Lessons Into Luke: Lesson 15

FACTS AND THOUGHTS

LESSON FIFTEEN - PASSION WEEK BEGINS

(Luke 18:1 - 19:28)

With the first fourteen verses of the Eighteenth Chapter of Luke, we come to the end of a long passage peculiar to Luke alone. Starting with Chapter Ten, for eight and one half chapters there is no parallel in the other Gospels to this long section of the Third Gospel.

This does not mean that some of the statements herein attributed to Jesus are found in Luke's Gospel alone. For example, a brief version of the so-called "Lord's Prayer," given in Luke 11:2-4, was first given by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in Matthew Chapters five through seven.

There are similar statements attributed to Jesus found in both Luke and in Matthew's account of the Sermon on the Mount.

But like any good speaker, Jesus might well have repeated Himself with new audiences. Furthermore, sometimes He repeated Himself to give a completely new emphasis to His words. And like other great teachers, Jesus would surely know that repetition is of the essence of good teaching.

TWO MORE PARABLES (Luke 18:1-14.)

And so, to sum up all the teachings of The Son of Man, Jesus told two more parables. The first was to encourage to continual prayer; the second defined that repentance which was needed and required.

Prayer requires persistency. Why this is so we may question and wonder. But Jesus said it. He declared that we "ought always to pray, and not to faint." That is, "keep on praying, and don't stop: don't give up." We may find ourselves wondering why our prayers do not seem to be answered. But don't give up. We may become physically exhausted; but don't give up. We may find ourselves crowded with other duties pressing upon us, but don't give up praying. We may be discouraged with the futility of it all, but don't give up. We need to pray always, at all times, in all conditions, surrounded by all distractions, influenced by all distractions; and above all, don't give up praying. We "ought always to pray, and not to faint."

By way of illustrating the point, Jesus told the story of a widow needing justice and of a judge so lazy, slothful, and derelict in his responsibilities that he did not help her. But the woman kept on asking and asking and asking. Finally the judge out of his own desperation answered her plea. And then Jesus went on to declare that, unlike the judge, God hears and will answer "speedily," (even if it seems a long time to us.)

All the instructions which Luke has told us that Jesus has been giving are too much for us to begin to keep in our own strength. But we can pray and not give up; yes, and we may be assured that God will remind us of all things and give us the supernatural ability to fulfill our assigned tasks. But above all, we are "always to pray, and not to faint."

The command to pray, while it was spoken to all who wished to hear, yet was intended for those who were to follow Him. But what about the Pharisees and those who were too proud to call upon Him? So Jesus told the story of two men who were praying in the temple.

The Pharisee, full of boasting and pride, did not pray a prayer which would reach God. Instead, it is written that "he prayed thus with himself." It was not a prayer such that God would listen to it. It was marked by pride; boasting of what he himself did and did not do. He declared himself free of the sins of other men, even of one near him. And he boasted that he faithfully kept the Mosaic ordinances.

And the other man, a tax-collector, offered nothing for himself. He would not stand with the Pharisee, nor lift his eyes to heaven.. He pleaded only the character of God Himself, and of the mercy of that character.

Pride and hypocrisy were the principal attitudes of the Pharisees of that day, and they were of special abomination to God. But humility and the pleading of God's mercy alone provided the justification the publican had sought.

Thus spoke the Ideal Human Being, The Son of Man, the proclaimer of the Kingdom of God. Fitting conclusion to the teachings of Jesus! To those who would follow Him, the need of constant prayer. And to those who scoffed, a final warning of what is God's way and not the ways of men.

From now on, we shall skip and choose. We shall consider those passages in Luke wherein he differs from the other Gospel records. We shall try to see what is Luke's special contribution to the record. In doing so, let us remember that Luke was presenting Jesus in His role as The Son of Man, that is, the Ideal Human Being; and especially as He was to become the progenitor of that New Creation, the new human race in Himself. What is thus Luke's contribution to the picture of that Divine Character?

A BLIND MAN HEALED

(Luke 18:35-43;cf. Matthew 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52.)

