Today Our Daily Bread Luke 19 ++

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

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Luke 19:1-48
Jesus and Zacchaeus
1Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was one of the most influential Jews in the Roman tax-collecting business, and he had become very rich. 3He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowds. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree beside the road, so he could watch from there.
5When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. "Zacchaeus!" he said. "Quick, come down! For I must be a guest in your home today."
6Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7But the crowds were displeased. "He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner," they grumbled.
8Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have overcharged people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!"
9Jesus responded, "Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a son of Abraham. 10And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost."
Story of the Ten Servants
11The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. 12He said, "A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. 13Before he left, he called together ten servants and gave them ten pounds of silver F85 to invest for him while he was gone. 14But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say they did not want him to be their king.
15"When he returned, the king called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what they had done with the money and what their profits were. 16The first servant reported a tremendous gain—ten times as much as the original amount! 17'Well done!' the king exclaimed. 'You are a trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.'
18"The next servant also reported a good gain—five times the original amount. 19'Well done!' the king said. 'You can be governor over five cities.'
20"But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, 'I hid it and kept it safe. 21I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn't yours and harvesting crops you didn't plant.'
22"'You wicked servant!' the king roared. 'Hard, am I? If you knew so much about me and how tough I am, 23why didn't you deposit the money in the bank so I could at least get some interest on it?' 24Then turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, 'Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who earned the most.'
25"'But, master,' they said, 'that servant has enough already!'
26"'Yes,' the king replied, 'but to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who are unfaithful, F86 even what little they have will be taken away. 27And now about these enemies of mine who didn't want me to be their king—bring them in and execute them right here in my presence.'"
The Triumphal Entry
28After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of his disciples. 29As they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead. 30"Go into that village over there," he told them, "and as you enter it, you will see a colt tied there that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, 'The Lord needs it.'"
32So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said. 33And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, "Why are you untying our colt?"
34And the disciples simply replied, "The Lord needs it." 35So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for him to ride on.
36Then the crowds spread out their coats on the road ahead of Jesus. 37As they reached the place where the road started down from the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.
38 "Bless the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in highest heaven!" F87
39But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, "Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!"
40He replied, "If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!"
Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem
41But as they came closer to Jerusalem and Jesus saw the city ahead, he began to cry. 42"I wish that even today you would find the way of peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from you. 43Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you. 44They will crush you to the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you have rejected the opportunity God offered you."
Jesus Clears the Temple
45Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the merchants from their stalls. 46He told them, "The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be a place of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves." F88
47After that, he taught daily in the Temple, but the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the other leaders of the people began planning how to kill him. 48But they could think of nothing, because all the people hung on every word he said.
FOOTNOTES:F85: Greek 10 minas; 1 mina was worth about 3 months' wages. F86: Or who have nothing. F87: Pss 118:26; 148:1. F88: Isa 56:7; Jer 7:11.
~Lena’s Journalin’~
All the successes in life had not satisfied Zach, none of his money satisfied him either. He even had stature in the influential world and was not satisfied. He went after all of the things the world tells us to go after. He had actually gotten many of them for himself, enough to be able to even pat himself on the back, yet he knew there was much more.
The much more could only come from one place, that is inside of the heart of the One who created each one of us and knows well how we work, how we’re wired etc. Zach recognized something when he heard about Jesus, enough truth that he wanted to see it, to invite it in and live it out himself. He sensed he’d stay empty without God in his life, and when he heard His voice he had to come up to a higher place than his status would ever take him and see God for himself. When he was ready to do that, God came to his house, that very day.
It’s cool that the sycamore tree was a type of fig tree and Zach climbed up in its branches. He didn’t climb up in it to hide as Adam had tried to cover himself and his sin w/ figs leaves, he used it to get up to where he could see God clearer.
We cannot store up more and more things on earth and keep more and more things and ever think we’ll be secure in them. Our security is and will ever only be found within the kingdom of God and entering into the participation of kingdom thinking, acting, eating, breathing and living. All of the life of purpose, the life God gives, the life God has called us to is involved in kingdom activity, kingdom existence. Any other investments are only as temporary as we are, they will pass away with no eternal reward, and without an eternal reward, there is no eternal life, if we do not give into and receive eternal life, we live eternal death forever.
When we are born of God we are not born of God to only say we have eternal life ourselves, just as when a son is born he is not meant to dwell alone all of his days. God designed our natural and spiritual births for us to join in covenant with others and reproduce after our kind. These other talents represent the spreading of the good news of our faith to others. Jesus was saying the Master was quite disappointed that in the strength of what was given this man, he had no passionate desire to share his faith with others and make kingdom investments in their lives.
Later in the passage Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, remember Jerusalem is the city of peace, the church in the world, by design, and by call. He was so saddened that that which was set up by God and designed to bring people into His kingdom and into the peace that surpasses all understanding, and somehow it would not move past their own front doors to reach out into the world where lost people live. The church was all comfy cozy in making their own building look great, spending time and energy God had given them on things and more rules to follow, which all kept them further contained in their 4 walls of hypocrisy. He came to call them out of that darkness, to shed light on religious organization. To bring life to the whole world, religious and otherwise.
Jesus is still doing that today, through us.
Oh church of the living God, come outside of your 4 walls and see the Light and take the Light given you to the nations of peoples who live right next door to you!
God bless you as you GO!

P.S. I just noticed something- 10. There were Ten servants who He’d made the investments in, gave the investment money to.
There were 10 virgins who had lamps, and in Abraham’s conversation with God about Sodom and Gomorrah, which is a picture of a corrupted world, The Lord said, “Yes Abraham, I will save Sodom for 10 Righteous!”
Are there 10 Righteous? Are there 10 willing to invest in the people of their neighborhood or workplace or community for the kingdom and call of God?
10 is the # of the sanctification of the whole, the # of the tithe,, the tenth part , if given covers it as though the whole thing is given.
Are there 10 righteous willing to GO?

Proverbs 27:17-19
17 You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another. 18 If you care for your orchard, you'll enjoy its fruit; if you honor your boss, you'll be honored. 19 Just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart.
Psalm 122:1
1 When they said, "Let's go to the house of God," my heart leaped for joy.