conversion and repentance. We know their earthly lives did not end well.
Now God has sent His only Son. Well, the tenants didn’t like the prophets before Jesus, certainly if they kill God’s son that would send God a message, don’t mess with us anymore.
Jesus warns them to pay close attention and quotes Scripture to back it up, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Everyone who falls on that stone will be dashed to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls. Psalm 118:22
Jesus is our cornerstone to build our lives on. To reject Jesus is to have the building of our lives fall upon us, crushing us in despair and disaster. “A wise man builds his house on rock not sand.” Matthew 7:24