Read Luke 19:1-10. Zacchaeus may have been vertically challenged (short), but he was a big man in many other ways. Luke says he was chief of the publicans. Publicans were the people who were hired by the Roman authorities to collect taxes for Rome. They were hated by the average Jew and considered to be traitors to their faith and to the nation. Almost all of them were crooks. Rome required the tax collectors to turn over a certain predetermined amount. Anything they collected over and above this was theirs to keep. This was how they made their money. It was a lucrative business, especially if you could use intimidation and force to make collections. These men had the authority of Rome and the power of Roman soldiers behind them. Zacchaeus was not only a tax collector; he was a head tax collector. Needless to say, he was not a well-respected man about town, but he was rich and powerful. Yet he was missing something, and he thought that maybe he could find it in this person whom people claimed to be the Messiah. He had heard Jesus was coming but was having a problem getting to see Him. The problem? Zacchaeus was short. If you are short, parades are not much fun because all the taller people get in front of you. Most people were taller than Zacchaeus, and this was a parade of sorts. Many people had come out to see this Jesus. Crowds surrounded Him. Zacchaeus could not see, so he did what most of us would do, try to get up higher to see Jesus. Not only did Zacchaeus see Jesus, but Jesus saw him.
1. What did Jesus tell Zacchaeus?
2. Jesus certainly did not pick the home of Zacchaeus because it was one of the best homes around. (Although it probably was!) Why, in your opinion, did Jesus pick Zacchaeus?
3. What problem did most people have with the fact that Jesus chose to stay at the home of Zacchaeus?
4. When Zacchaeus heard the accusations of the people, what did he say to our Lord?
5. Why do you think Zacchaeus said this to Jesus?
6. Did salvation come to the house of Zacchaeus that day because he had done these good things?
Read Luke 19:11-27. Jesus and His disciples are on their way to Jerusalem for the Passover. The disciples are a bit worried because they know that the powerful religious establishment would be very happy if they could put their master to death. But they have also seen our Lord’s miracles and power, and they are sure He is about to declare Himself King, and by His power and miracles set up His kingdom. In addition to the twelve disciples, there were many other followers who were going with them on the way. Talk is growing; rumors are flying about how soon the Kingdom was going to be set up. Because of this, Jesus tells this parable. This parable is one whose scenario would have been all too familiar to the people living in that day. Although they had conquered most of the known world, the Empire of Rome allowed other kingdoms to exist within their boundaries. In fact, the Emperor often appointed kings of these conquered kingdoms who were loyal to himself and Rome. Israel was one of these subservient kingdoms. Herod had made a trip to Rome, which lasted several years to petition and convince the Emperor to appoint him as king of Judah. The religious leaders, especially the Pharisees, greatly opposed Herod being king and had sent their own delegation to Rome to try to block this appointment. They failed, and Herod was appointed by Rome to be king. The parable of a nobleman going off to seek a kingdom was nothing new to our Lord’s listeners.
7. The characters in this parable correspond to characters in the Kingdom. Try to identify whom the characters in the parable represent.
a. The Nobleman:
b. The ten servants:
c. The citizens who did not want the nobleman to be king:
8. What do you think Jesus was telling His disciples in the parable when He spoke of the nobleman going into a far country to receive a kingdom?
9. The ten pounds the nobleman divided up among his servants was a large sum of money, in today’s economy, several thousand dollars. They were to use this money for him until he returned. Jesus was not going to give His disciples any money to invest while He was gone, but what would He give them? (See Ephesians 4:7-12, and I Corinthians 12:4-14.)
10. What did the king in the parable say and do for the servant who invested the money given to him and made ten times as much? What did he say to the servant who made five times as much as he was given?
11. What did the king in the parable say to the servant who hid the money given to him and had no financial increase?
12. What do you think our Lord means when He says, “Unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away from him?”
13. What did the king in the parable do to the citizens who opposed him?
14. What do you think this is saying will happen to all unbelievers when Jesus returns to rule on the earth?
The Applications:
What are the applications of these passages to our lives today? Identify as many as you are able.