Luke 19

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 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.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭19‬:‭1‬-‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Zacchaeus had a strong desire to see Jesus and did whatever he needed to do in order to get a glimpse of Him.  Jesus knew of the effort put forth by Zacchaeus, as well as his willing heart.  As a result, he was greatly rewarded when Jesus came to his house, spent time with him, and said “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham” (verse 9).  We don’t have to climb a tree or go to great lengths in order to know Jesus.  Thanks to God’s gift of His written word, we can seek Him in the pages of our Bibles.  We are actually guaranteed to find Him if we search with a pure heart and the right motive: “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29).  Are you doing whatever it takes to spend time with Jesus?  

While they were listening to this, He went on to tell them a parable, because He was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’ But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ ‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’ The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’ His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’ Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’ His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’ Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’ He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’ ” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭19‬:‭11‬-‭27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This parable describes what will happen to each of us on judgment day.  Our King (Jesus) has gone away to a distant land (Heaven).  In His absence, He has entrusted us with specific spiritual gifts, talents, abilities, resources, and opportunities.  Jesus expects that we will use all of our gifts to benefit and further the growth of the Kingdom of God.  This story teaches us what will happen when Jesus returns.  There will, in fact, be a judgment day: “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).  For those of us who have placed our trust in Jesus, and have used our blessings to help His Kingdom grow, we will hear Him say: “Well done, My good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).  There will also be rewards for how well we used the gifts God gave us.  This parable implies that the more we do for the Lord, the greater our reward will be (compare verses 17 and 19).  In addition, Jesus said “Look, I am coming soon!  My reward is with Me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done” (Revelation 22:12).  We do not know what our heavenly rewards will be, but rest assured that they will be absolutely incredible!  We need to be careful that we do not mistake this for the reward of salvation, because that is given by God’s grace alone.  Nothing we do can earn us a spot in heaven, as it is a gift offered to us in exchange for our faith and trust in Him.  Ask God to reveal what your gifts are, and to show you an opportunity where you can be of help to God’s Kingdom.  You may be called to contribute financially or with your time and talents.  You may be called to help someone locally, or even someone on the other side of the world.  The important thing is to be willing to use your gifts when opportunities arise or whenever you hear God’s call.  Make sure to be a productive member of the kingdom of God, and then one day you will hear your Savior say to you: “Well done!”