Luke says it was while entering Jericho; the other Gospels state it was while leaving Jericho. An explanation has been offered, which is as follows: there were actually two places called "Jericho." Jesus had left the old city of Jericho, and was approaching a new city also called Jericho, and which had been built by Herod the Great. Luke in Rome would more likely know of the "official" Jericho. This would seem to explain the apparent discrepancy.

Luke, the physician, notes that the blind man was relying on his acute hearing to note the noise of the crowd surrounding Jesus. (Luke 18:36) This is the only difference between Luke's version of the incident and that of Matthew and Luke. But at the end of the account, Luke alone adds that both the former blind man was now "glorifying God," and also that "all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God." (Luke 18:43.)

Since, as we learned in a previous lesson, that when we do everything we are supposed to do in God's service, we are still "unprofitable servants," (for it is God Who has supplied us with all our talent, strength, and ability to do His will), therefore the only "profit" we can render to God is our praise to Him. How much do we "glorify" God? How often do we praise Him?

Luke has been engaged in tracing the life, the actions, the teachings of Jesus in His role as the Ideal Human Being, The Son of Man. Here we find the action of Jesus (in healing the blind man) caused not only the man but also all those present to praise God. As members of the New Creation, the new mankind which is "in Jesus," we can find here His example to guide us.

Yes, let us glorify God ourselves. But yes, let us also perform those acts of mercy and compassion for others that will result in an whole chorus of praise to God. Thus we can multiply God's "profit," as we by our actions cause others to praise Him as well.

JESUS VISITS ZACCHAEUS (Luke 19:1-10)

This episode is told by Luke alone. Since according to Luke the event followed the healing of the blind man, we infer that Zacchaeus was residing in the Herodian Jericho, the second town by that name.

The name 'Zacchaeus' is a word of Hebrew origin, and comes from a root meaning 'pure, innocent.' We are told that he was a tax-collector, and appears to have had a supervisory position overseeing other tax-collectors. He was wealthy. We also learn that he was very short in stature.

Tax-collectors, (publicans), though Jews, were thoroughly despised by the general Jewish population. There were two reasons for this. In the first place, they were collecting taxes for the Roman government, and so Jewish thought regarded them as traitors to their own people. Secondly, the Roman government expected them to turn over a certain amount as belonging to Rome. Whatever extra the publicans could collect became their remuneration. Thus it is evident that the system made it quite possible for publicans to become quite wealthy by means of extortion.

Incidently, these taxes seem to have been really import-export duties levied on merchandise being transported through various check-points in key cities and on caravan routes.

Because Zacchaeus was a wealthy chief collector, we may presume that he had risen in the ranks of the collectors, and in the past had probably collected many inflated fees earned by extortion.

Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus. Being unable to penetrate the dense crowds surrounding the Lord, Zacchaeus, being a resourceful man, ran ahead and climbed up into the branches of a fig-mulberry tree, from where he could look upon Jesus as He passed underneath.

Why did Zacchaeus want to see Jesus? Jericho is only about seven miles from the Jordan River. Perhaps Zacchaeus, two or three years before, had gone to hear John the Baptist preach. He may have been one of the publicans who, being baptized, had asked, "Teacher, what must we do?" The words of the Baptist had perhaps resounded in the ears and mind of Zaccheus, "Extort no more than that which is appointed you." (Luke 3:12-13.) Perhaps that had marked the beginning of a transformation in his character.

And when the Baptist had prophesied of the coming of One "mightier" than himself, Who would "baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Luke 3:16,) Zacchaeus had perhaps had an increasingly growing desire to see this Jesus.

And Jesus, knowing all things, was looking for Zacchaeus as well. When he reached the base of the tree, Jesus stopped, looked up, and spoke. "Zacchaeus" (calling him by name,) "hurry, come down from your perch, because I plan to visit you in your home."

As Zacchaeus joyfully came down, he could hear all the crowd buzzing with whispered amazement that Jesus would deign lodge with such a sinner as he. So Zacchaeus stopped, and said to Jesus: "Look, Lord," (notice the title he gave Jesus), "I am giving away half of my estate, and if I perceive that I have wrongfully extorted anything, I am restoring to him four times as much."

