EPISODE 41 Luke Chapter19 ”We Must All Appear” for Share The Word

Welcome to Share the Word. If you've been listening for a while, we welcome you back, and we thank you for being a loyal listener. As we've said many times before, we know that there are many programs out there, but Share the Word is a systematic presentation of the big ideas in the New Testament, chapter by chapter. So let's get started as Paul brings out the big idea. Luke chapter 19, we must all appear. Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.

He climbed up in a sycamore tree, for the Lord he wanted to see. And as the Savior passed his way, he looked up in the tree, and he said, Zacchaeus, you come down, for I'm going to your house today, for I'm going to your house today. My four-year-old grandson knows that song. If you're a Sunday school graduate, you probably do too. In Luke chapter 19, he first recalls an incident involving this height-challenged tax collector named Zacchaeus, who Jesus met as he and his disciples journeyed through the city of Jericho on their last trip to Jerusalem. It's another of Luke's examples showing Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost, because this fellow, who had tried to become wealthy and so somebody in his city, had only managed to become despised by everybody until he met Jesus and saw his life transformed.

What's always struck me most about that encounter was that when Jesus entered Jericho that day and there were people lining the street so much that Zacchaeus climbed a tree to get a look at him, although Jesus was surrounded by clamoring throngs of people, he not only stopped when he saw Zacchaeus in the tree. He knew Zacchaeus by name, and he said, Zacchaeus, get down from that tree, for I must go to your house today. It's as if he was, to Jesus, the only one he'd pass through that town to meet, because he knew Zacchaeus needed to and was ready to turn his life around and start doing things God's way. You can read the short narrative about Zacchaeus in the opening verses of Luke 19. But the big idea I'd like to devote our time to today comes from the parable that Luke records after that, beginning at verse 11.

Remember, as we've already discussed, Jesus and his disciples are now moving, at this point, deliberately toward Jerusalem, toward Jesus' appointment with his destiny there. This appears to be part of their last tour through some of the towns in Judea, the southern part of Israel. Jericho is a little more than 20 miles east of Jerusalem. Notice that Luke writes to introduce this story Jesus told these words: The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said, and because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the kingdom of God would be coming right away. To correct that impression. I hope you remember our lesson earlier titled Kingdom Phases 1 and 2.

The gist of that lesson was that although Jesus was, in fact, the promised, in God's plan, Messiah, he wasn't coming in the first century to set up a physical political kingdom of God on earth. His purpose then was ultimately about becoming our Savior by laying down his life on the cross as an atonement for our sin. He was inaugurating a kingdom, though, but it was a parallel spiritual kingdom where he would rule in the hearts of those people who chose to believe in and receive him. So as he traveled through Jericho and toward Jerusalem, he was moving deliberately toward the climax of that phase one mission, if I can call it that. He was moving toward the cross deliberately. That's not just my personal interpretation.

That's consistent with what Jesus has been telling his disciples, for example, in chapter 17, when he told them, I'm going to come again, but first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation. So now, as Jesus is close to Jerusalem, he tries to clarify to his followers that the kingdom of God they were hoping for, when Israel's oppressors are overthrown and the Messiah sets up a political kingdom, was not about to happen. That's not his agenda immediately. But the parable he told after that is very insightful. Let's listen to it. It starts at verse 12.

A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. Put this money to work, he said, until I get back. But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, We don't want this man to be our king. He was made king, however, and he returned home. Then he sent for those servants to whom he had given the money in order to find out what they had done with it.

The first one came and said, Sir, your mina has earned ten more. Well done, my good servant, the master replied. You've been trustworthy in this small matter. Now take charge of ten cities in my kingdom. The second came and said, Sir, your mina has earned five more. His master replied, Then you take charge of five cities.

But another servant came who said, Sir, here is your mina. I've kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you because I've heard you're a hard man. You take out what you didn't put in, and you reap what you don't sow, his master replied. Then I'll judge you by your own words, you wicked servant. You knew, did you, that I'm a hard man, taking out what I don't put in and reaping what I don't sow.

