3.24.2019 Sermon Notes & Slides

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Sermon Notes & Slide

The Time of Your Visitation
Luke 19
Tony Chute, Interim Pastor

Overview: Luke highlights a number of responses to Jesus as He draws near and enters Jerusalem. Zacchaeus, who has spent much of his adult life taking advantage of the Jewish people, responds by repenting of his past sins and embracing Jesus as Lord. The parable of the ten minas supplements Zacchaeus’s “all in” response, but also tempers expectations by pointing to the delay between the crucifixion and the crowning of Jesus. It also warns those who are undecided or against Jesus that such negative responses will be dealt with rather harshly. Likewise, Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem is met with responses of praise by those who have thus far supported Jesus and disdain by those who believe Jesus has overstepped appropriate boundaries. Finally, Luke records Jesus’s response throughout this text—joy for those who receive Him; anguish for those who reject Him; and anger towards those who appropriate religion for their own purposes.

01. Rejection of Jesus can take many forms, including plotting against the people of God or participating in church life with little to no awareness of Christ as the ultimate aim of worship.

02. Repentance from sin and faith in Jesus are the initial and sufficient responses that make us acceptable to God; they are also ongoing and natural responses that identify us as children of God.

03. Responding to Jesus requires Christians to engage non-believers using our home, workplace, and house of worship to inform and underscore his call to salvation.

Questions For Discussion & Discovery

1. Zacchaeus is often portrayed in innocent terms (“was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he”) yet, to the Jewish people, he was a scoundrel. What evidence in the text supports the claim that his was a most remarkable conversion? What do his conversion and Jesus’s comments in verses 9-10 suggest about the depths of God’s grace? Have you experienced this saving grace?

2. How does the parable of the ten minas encourage believers to serve the Lord daily and for the long term? In what ways might we understand this parable with regard to life in the home, church, workplace, and society? Where do you find yourself in this parable with regard to using what the Lord has given you to advance his kingdom on earth?

3. How does the detail of Jesus’s knowledge of the colt (verse 30) fit in with the larger picture of his knowledge of things to come (verses 43-44)? Is there any detail about our lives or world events that God does not know? How should this information encourage us to “engage in business” until He comes?

4. Why did Jesus weep concerning Jerusalem? What emotions do you experience as you reflect on how people fail to respond to the Lord? In the midst of an unbelieving world, do you find yourself “hanging on his words”? (verse 48)

For Further Reading: Donald Whitney, Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health (NavPress, 2001).