There are many who think that Zacchaeus was making a vow of restitution. But this writer has noticed that the two verbs used by the publican ("I am giving" and "I am restoring") are in the Present Tense, which is the tense of ongoing present action. Perhaps Zacchaeus had already been repenting (was quietly and without fanfare making restitution), and now was ready to commit himself in faith to his Lord.

Whenever we share with another any aspect of our own faith, we need also to find out from whence the other one has come, and how far along on the road to faith that one has progressed.

In reply, Jesus uttered the memorable words, "Today has salvation come to this house," adding that even he, even this despised-by-you-all publican, is a true Son of Abraham ("the father of faith to all who believe.") And then, referring to Himself in His role as the Ideal Human Being," Jesus added, "For The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost."

As we seek to follow and to emulate Jesus, we who have a place in the New Mankind in Him, do we seek for "that which is lost" in the most unlikely places? For so it was with Zacchaeus.

MISCONCEPTION AND RESPONSIBILITY (Luke 19:11-28.)

With the blessing upon Zacchaeus, it would seem that the only thing left for Jesus to do was to go to Jerusalem. The excitement of the crowds was mounting. And Jesus had just said that His mission was to "save that which was lost." Did this mean that He would save the nation from the Romans and bring to pass the great and expected Kingdom of God?

On another occasion Jesus declared that "my kingdom is not of this world." (John 18:36.) So Jesus must now disabuse the thinking of the crowd. So he told another story, another parable.

A nobleman must go away to a far country to receive a kingdom, then to return. Meanwhile, his servants were given a task to do, a responsibility to fulfill, an investment of his resources to make profit. At the same time, there were citizens in rebellion. When the nobleman returned, he called for an accounting. Those servants who had traded wisely were rewarded. One man, however, who was afraid to take a risk, not even to put the money in a savings bank, was punished for his indolence, and the rebellious citizens were to be slain.

The application of this parable by Jesus to Himself was obvious. Jesus must go away, leaving His servants His followers to carry on His work. When He shall return, it will be to reward His loyal servants and to punish those who were rejecting Him. -- In other words, no glorious kingdom to appear at this time, but only a responsibility to carry on faithfully until a Second Coming.

How faithful, then, are you and I in investing what is entrusted to us for Jesus' sake? The parable was for those following Jesus as He left Jericho; the parable is for us. Let us not rush away; let us stay and ponder.

And with these words, Jesus led on, "went on before, going up to Jerusalem," going to His destiny. The Son of Man was leading on. Do we who claim to be His followers faithfully follow?

QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW, STUDY, AND DISCUSSION

1. Review of preceding text: What have you learned from the preceding text? How do you plan to incorporate it in your life?

The following questions are based on excerpts from Luke 19:29 - 20:47:

2. When the crowd surrounding Jesus, as He rode into Jerusalem, cried out: "Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord," from whence do you suppose they spoke of "coming in the name of the Lord"? (Hint: See I Samuel Chapter 17, especially vs. 45.)

3. When Jesus was teaching and preaching in the temple, (1) who came to question His authority? (2) why did they come to question? (3) why did not Jesus respond to their question more affirmatively? Discuss your answer.

4. When spies came to question Jesus about giving tribute to Caesar, which half of the reply of Jesus is more important? When His opponents "marvelled at His reply," do you think the second half of His reply "sunk in" on them? Discuss.

5. When the Sadducees proposed their question to Jesus about levirate marriage, Luke gave the most complete reply of Jesus. What was the purpose of levirate marriage (see Genesis Chapter 38 and Deuteronomy 25:5-10.) What then was the mistake of the Sadducees?

6. When Jesus propounded His own question about the Messiah being both David's Son and David's Lord, what do you think should be the answer to that question? (Hint: see Romans 1:3-4.) How do you think the answer relates to the role of Jesus as The Son of Man?

7. Try to memorize Luke 20:42-44.

--- Norman L. MacLeod Jr.

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