19:1-4 What is important to realize about Zacchaeus is that he put effort into searching for Jesus. It is a lesson to us that when we search, despite barriers, we will find. Zacchaeus was passionate about finding Jesus and his faith led him to the fulfillment of that.
19:5 Jesus perceived how much effort Zacchaeus had put into finding him. He knew that Zacchaeus did not give up when it became difficult and Jesus understood the faith within him. Jesus invited Zacchaeus to spend some personal time with Jesus in his own house. God truly resides with us when we seek Him.
19:6 He joyfully received Jesus. Have joy inside of yourself, God is with you also, always.
19:7 As there always are, there are people around who are judging a situation they do not understand. Jesus knows our true hearts, He perceived Zacchaeus' faith in a way that a person could not, or at least chose not to. Jesus knew He was a good person... but even if Zaccaeus was not a good person, we know that Jesus came specifically to reach those children who needed help from bad or broken paths and He would have stayed with him anyway in order to do that.
19:8 Zacchaeus defends himself against the people who reject him. He tells Jesus that he cares about the poor, he gives the impoverished HALF of what he has (much more than many of us do)! He also explains that he has never tricked or stolen a single thing from a single person. Jesus already knows this, it's why He was so quick to welcome Zacchaeus.
19:9 Jesus (our teacher and creator of salvation) goes to Zacchaeus' house because Zacchaeus is a descendant of Abraham, meaning that he is faithful to God as Abraham always was.
We call Jesus our salvation because He saves us from the cyclical strife in the world. He saves us from greed and violence... He implants a light inside of us and inspires us to be compassionate and kind. We are saved by walking the path He laid for us.
19:10 Jesus came to find and nurture those who needed God. Much of humanity was (and still does) loiter in chaos and unrest -- they constantly try to find contentment and happiness but cannot... Jesus leads a clear and direct path to the balm we seek.
19:11 The Parable of the Minas: Jesus taught this parable for them (and us) to understand God's plan in allowing our freedom on the Earth for a time (the reason and purpose). They thought that God was going to appear very soon, but Jesus was explaining to them that it would be awhile (as we now know to be true)!
19:12 God created the earth and through earth, He hoped to gain a kingdom of people who believed and loves as He does. He went to prepare a place to bring His beloved children after their life on earth.
19:13 He gave to each person equal amount of life and experience and plans to return to see what we each have made of our circumstances.
19:14 But many people do not believe or love as deeply as God does and for that reason, there are many rogue people who do not do good with the circumstances in their lives.
19:15 When God returns, having completed the beautiful home for His beloved children, He will find out how each individual lived during their lives (the good and the bad).
19:16-17 The first person in this parable represents a group of people: these people used what God gave them and they neither created anything extra with it nor destroyed anything with it. This means that these people were good people, they did not cause any harm on the earth. These people used what God enabled them to have and while they did not go above and beyond with it, they were fair and good.
While on earth we show God what responsibility we are capable of having. In heaven, He's going to match our responsibility with what we did on earth. He knows what important work, and how much, He can trust us with.
19:18-19 This second person represents another group: This person was given much but was not able to handle the responsibility of all of it -- God equips us with everything we need to do great things in the world but we must work to accomplish these things... for some, this is too much responsibility. This person, also acceptable, showed God that they could handle some responsibility, but not too much. Some of the gifts from God they kept for themselves.
19:20-22 This third representation are a type of people who are selfish with what they have. Rather than use their gifts from God (talent, intelligence, circumstance) they used the gifts to cushion their own life. This person enters heaven expected to be allotted prize (like the two above) but Jesus explains that this type of person did not earn anything in heaven because they were selfish with what they had on earth.
19:23 This person essentially lost God some of his value because in hoarding their gifts, they neglected God's children (who are His true value) and He ended up losing because He loves them and this person did not used what they had to help them. At the very least, Jesus explains, they could have done something of mutual benefit to themselves and another... but they did nothing selflessly.
19:24-26 The beautiful gifts God gives in heaven are therefore taken from the selfish and given to the selfless. When God knows he can trust a soul, He gives that soul much!
19:27 The nobleman of the parable eliminates his enemies from the picture. We have a loving God, He will erase the evil from our lives.
19:28-29 Jesus keeps moving toward His destination, where He knows He will be crucified. He and God have gone over the entire plan: where, when, why and how so Jesus is able to lead His disciples into future events.
19:30-31 In Jesus first advent here on earth, He comes as a teacher... He goes forward creating a path for His future followers. He instructs two of the disciples to collect a colt. He explains that they will face no trouble because God has ordered it to happen and nothing can hinder or block God's plan. A great lesson for us.
19:32-34 Just as Jesus instructed, the disciples go to accomplish this mini-mission. We will find equal success when we do not hesitate to trust God's guidance. Exactly as Jesus predicted, the situation unfolds before them. We can trust that God gives us all of the facts and prepares us well.
19:35 They brought the colt to Jesus and prepared it for Him. This is symbolic of their love for Him and also their trust: they put what was theirs underneath Him because they knew He would take care of them.
19:36 The path created was made with Jesus and with His beloved followers (us). He is as much as part of us and we are a part of Him, the familial connection is strong. He makes a path for our purpose.
19:37-38 There is so much love and joy surrounded Jesus. He exuded peace and kindness and it reached many people (even reaches us today). They were so excited that it angered the Pharisees...
19:39-40 The Pharisees call for Jesus to calm down His followers but Jesus never would: our fervor, our love and celebration for our loving God is not something that can or should be quieted. The whole earth would despair if God's children were silenced. Likewise, the whole universe thrives when God's children are alive with love and joy.
19:41-42 Jesus is overcome with emotion for humanity. A manifestation of God, Jesus knows of what the future holds for humanity... from His crucifixion, throughout the following generations, the troubles in this generation we are in and beyond. If only you could see, He is saying, how much love and order has been set in motion to save all of God's children from these things, we would also be overcome with emotion. However, only God (and Jesus) have that foresight... and it's just as well really because it would be too much for us to handle all at once. God has set an entire universe in motion in order to make peace for us... He's given us this trial of freedom on earth in order to mine the true, loving hearts of the world.
19:43-44 Jesus explains that humanity will face difficult times because much of it abandons the good and wise instruction of God. Without God's wisdom, many people are caught up in the chaos of false things like greed and vengeance. Without knowing when God is going to return, some people behave atrociously, thinking their actions go unnoticed by a more powerful entity. And worse, when a person or institution comes which claims itself to be of the true god but is false... the uniformed masses will fall victim to it.
19:45-46 Jesus finds that in a church there are people who have turned it into a business (a huge problem even today). Places of God are not meant to be hierarchical or lavish in wealth and decoration -- yet many churches today boast their "leaders" and their fancy establishments. They collect money from people and are corrupt with it -- they use it to maintain their power, fame, aesthetics... rather than on being compassionate toward people who need it. It's a prominent problem, especially today and Jesus wants you to be aware of such places.
Remember that to love God and to loved by Him, you should be your humble self. Even if you study God's word under a tree or in a parking lot... or anything, that place is special because you are there with Him. In fancy places, God is only aware of the wasted time, effort and money that could have went to aiding His children.
19:47-48 Jesus' adversaries wanted to silence Him but they could not even touch Him until God was ready to allow the crucifixion. Jesus came to teach and He used every ounce of His life to do just that, passionately and with love. All of the people were attentive to Hear Him... multitudes of people were focused on listening to His message because they found pure, solid truth and love in it (just like we do)!
