Lent Reading: Week 4, Day 5 (April 5)

Reading: Luke 18:31-19:10

³¹ Jesus 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. ³² He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; ³³ they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”

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

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

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

³⁹ Those 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!”

⁴⁰ Jesus 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.

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

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

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

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

⁸ But 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.”

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

Reflection

At the beginning of this passage Jesus again reminds his disciples why he (they) are going to Jerusalem: “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. ³² He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; ³³ they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”

This is the third time, since chapter 9, Jesus has spoken like this. And as he utters these words He reveals that His mission is still very much alive. He is still committed to going to a specific city (Jerusalem), for an intentional task (suffer and die) in order to save particular people (the blind, the greedy, the cheaters, etc.).

But the disciples (as usual) do not understand what Jesus is saying. They are blind to what Jesus is saying.

Jesus then heals a blind man. Jesus shows the kind of people he is going to Jerusalem to save. By being mocked, insulted, spit on, flogged and killed he will die for those who are both physically blind as well as those spiritual blind.

Then in the concluding part of the story (19:1-10) Jesus again shows us why he is going to Jerusalem: he is going to Jerusalem to save the lost. Zacchaeus, with all of his wealth, is lost. He is lost because he is a cheater, he is greedy, he is caloused to those around him. But Jesus comes to speak to him and eat with him (such ordinary events!) to call him away from his lostness and to bring him into the Kingdom of God.

And Jesus' interaction with Zacchaeus shows us what He said in chapter 18: What is impossible with man is possible with God! (Luke 18:27).