Luke 18:31-19:27

(you can click above on the scripture reference to take you right to our blogsite; and comment away!)

Day Two of Steps to the Cross - Luke 18:31-19:27

³¹Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. ³²He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him.³³On the third day he will rise again.

³⁴The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

³⁵As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. ³⁷They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."

³⁸He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

 ³⁹Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

 ⁴⁰Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, ⁴¹"What do you want me to do for you?" 

 "Lord, I want to see," he replied.

 ⁴²Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you." ⁴³Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.

Luke 19

¹Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ²A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. ³He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. ⁴So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

⁵When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." ⁶So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

⁷All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' "

⁸But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

⁹Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

¹¹While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. ¹²He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. ¹³So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.^[a] 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.'

¹⁴But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.'

¹⁵He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.

¹⁶The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.'

¹⁷'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'

¹⁸"The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.'

¹⁹"His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.'

²⁰"Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. ²¹I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.'

²²"His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? ²³Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?'

²⁴"Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.'

²⁵" 'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!'

²⁶"He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. ²⁷But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me."

Footnotes:

1. Luke 19:13 A mina was about three months' wages.

Acts 2

The title above is a link to this passage on www.BibleGateway.com

What happened to Peter? 50 days ago (and a couple of Bible pages back in the gospel of John) Peter was denying that he even knew Jesus—to a servant girl. Now he is standing up in the midst of the Feast of Weeks and he is declaring to the same people who rigged Jesus death that they are guilty of killing the Messiah. Boldness is a weak word to describe what Peter is expressing at this point. What happened to Peter?

It probably has a lot to do with the spectacular event that preceded it. The day of the Lord, where his Spirit is poured out has finally come. We see tongues of fire and the followers of Christ proclaiming the gospel in every language represented in Jerusalem for the feast. People heard the truth about Jesus and they were cut to the heart--changed. In one day, the insiders were transformed, the outsiders were transformed (becoming insiders) and a new community was established (42-47). This all came from God through His Spirit. His Spirit empowered His people to witness to Him.

Based upon the Book of Acts, I would suggest to you that witnessing to the person and work of Jesus Christ is the chief purpose of the Holy Spirit in your life. I am not saying evangelism. I am saying that telling others what God has done for you is what it means to be a witness. The Holy Spirit is sent by God to make you a witness (1:8).

“In Acts there are ten occasions, at Pentecost and afterward, when an individual or group of individuals is said to have been filled with the Holy Spirit. In each case the common factor is that the persons involved immediately bore testimony to Jesus.”

James Boice, Commentary on Ephesians. P.164

Try this—Begin reading the book of Acts through the lens of the Holy Spirit making the followers of Christ to be witnesses. At the same time, begin reading your life through the lens of the Holy Spirit seeking to make you a witness. Speak to Him, listen to Him and ask him to show you where you can bear witness to the difference that Christ has made in your life.

Study Notes: This chapter is the hinge of all redemptive history. There are few more significant chapters in the entire Bible. It completes the redemptive historical moment of the Messiah’s arrival, ministry, death, resurrection and pouring out of the Holy Spirit. Now that Jesus has ascended, His Church is the incarnate expression of God on earth. Also, Pentecost is the fiftieth day after the Passover, marking this day as fifty days after the night of Jesus' betrayal.