The Judgment that is Severe

“When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me’” (Luke 19:15-27).

At times, this parable reminds me that Jesus Christ wants me to be a part of His kingdom-building business. I’ve been excited that in Heaven, Jesus will recognize and be blessed by the fruit my meager kingdom building work here on earth. I’ve been challenged and convicted that I have not been as fully engaged in the business of the kingdom as I could be. Often I have felt sorry for the third servant that had the gift of gospel truth removed from him because he disobeyed Christ’s command to “Engage in business until I come”. Today, we are exhorted to be urgently engaged in sharing the gospel Christ has gifted to us until He returns by a fresh examination of the judgment that is severe.

Christ’s severe judgment reflects His sincere love for the lost. It’s genuine love that compelled Christ to come near to sinners… “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). It’s agape love that offers underserved grace and mercy to sinners… “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). It’s the sinner’s response to Christ’s love that makes all the difference between eternal blessing and severe judgment… “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). Evidence that we are truly born again is a growing awareness and appreciation of the sincere love of Jesus Christ.

Christ’s severe judgment reveals the sympathetic heart of true disciples. Truly transformed hearts cannot resist the same compelling love that moved Christ to give His life for sinners as it moves us to share His gospel with the lost… “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). Confirmation that we are truly born again is a sympathetic heart that keeps us fully engaged in kingdom business.

Christ’s severe judgment results in supreme rewards for diligent disciples. True disciples of Jesus Christ have no fear of the severe judgment of God… “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18). But we look forward to His judgment of our earthly life after we are saved… “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Corinthians 5:10). That’s where He will reward those who are faithfully engaged in His kingdom business… “Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven” (Luke 6:23). Diligent disciples don’t live for the temporary praise of men but eagerly and humbly anticipate Christ’s supreme rewards in heaven.

As we grow up into Christ, our engagement in kingdom business grows in the light of…

The Judgment that is Severe.

The Business that Precedes the Kingdom

As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’” (Luke 19:11-14).

Have you ever considered the word business? I learned to spell it by seeing it in my mind as busi(y) – ness. As I’ve grown up I’ve learned that business often becomes the busyness of life. What consumes my energy, time, thoughts? What keeps me busy? The Holy Spirit has often humbled and convicted me about times when the busyness of my life has left little time for the business of the kingdom. As Jesus drew nearer to Jerusalem the crowd’s anticipation increased as they expected Him to receive a crown and establish His kingdom upon His arrival in the holy city. In their minds the kingdom was just 17 miles and a few days away! But Jesus interrupted His journey to Jerusalem to lead a well-known sinner named Zacchaeus into the kingdom. Then, in the shadow of that brilliant illustration, He used a parable to introduce listening disciples like you and me to the business that precedes the kingdom.

It is the business of Christ to receive the kingdom. Christ would receive the kingdom indeed, but it was to come through suffering, death, and resurrection. Christ was to rule a kingdom where the cost of citizenship was paid by a gracious and merciful King. The kingdom of God is not a kingdom of entitlement, rather it is marked by citizens that imitate and reflect the humility of the King… “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5-8). Those of us who are truly born again are citizens and ambassadors of an eternal, unworldly kingdom… “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us... Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:17, 20). Christ releases His reign over the people and circumstances in the lives of His subjects through our imitation of His humility.

It is the business of Christ to invest in His disciples. Christ would invest in every disciple equally by granting us the gift of His gospel. We notice that unlike the parable of the talents, in this parable each servant received the same gift. It was equivalent to three month’s living wages and I believe the gift represents the truth of the gospel that initiates and sustains the life of every true disciple… “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24). When we are truly born again the love of Christ overtakes our heart and compels us to share the gospel that transformed our life with others.

It is the business of disciples to invest in Christ’s kingdom. Christ expects us to invest in others by giving them the transforming gift of His gospel. His investment in Zacchaeus was an undeniable portrait of the business that should consume our heart. It’s not about building big churches or ministries, Jesus said He will do that… “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). It’s about building people by investing in them the seeds of gospel truth. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to make clear the truth that the harvest of righteousness in a disciple’s life begins with the deposit of the seed of the gospel… “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:6-9). How many gospel seeds might you plant tomorrow?

As we grow up into Christ, we become increasingly engaged in…

The Business that Precedes the Kingdom.

The Seeking that Leads to Salvation

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:1-10).