Then why didn't you at least put my money on deposit so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest? Then he said to those standing by, Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten. Sir, they said, he already has ten. But Jesus replied, I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given. But as for those who have done nothing, even what they have will be taken away from them. But those enemies of mine who didn't want me to be king, bring them here and kill them in my presence.

Yikes. This is a pretty heavy story, and it's embedded with some pretty crucial spiritual truths, so let's break it down carefully. Remember, Jesus' parables were often drawn from real life, and that's the case here. And his story would sound very familiar to that audience in Jericho. Only a generation before, Herod the Great, a proxy king allowed by the Romans to rule over Israel, had died. His will directed that his kingdom then be split three ways between three sons.

The son who was to rule over the area that included Jericho and Jerusalem, the southern part of Israel where Jesus now was, was named Archelaus. After his father's death, Archelaus actually traveled to Rome to officially be appointed king of Judea. But many of the Jews didn't want that. They sent a delegation to Rome after him to protest, to see if they could prevent that from happening. Nevertheless, the Roman emperor Augustus appointed Archelaus their king anyway. And Archelaus, in fact, actually built his palace right there at that city, Jericho.

You can probably imagine, once he consolidated his power as king, things didn't go well for those who tried to prevent his rule. Jesus' listeners that day in Jericho were very well aware of this local history. It's very clear that Jesus was drawing from that analogy, a spiritual analogy. He was the rightful king who was going to go away to a distant country to receive his kingdom, a reference, obviously, to his soon going back to heaven to God the Father. But he says he would return one day to actually take up his rule and be king over the earth. Those who rejected him, who refused to accept Jesus despite all the evidence he demonstrated, will at that time be judged harshly.

This is clearly the framework of the parable. Jesus is telling his followers that he's going away, but that he will return and that he will one day establish the kingdom of God on earth and rule as king. This is yet ahead, though, in the future, at Christ's second coming, as we call it. The Bible tells us elsewhere that that kingdom of Christ, which he will establish on earth when he returns, will last a thousand years. Sometimes we hear it called the millennium. So what is all the other stuff about the servants and the minas and so on?

Thanks for asking. That part of the parable is applicable especially to us, to those of us who have accepted Jesus, who are part of what we've been terming his present growing spiritual kingdom. In the parable, Jesus said that before the young nobleman went away, he called in ten of his servants and gave them a sum of money called a mina in that culture. That was a significant sum, by the way, equivalent to a hundred days of normal wages. So we might say, in our world, something like twenty thousand dollars. Each servant was given the same amount by the king, and each was instructed, Put this money to work while I'm gone.

They were to use it, invest it, make something of it while he was away. And the implication here is clearly that he would be coming back and asking for an accounting on his return. We're not told how much time in the parable elapsed, but once he received his kingdom, the nobleman returned, and now as king. And soon he called in the ten servants to see what they had done with what he had entrusted to them. In Jesus' parable, the first one reported that he had invested that sum during the time his master was away and multiplied it ten times over. He had turned twenty thousand bucks into two hundred thousand dollars, in our terms.

Well done, the king told him. You've been faithful in this small matter. I'm going to place you in charge of ten cities in my kingdom. Similarly, another of the servants came forward and said, Sir, your mina has made five more. Then you will be in charge of five cities, the king told him. And so it went.

Eventually, there's this one guy left there sheepishly who came forward with the money still wrapped up in a towel. He gave some excuses about how he'd been afraid that he could lose it because the master was a demanding man. But the bottom line was, he had done nothing with what had been entrusted to him. Perhaps he didn't believe the young nobleman would succeed and would return as king. I'm not sure. But that was the wrong answer.

The king told him, Even if that were true, you could have at least invested the money in a bank that paid interest. Jesus said the king was angry with that servant and instructed those nearby to take the money from him and give it to the man who had done the best. The man who had multiplied what he was given tenfold. Finally, he turns his attention to the delegation of his enemies who had rejected his rightful rule and tried to prevent him from becoming king. He ordered they be rounded up and brought before him to be put to death. Let me interject this right here.

