Luke 19
by Philip Layton
The story of Zacchaeus and the parable of the 10 minas
Discussion Questions
- The parable of the 10 minas is told for the reason given in verse 11 (which is interesting in itself!) and so who is the king, who are the servants and who are the subjects?
- While Jesus rode on a donkey into Jerusalem, who were the crowds praising God out loud and how many do you think there were?
Share your thoughts below, or tweet about it with the #boundlessbible hashtag. Don't forget this week's Children's Challenge!
Going Deeper from 'Words of Life'
We often think the story of Zacchaeus is rather cute, recalled from Sunday school days. But when we stopped today, in front of a huge sycamore tree in Jericho, we were told it was probably the very tree Zacchaeus climbed – wanting to get a glimpse of Jesus. I was suddenly moved by the story, as it became very real for me; hopefully for you also, as I share these few thoughts.
He was a tax collector. Wealthy. Probably not well-liked by most, because of his occupation and accumulation of wealth – at the expense of others.
Zacchaeus was short, and so he climbed this tree. Jesus passed by and looked up. He told Zacchaeus he wanted to go to his house. The tax collector seemed pleased that Jesus wanted to spend time with him. In fact, he became so impressed with Jesus that he told him he’d give half of his possessions to help the poor. Also he promised to repay four times the amount to anyone he had cheated.
Zacchaeus’s heart was changed. He opened himself not only to give but also to receive. Jesus responded by saying that salvation had come to Zacchaeus’s house that day. Then Jesus went on to give perhaps the most important statement in all the New Testament – his mission:
‘…the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost’ (v 10 AB).
To love, care. To stop, look up and reach out – any time, any place; to anyone in need of salvation. That sycamore tree challenged me. I pray it challenges all of us, to be the hands and feet of Christ!
Action
Write a letter, make a call, send an email or meet with someone today who doesn’t know Christ. That ‘tree’ changed Zacchaeus’s life for eternity.
You, too, can help change someone’s life – forever!
Beverly Ivany
Photo by Mundhenk (used under Creative Commons licence)