Today's Bible Reading: Luke 19

Selected Biblical Text
As he was drawing near -- already on the way down the Mount of Olives--the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out." And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, "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." And he entered the temple and 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 robbers." 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 ESV)

Reflecting and Thinking
We have no indication that Zacchaeus thought Jesus was a king. Some who assembled, perhaps outside the door of Zacchaeus's house, listened to Jesus' parable of the minas (similar to the parable of the talents in Matthew) because they thought the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. The clearest indicators that the story of Jesus is reaching a climax are the Triumphal Entry and the temple confrontation. The Pharisees are upset that Jesus is being declared a King -- "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord." When they ask him to quiet the throngs, Jesus says there is no way to keep the message quiet. How sad! They did not recognize the time of God's coming to them.

Have you ever failed to recognize God's presence? In the world today, most do not have any personal experience with kings and queens. What does it mean to you that Jesus is king? Do you think Jesus would consider our church buildings as places of extraneous activities more than as places of prayer?

Prayer
Heavenly Father God, we praise and honor you for your wisdom in sending Jesus to be King over a spiritual kingdom. Help us to grasp what that means. Help us to strengthen our commitment to the King. Help us to do his will more completely. As we read these stories about Jesus, we wonder how we would have responded. We pray for your help as we live life as subjects of the King in His kingdom, in Jesus' name, Amen.