Luke 19 has been a mixed bag
of emotion, knowledge and revelation. Just when I think I’m done, God shows me there is more to come. It’s an ebb and flow of ups and downs, where oath and betrayal come and go. It starts with mustard seed faith leading to songs of praise, and ends with fake faith leading to bleeding eyes and an act of rage. In the beginning Luke magnifies a chief tax collector, named Zacchaeus, going through a needle’s eye; It’s an impossible act that is only accomplished through mustard seed faith. And then there’s the Parable of the Servants who manage the money of the nobleman; some of the servants invest wisely, and they represent the faithful witnesses, the Bankers of Heaven, all because they believe the promise that was made by the nobleman who said he is coming back as their King. And then we see the King, calling the ones who did not believe him, his enemies; and then ordering their execution immediately. And to the ones who did not invest wisely, the King ordered that their money be given to the one who had much. Then the next thing we see is Jesus rising over the Mount of Olives, like a glorious Sonrise getting ready to pour out his blood. And before he descends he asks two of his disciples to untie a colt, a virgin donkey who has never been ridden before. And if the owner asks “Why are you untying it?”, they were instructed to say, because “The Lord has need of it.” We see the triumphant entry, where the donkey carries Jesus over people’s garments, but we quickly realize that they never rendered their hearts. Their songs of praise fills up the air, like puffed of chests of pride, but their faith quickly dissipates when the leaders declare that Jesus is not the true heir. The crowd was never rooted in love, because they never took the time to develop a personal relationship with him. So, in summary, we see the Son rising on the East side of Jerusalem, riding on the back of a virgin donkey as if on a cloud descending from Heaven. And while crowds are gathered, only his true disciples declare, “Blessed be the Name of the Lord.” And then we hear the teachers of the Torah accusing the hearts of the ones who love Him, pointing their fingers and viciously commanding that Jesus rebuke them. It sounds much like Satan, the accuser of the brethren, doesn’t it? Instead Jesus turns it around, and rebukes them instead- for not knowing the date of his visitation. Luke wrote that Jesus said, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” Luke 19:42-44 It is true! The Lord had given Daniel the date of the arrival of the Anointed One. And Isaiah had said the Messiah would come not in royal robes, but as a suffering servant! Joel had declared that people would lay down their garments, but they would not render their hearts! And Ezekiel saw dry bones, in the valley of the shadow of death, grow flesh and come back to life! My God! It’s no wonder why Jesus was so angry at the Pharisees! The teachers of the Law, the chosen children of God, the Jews, who studied the inspired Word of God should have been the ones following Him! But the logs of pride, in their own eyes, kept them from recognizing him! And all of them, the fake Followers and the Pharisees, accused Jesus of blasphemy and convicted him to the most inhumane death a person could ever have! It makes me sick just to think about it! My God, thank you for giving me eyes to see! I can not believe it! Daniel 9 contains the timeline for the birth and death of Jesus! Daniel said, “While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision: “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing” Daniel 9:20-26 The date was set for the coming of the Anointed One, and yet, the teachers of the law did not see it! Through eyes of blood, in the garden of pressing, Jesus accepted his fate, and submitted his Spirit to his father, saying, “not my will, but yours be done.” “And when he drew near and saw the city of Jerusalem, he wept over it,” knowing full well that his blood would soon pour all over it. And as he entered the temple, he began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of thieves.” They sold him out! They traded eternal life for temporary gain. There was no honor - no glory emanating from this building, the temple was permanently stained, thus, it would soon be torn down! Luke 19 ends with us hanging on to God’s Word! Let me ask you, what is so different today? Isn’t it the very same? The Word of God is what you are receiving right now! Because like Peter, I am a fisher of Men, and I am casting out hope, that can only found through God's Word, and His desire is to to catch you and reel you in. God will continue throwing a line, to all of mankind, for Jesus came so that no one would perish. “And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.” Luke 19:37-48
1 Comment
Lorelei Henderson
9/22/2020 08:10:53 pm
AWESOME. THANK YOU.
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