Stories from the Bible - Ep 32 The King Enters (Luke 19)

Episode Date: May 4, 2024

In this episode we look at what happened in chapter 18, exploring the characters and parables that show us what kind of attitude is necessary for entering the Kingdom of God. Then we hear the stories from Luke 19. The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® ⁠⁠⁠http://netbible.com⁠⁠⁠ copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Beauty, perfection, desire, deception, rebellion, judgment, hope. You're listening to Stories from the Bible. Bible stories told in order, using the words of the Bible, with introductions to give a recap and provide context. At the end of each story, you might want to pause and take a moment to reflect on what you noticed in the story. Things you liked or didn't like. Something the story showed you about God or about people. Don't worry if not everything makes sense. Keep listening to each episode and sit with the journey. I'm stoked to have you on the ride. Hello and welcome to episode 32. Today

we'll be hearing stories from Luke chapter 19. But before we hear those, what happened in the last chapter? In chapter 18, Jesus continues his journey towards Jerusalem. As he resolutely heads towards rejection, ridicule, and death, Jesus continues to show and teach his disciples what it means to live for the kingdom of God. In chapter 18, he does that through two stories and four encounters. Through these, we meet two kinds of people. One kind is the type of person that other people tend to look down on. We could call them lowly. These are individuals whose opinion nobody really cares about. The other kind of person we meet in this chapter is the opposite of lowly. We might call them lofty. They hold an elevated status in the eyes of society and everyone wants to win their approval.

The truth Jesus wants his disciples to see is that lowliness of heart is necessary to enter the kingdom of heaven. The first story Jesus tells is of a widow who is very persistent in asking a particular judge for justice against her oppressor. Now the judge is not a good or caring man, but because she doesn't relent, he ends up giving her what she wants. Jesus uses this story to encourage his followers to believe that God hears their cries and will certainly give them relief. The logic being that if a bad judge gives a poor woman what she needs simply because of her persistence, how much more will a good and loving God give help to his children who cry out to him? A widow is a good picture of the disciples of Jesus. She is alone in the world, and Jesus is about to physically leave his disciples, leaving them by themselves.

The physical kingdom of God in which Jesus will come back to reign on the earth is still yet to come. As the disciples of Jesus wait for him to return, they have to endure much evil and suffering. Having chosen to live for God instead of fighting for their own lives, they are vulnerable and needy, just like the widow. And like the widow is powerless and dependent on the judge to help her. The disciples of Jesus rely completely on God to hear their cries and rescue them from all kinds of evil. Then Jesus tells a story to some people who we are told trusted in themselves. We're not told exactly who these people were, but we are told about their habitual way of thinking. Jesus doesn't place importance on a person's external appearance. He sees what is on the inside.

And inside the minds of these people is a smug contentment with themselves. They look at the mess others have made with their lives and they feel good that they have it all together, in comparison, at least. So Jesus tells a story to these confident individuals. He tells of two men who went up to the temple to pray, a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee looks like a pretty good person on the outside, while the tax collector, well, everyone back then knew that tax collectors were dishonest ratbags who took advantage of their own people in order to get rich. But then the men speak to God, and their prayers are revealing of their inner thought life. When the Pharisee prays, he speaks from a mind that habitually comforts itself with

thoughts of its own goodness. He has kept a close track of all the good things he's done, of all the little pieces of praise he has received, and this is what he feeds on for his happiness. He thinks about himself, and he is full and satisfied. The tax collector, on the other hand, is weighed down by thoughts of his own sinfulness. He finds no comfort in thoughts of his own goodness. All he can think of when he comes to pray is how terribly he has failed to keep God's law. He is so ashamed. He stands far off and can't even look up to heaven, but beats his chest in grief and pleads for God's mercy.

Then Jesus shares the punchline. The dodgy tax collector, not the respectable Pharisee, was the one who went home justified, that is, right in God's sight. The tax collector is restored into a right friendship with God. He had rated himself according to God's standards, knew he fell short, and rightly understood that his only comfort would be found in God's mercy and forgiveness. The Pharisee, however, mistakenly depended on his own works for comfort. He proudly rated himself not according to God's eternal truth, but according to what seemed right to him. So this is the warning Jesus gives to those who trust in themselves. It's another aspect of the upside-down view of reality we heard about in episode 19 and 20. Jesus said, Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

The ones who come to God empty will be satisfied, but those who are too full to receive God's mercy will one day go hungry. After these two stories comes the four encounters. The first happens when the disciples were rebuking people for bringing little children to Jesus. The disciples saw the little kids as not very important, and they just assumed that they would be a nuisance to Jesus. But Jesus gently calls his disciples into a huddle and teaches them to think differently. He tells them to let the little kids come, because they are the ones who have the kingdom of God. And then he warns them, saying,

Whoever doesn't receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. Jesus is using children to help show his disciples what a truly repentant heart looks like. Remember in episode 27, we mentioned repentance means to admit I have been totally wrong in the way I have been living and that I need to turn 180 degrees away from living my way and instead surrender to living by what Jesus says, accepting the tender love, forgiveness, daily provision and protection that comes from having the Almighty God as my real and personal Father in heaven. We can see why a repentant heart is the heart of a little child.

On the one hand, children are not self-reliant, they're not independent, they're not powerful. On the other hand, their primary concern is to be close to a parent who loves them. When a caring adult is looking out for their needs, they are happy and they never worry about the future. When a little child is scared, their first instinct is not to try and fix the problem themselves, but rather to seek comfort in the arms of a loving parent. In so many ways, the heart of a child is the heart of a true follower of Jesus who lives in dependence on God as Father. Immediately after this, Luke records an encounter Jesus had with a ruler. This man is influential and powerful, quite unlike the little children just mentioned.

