Luke 19:1-27

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

The Salvation of Zacchaeus; The Parable of the Pounds

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. The Lord gives free and life-changing salvation.

  2. The Lord rewards faithful and successful service.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Let’s be entrepreneurs for Christ.

QUESTIONS

  1. Joke: Name three people in the Bible shorter than Zacchaeus.

  2. Why did the Lord call Zacchaeus a “son of Abraham”?

  3. Why were tax collectors so hated by the people?

  4. The parable of the minas here is similar to the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, but there are some significant differences. What are the differences in the amounts and rewards given?

  5. What are we all given like every other Christian servant?

  6. The citizens of verse 14 who hated the nobleman are the enemies who are killed in verse 27. Who do they represent?

ANSWERS

  1. Nehemiah, Bildad the Shuhite, and the man who slept on his watch

  2. He did not just mean that Zacchaeus was Jewish and a natural son of Abraham. He meant that Zacchaeus was now also a spiritual son of Abraham; he was now saved and walking by faith as Abraham did.

  3. Jewish tax collectors were not only considered traitors for collecting taxes from Rome, but they were well known for lining their own pockets by overcharging the people.

  4. In the parable of the talents there are different amounts of money given, but the successful servants are given the same reward. In the parable of the minas, the same amount of money is given to each servant, but the successful servants are given different amounts depending on how successful they have been.

  5. We are all given one life to live with 24 hours each day.

  6. They represent the unbelieving nation of Israel that rejected their Messiah (verse 14) and continue to reject the claims of Christ (verse 27). The enemies of verse 27 could further include all unbelievers who reject the claims of Christ.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Luke 18 recorded several people who refused to come to the Lord. Contrast the attitude of those people with the attitude of Zacchaeus in Luke 19. In which way do you most need to become like Zacchaeus?

  2. How often do you think about reigning with Christ in His earthly kingdom? How are you living this life you’ve been given with that future reward in mind?

CHALLENGE

  1. Do you put your creativity and entrepreneurship to work when ministering for Christ? How can you be more efficient and effective in your Christian service?

KEY VERSES

  • “And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him.” Luke 19:3-4

  • “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham.” Luke 19:9

  • “Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.” Luke 19:17

Luke, Talks, New TestamentDeb HarmsLuke 19:1-27