The Spirit inspired Luke to record the next piece of Christ’s journey toward Jerusalem and His appointment with Calvary. Luke notes here that Jesus was passing through Jericho when one particular member of the ever-increasing crowd of followers caught the Master’s attention. It wasn’t Zacchaeus’ reputation, position, or wealth that arrested the heart of the Savior. It was this man’s heart! The Holy Spirit is very sensitive and responsive to the longings of the human heart… “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). In His incarnation, Jesus Christ was anointed with the Holy Spirit… “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19). Evidence and confirmation that we are truly born again disciples of Jesus Christ is that we are anointed with the same Holy Spirit. Therefore, Jesus wants true disciples to imitate His response to the seeking that leads to salvation.

The seeking heart is concealed to man’s eye. No one in the crowd called attention to the inquisitive little man who… “climbed up into a sycamore tree… because he was seeking to see who Jesus was”. It was the Holy Spirit that revealed the seeking heart of Zacchaeus to Jesus. Jesus reminded the crowd here that He came into the world seeking the lost… “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost”. He was compelled and empowered in His mission by the relentlessly pursuing Spirit of God that is so powerfully portrayed by the inspired hand of David in the Psalms… “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” (Psalm 139:7). Jesus called us to imitate His passion for the lost and He anoints us with the same Holy Spirit power we see operating in today’s scripture… “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Are you expecting the Spirit to reveal the hurting and seeking hearts of the lost to you today?

The seeking heart is compelling to Christ’s heart. He was just passing through Jericho, But the Spirit changed Jesus’ agenda. He invited himself to dinner in the home of a sinner. Evidence of our new birth and growing faith is a calendar and a checkbook that is increasingly conquered by a heart that is controlled by Christ’s love for the lost… “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). Is Christ’s love compelling your heart so you can respond to seeking hearts today?

The seeking heart is captured by Christ’s love. The accepting love of Christ changed Zacchaeus’ seeking heart. Truly transformed disciples have a growing ability to love the unlovely with the transforming love of Christ… “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Can you see, touch, and love the lost like Jesus would if He was… “passing through” their life through you today?

As we grow up into Christ, we learn to imitate His loving and transforming response to…

The Seeking that Leads to Salvation.

The Blindness that Prevents Understanding

And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said (Luke 18:31-34).

I can’t believe I never saw that before! I wish I knew this long ago! As diligent disciples, searching the scriptures and abiding in God’s Word, we enjoy the blessing of discovering new spiritual truth every day. In fact, one of the sure and certain evidences of the new birth is a hunger for more of the precious truth that is hidden like treasure in the Bible. Another confirmation of our new life in Christ is the ongoing revelation of deeper spiritual truth under the care and guidance of the Holy Spirit… “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:13). Discerning and grasping spiritual truth is an indispensable part of our growing up into Christ as the Spirit of Truth uses our hunger for truth to help us overcome the blindness that prevents understanding.

We sometimes misunderstand spiritual truth because we are blinded by shallow foresight. Christ’s warning only confirmed what the disciples saw as nothing but trouble ahead in Jerusalem. We cannot see the eternal truth of the scriptures if we are living for today. I sometimes amaze myself when in the light of the truth that I will live forever, I am so preoccupied with living for today. When I was born again I received new eyes to see beyond the circumstances and people of today and to discern how He is preparing me for eternity… “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). In the light of eternity, I can see how the trials and triumphs of today are refining my faith so that one day it will shine gloriously for Christ… “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7). Living for Christ and His coming kingdom leads to clearer spiritual vision.

We sometimes do not grasp spiritual truth because we are bound by selfish fixation. Christ’s warning challenged the disciples’ anticipation of the end of persecution and tough times along with the promise of wonderful days of personal blessing just ahead. We cannot grasp the selfless truth of the scriptures if we are living for ourselves. As we become more like Christ we exchange the selfish nature for a new life in Christ, and this new life imitates the sacrificial life of our Savior… “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). As our faith grows we learn to agree with the spiritual truth affirmed through the pen of the Apostle Paul… “That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10). Imitating the selfless life of Christ leads to increasing spiritual wisdom.

We sometimes do not see spiritual truth because we are blocked by stunted faith. Christ’s warning shook the disciples’ hope of His soon coming earthly reign. We cannot discern the unseen truth of the scriptures if we are living purely by natural sight. Maturing disciples do not say seeing is believing. Rather, we say believing is seeing! The Spirit teaches us to live according to what we believe about God instead of according to what our eyes perceive… “for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). As our faith in revealed spiritual truth grows we begin to discern and understand things that had been hidden from us in the past, and that are still unseen by the unbelieving world around us… “We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). Growing faith leads to growing spiritual insight.

As we grow up into Christ, we trust God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s power to overcome…

The Blindness that Prevents Understanding.