We should be careful about pressing parables as if every detail has a specific corresponding spiritual fulfillment or counterpart. I always try to be sure, as I am interpreting a parable of Jesus, to be sure I am consistent with what is taught in the Bible other places. Parables are stories Jesus made up to teach people important spiritual truths, so their main ideas definitely have real meanings, and we need to grasp hold of them. But they should be meanings that are taught elsewhere in the Scripture as well. We should never insist on some personal interpretation from the details of parables. So what was obvious that Jesus was saying, which his followers needed to glean from this parable about the nobleman and his servants?

For one thing, it's clear from the way Luke introduced it that Jesus was telling his disciples not to expect him to instigate some revolt and set up an earthly kingdom when they reached Jerusalem. That was not going to happen. He had no intention of doing that. Rather, like the nobleman in the story, Jesus had to go away for an undisclosed period of time where he would receive his kingdom and only then afterwards return. That, we know in retrospect, was pointing to his return from heaven after his death and resurrection when God would, as the apostle Paul writes in Philippians 2, exalt him and give him a name above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus one day all knees will bow. Jesus will, in fact, become King and one day will return from heaven to claim His rightful throne.

He will establish His kingdom on earth. This is what believers should be looking for: His second coming, to inaugurate a new age of healing and peace on this planet. I'm not just imagining that from this parable. I am saying this parable of Jesus parallels what the Bible teaches about that in several other places in the New Testament. So that's how we know how to interpret it here properly. The phase two, as we're calling it, future kingdom of God on this earth, when Jesus will rule from Jerusalem for a thousand years, is certainly coming when He returns.

What else should those of us who are His followers glean from this parable? Well, importantly, much of the story describes how the nobleman gave entrustments to his servants with the instruction, Do business with this till I return. Remember, each of them was given the same significant sum of money in Jesus' story to use or invest in the king's interests. I believe that refers to the fact that each of us has been given one life with which to accomplish things of value for Christ. Have you ever thought about your lifetime as an entrustment from God, as one big opportunity to do things that matter for Christ, things He'll be pleased with when He meets you in heaven someday? In Jesus' story, when the nobleman returns as king, He calls in the servants to give an accounting for what they had done while He'd been away.

The New Testament confirms this is exactly what's going to happen with believers after Jesus returns. So that has to be the proper application from the parable. For example, we're told in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 10, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive what we are due for the things we have done while in these bodies. That means right now. During our natural lifetimes. This should be a controlling thought for those of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus, who claim he is our Lord, an idea that is never very far from the front of our minds.

We only have one lifetime, however long it might be, and only the things that matter at the end of it are what we have done for Christ, what has pleased Him, what's made a difference. Remember that poem I think I quoted once before? It's always in the front of my mind. Only one life, soon will be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last. What's done for Christ, that's the fruit that remains that we learned about in John chapter 15.

That's the treasures we are storing up in heaven that Jesus talked about in Luke chapter 16. We're reminded about this over and over and over in different ways in the New Testament, that one day after Jesus returns, believers will stand before Him and be called to give an account for our lives. What have I done with what He's entrusted to me? He's given us everything, after all. So we'll be evaluated on what have we done with our time, our resources, the gifts and abilities we've been given, the opportunities we've been given. On that day, in some way, it will be shown to us.

God is keeping an account of everything, and it will be honestly revealed then. As happened with the servants in Jesus' parable, at that time some Christians will be rewarded greatly because of what they've done for Christ that matters, that He valued. Others will be rewarded, but to a lesser degree, and some not rewarded at all. In Jesus' story, the king gave his most faithful servant authority over ten cities in a new kingdom, and another who was faithful authority over five. The rewards, you see, are commensurate with what was revealed about what they had done with what He had entrusted to them. I'm not going to press this to mean that in the literal kingdom of God on earth in the future, some people are going to be mayors over this many or that many cities and towns.