Well, the ruler approaches Jesus in a stance of self-reliance. He says, good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? It's very similar to the question the lawyer asked Jesus back in Luke chapter 10. See episodes 23 and 24. And in the same way Jesus responded to the lawyer by pointing him to God's law, Jesus answers the ruler by reminding him of some of the Ten Commandments. Because Jesus knows, if you want to earn eternal life for yourself, you need to obey all of God's commands perfectly. But the ruler responds that he's honoured his parents. He has never murdered, stolen, lied or committed adultery. He's quite satisfied with his own righteousness. However, he has forgotten the first commandment

that requires a man to love God with all of his mind, heart, soul, and strength. Jesus shows the man the true condition of his heart by telling him, One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me. The man becomes very sad when he hears this, because he is extremely rich. He loves money, and he depends on his wealth for the future. It terrifies him to give up the comfort and security he has created for himself. His worldly self-sufficiency makes it very difficult for him to simply trust God to

provide for his needs. He cannot see himself becoming dependent and childlike for the sake of inheriting eternal life. So he goes away sad. How very sad indeed to swap eternal treasure for gold that will perish. In the third encounter, Jesus reminds his disciples that he is heading towards Jerusalem to be mocked and killed, but afterwards raised from the dead. And this is all to accomplish what the prophets wrote many years ago about him. The disciples, however, still don't grasp what Jesus is telling them. It is confusing and probably overwhelming for them to think about Jesus dying.

They do not yet see God's plan. Finally, the fourth encounter of the chapter happens as Jesus comes near to Jericho, a town close to Jerusalem. A blind man is sitting, begging by the roadside. He hears the crowd, asks what the fuss is about, and discovers that Jesus of Nazareth is going to pass by. Immediately recognizing his chance, he wastes no time in crying out for Jesus to help him. The crowd is embarrassed by his outburst and tells him to shut up. But he cries out all the more. The blind beggar, in many ways,

represents some of the people that Luke has just introduced us to. Like the widow, he is poor and needy and vulnerable. Like the tax collector, he is ignored and looked down on by other people. And like the parents who want their little children to touch Jesus, he is rebuked and told to give up his efforts to get near the teacher. But in the same way the widow's cries were answered, the tax collector was forgiven, and the children were accepted, this blind beggar finds that Jesus hears, welcomes, and heals him. Jesus gives him his sight, and he follows Jesus down the road with a heart full of praise to God.

Just as the blind beggar is like the widow, tax collector, and children who come to God lowly and empty of personal significance, he is also a stark contrast to the rich ruler and the Pharisee who come to God lofty and full of their own worth. Jesus wants his disciples to understand that living for God's kingdom means total dependence on God, just as Jesus depends on God to raise him from death after his crucifixion. So those who want to follow Jesus must also depend on their heavenly Father for life. Today's stories start here. Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it.

Now a man named Zacchaeus was there. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to get a look at Jesus, but being a short man, he could not see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed into a sycamore tree to see him because Jesus was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to him,

Zacchaeus, come down quickly because I must stay at your house today. So he came down quickly and welcomed Jesus joyfully. And when the people saw it, they all complained. He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, Look, Lord, half of my possessions I now give to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone of anything, I'm paying back four times as much. Then Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to these things,

Jesus proceeded to tell a parable because he was near to Jerusalem and because they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. Therefore he said, A nobleman went to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. And he summoned ten of his slaves, gave them ten miners, and said to them, Do business with these until I come back. But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him saying, We do not want this man to be king over us.

When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he summoned these slaves to whom he had given the money. He wanted to know how much they had earned by trading. So the first one came before him and said, Sir, your miner has made ten miners more. And the king said to him, Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you will have authority over ten cities. Then the second one came and said, Sir, your miner has made five miners. So the king said to him, Oh, and you are to be over five cities. Then another slave came and said, Sir, here is your miner that I put away for safekeeping in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man.

You withdraw what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow. The king said to him, I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave. So you knew, did you, that I was a severe man, withdrawing what I didn't deposit and reaping what I didn't sow. Why then didn't you put my money in the bank, so that when I returned I could have collected it with interest? And he said to his attendants, Take the miner from him and give it to the one who has ten. But they said to him, Sir, he has ten miners already.

I tell you that everyone who has will be given more, but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, bring them here and slaughter them in front of me. After Jesus had said this, he continued on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. Now when he approached Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, telling them, Go to the village ahead of you. When you enter it, you will find a colt tied there that has never been ridden.

Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, Why are you untying it? Just say, The Lord needs it. So those who were sent ahead found it exactly as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, Why are you untying that colt? They replied, Then they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt, and had Jesus get on it.

As he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he approached the road leading down from the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen. Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. He answered, I tell you, if they keep silent, the very stones will cry out. Now when Jesus approached and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, against you and surround you and close in on you from every side. They will demolish you, you and your children within your walls,

and they will not leave within you one stone on top of another because you did not recognise the time of your visitation from God. Then Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling things there, saying to them, It is written, My house will be a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of robbers. Jesus was teaching daily in the temple courts. The chief priests and the experts in the law and the prominent leaders among the people were seeking to assassinate him, but they could not find a way to do it, for all the people hung on his words.

The story ends here. Thanks for joining us for today's story. You might like to take a moment to pause and think about what you noticed. Things you liked, things you didn't like. Something the story showed you about Jesus. To read it for yourself, it's in the book of Luke chapter 19. If you can find someone willing to read it and talk about it with you, even better. You've been listening to Stories from the Bible. I'm Jen, and I look

forward to sharing more stories with you.