I've heard that. Could be, actually, but I wouldn't say for sure that's where I want to go with this. But what I will say for sure is that there will be an accounting and there will be actual rewards for faithfulness for those who have used wisely the things Christ has entrusted to them during these lifetimes. Elsewhere in the New Testament, it describes the awards on that day as crowns, and the word used was the same word used as for what was given out to winners of the games like the ancient Olympics. Again, I'm not going to press that to mean actual crowns you're going to wear around in heaven necessarily, although it could be. But a day of evaluation is coming.

That's point, when the King returns. We'll find out then all that Christ has in mind for rewards for those who have served His interests well. By the way, no believer will be condemned on that day of accounting because we're promised there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. What the New Testament calls elsewhere the judgment seat of Christ is only for believers, and the only question there is going to be, what have we done with what Christ has entrusted to us? Knowing that accounting is coming should be a part of our motivation for our lives, what we're doing with them. The challenge from Jesus in this parable at Jericho to me is, am I using what He's entrusted to me well?

Will I hear one day from the Lord Jesus Himself, Well done, Paul? Will I be able to go into that evaluation with confidence, or will I be somewhat ashamed? These are very real questions every Christian should ask themselves. If you notice, one of the servants in Jesus' parable didn't do anything with what the nobleman had entrusted to him. He made ridiculous excuses that the king was not persuaded by, and he was sternly reprimanded. There were no rewards for him.

This suggests that in the coming kingdom of God, some Christians who have taken God's free gift of salvation and in return have done almost nothing to serve Christ or advance His interests will be ashamed and will receive no rewards at this evaluation. They will not have positions of honor or significant responsibilities during Christ's kingdom. They will be saved because of God's amazing grace, but they will be ashamed that they have nothing to show for what Christ entrusted to them. They will clearly understand at that point how foolishly they have wasted their lives. An even worse situation Jesus indicates here awaits those who rejected Him as King and tried to prevent Him. This certainly applied to some within earshot of the parable that day in Jericho, some like the Pharisees.

Many of those religious authorities in Israel, as we've seen, were very guilty of this. Jesus was warning them through this parable that in the future, after He returns, there is coming a real judgment for those who willfully reject Him, and probably worse for those who tried to turn other people away from Him. You cannot listen to this grim ending in the parable regarding the delegation of rejecters and imagine anything otherwise. The mood is very somber. You can feel it as you read the story. We're nearing the climax now of Luke's Gospel.

By verse 28 in this chapter, he is describing Jesus' final entry into Jerusalem. It's a scene with extremely conflicting emotions for those involved. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem that Sunday, I'm sure his closest disciples were feeling dread. He'd indicated to them what was ahead. But many others, throngs of people actually, were still very hopeful that Jesus was arriving in their nation's capital to proclaim himself Messiah and get about leading some kind of political revolt or something to free them from the Romans. These people were lining the way as he rode into the city on a donkey from the Mount of Olives.

Many were strewing their coats across the road, Luke says, and they were shouting messianic slogans at him, Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Luke was told Pharisees in the crowd urged Jesus to tell this jubilant throng to stop, but he wouldn't. In fact, he replied, If they stopped, the rocks themselves lining the roadway would take up their messianic chants. He was not denying he was the Messiah as he came to Jerusalem, but the outcome was not what these people imagined. As for Jesus, he was very emotional at this scene. Regardless of the joyous throngs, he knew exactly why he was coming to Jerusalem.

He knew the final confrontation with his nation's leaders would occur shortly. He knew the hour for him in the plan of God had finally arrived, but he courageously pressed on to become our Savior. Thanks for listening. This is Paul for Share the Word. Thanks, Paul. You know, our mission at Share the Word is simply to communicate the big ideas of the New Testament in a down-to-earth language with as many people around the world.

And we hope that you will take a few minutes to check out the archives of all the programs and offerings at ShareTheWord.org. And as always, from all of us at Share the Word, our blessings and prayers go out to all of you.