Then Jesus Entered and Passed Through Jericho: St. Luke 19:1-40

St. Luke 19:1-40: "1 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.' 6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, 'He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.' 8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, 'Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.' 9 And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.' 11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 Therefore He said: 'A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, "Do business till I come." 14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, "We will not have this man to reign over us." 15 And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16 Then came the first, saying, "Master, your mina has earned ten minas." 17 And he said to him, "Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities." 18 And the second came, saying, "Master, your mina has earned five minas." 19 Likewise he said to him, "You also be over five cities." 20 Then another came, saying, "Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. 21 For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow." 22 And he said to him, "Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?" 24 And he said to those who stood by, "Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas." 25 (But they said to him, "Master, he has ten minas.") 26 "For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 27 But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me."' 28 When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 And it came to pass, when He came near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, 30 saying, 'Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. 31 And if anyone asks you, "Why are you loosing it?" thus you shall say to him, "Because the Lord has need of it."' 32 So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. 33 But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, 'Why are you loosing the colt?' 34 And they said, 'The Lord has need of him.' 35 Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. 36 And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. 37 Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, 38 saying: '"Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!" Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!' 39 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, 'Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.' 40 But He answered and said to them, 'I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.'"

Our Lord Jesus passes through Jericho, like the Israelites of old, who passed through Jericho after they had crossed the River Jordan into the promised land of Canaan. Our Lord passes through Jericho on His way to Jerusalem, so that He might win for us an eternal promised land in Heaven. And while traveling through Jericho, He meets a man named Zacchaeus, who was a tax collector. And not just any tax collector, but we are told that he is a "chief" tax collector, that is, a ruler over tax collectors. Now, it is no secret that tax collectors were considered sinners, for they would often cheat those whom they would collect from, in order that they could skim off of what has been collected in order that they might keep it for themselves.

Zacchaeus, being a ruler of the tax collector, became very rich. We can assume from this statement from the Evangelist St. Luke that that means he was good at his job and that he was very corrupt. This is what makes this narrative of redemption truly remarkable, for Zacchaeus is not simply a sinner, but a chief of sinners. But it is to the chief of sinners, to whom our Lord Jesus comes. And having spotted Zacchaeus, He calls him down out of the sycamore tree, and invites Himself into the home of Zacchaeus.

We see in this the pattern of conversion, for our Lord does the calling, He does the inviting, He is the one who comes into Zacchaeus' home. And having received Him, Zacchaeus is converted, so that his heart desires to amend himself of his past sins, by giving to those in need, and restoring up to four times what he took from those he cheated. It should be pointed out that half of his possessions were given to the poor, and out the other half the repayment of fourfold was was made to those to whom he had cheated, that is, he sold all that he had and gave it to the poor and followed our Lord Jesus. For we are told by Eusebius, that this man Zacchaeus later became a Bishop of the Church. But even more wonderful than that is the proclamation of our Lord upon the changed heart of Zacchaeus, "Today, salvation has come to this house."

Therefore, so should we confess our sins, and amend our sinful ways, and follow our Lord Jesus. And having confessed our sins, to our Minister, as to God Himself, we receive the words of absolution, that is, forgiveness from the man of God, who sits in the place of our Lord Jesus, pronouncing to our repentant ears, "today, salvation has come to you, for our Lord Jesus, has come to seek and save the lost, like you, and give you forgiveness, life and salvation."

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Let No One Eat Fruit From You Ever Again: St. Mark 11:1-33

St. Mark 11:1-33: "1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; 2 and He said to them, 'Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. 3 And if anyone says to you, "Why are you doing this?" say, "The Lord has need of it," and immediately he will send it here.' 4 So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. 5 But some of those who stood there said to them, 'What are you doing, loosing the colt?' 6 And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. 8 And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: 'Hosanna! "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!" 10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David That comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!' 11 And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve. 12 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 In response Jesus said to it, 'Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.' And His disciples heard it. 15 So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. 17 Then He taught, saying to them, 'Is it not written, "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations?" But you have made it a "den of thieves."' 18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. 19 When evening had come, He went out of the city. 20 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, 'Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.' 22 So Jesus answered and said to them, 'Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, "Be removed and be cast into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. 25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.' 27 Then they came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him. 28 And they said to Him, 'By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?' 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, 'I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: 30 The baptism of John--was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.' 31 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'If we say, "From heaven," He will say, "Why then did you not believe him?" 32 "But if we say, "From men"'--they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed. 33 So they answered and said to Jesus, 'We do not know.' And Jesus answered and said to them, 'Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.'"

In today's reading our Lord Jesus enters into Jerusalem and pronounces sentence against it. It is easy to read this text, which contains two well known narratives--the triumphal entry of our Lord into Jerasalem and the driving out of the Temple of the money-changers--and skip over the seemingly insignificant narrative of the withering of the fig tree. At first sight this scene seems rather odd. Why is our dear Lord Jesus withering fig trees? Couldn't He just find some other means in which to find some food? As a matter of fact, why is He upset that the tree doesn't have fruit when the Evangelist St. Mark tells us that it wasn't the season for figs? But this withering of the fig tree is more than it seems. For notice that the Evangelist St. Mark relates what the other Gospel writers do not, that after entering into Jerusalem and going to the Temple, He just looks around. In the Gospels of St. Luke and St. Matthew, Jesus immediately goes into the Temple to drive out the money-changers.

However, here in this pericope, we get the fuller narrative of what our Lord did upon His arrival into Jerusalem. Our Lord Jesus upon looking around and doing nothing, goes outside of the city of Jerusalem, and seeing a fig tree from a far off, goes to it and pronounces judgment against it. This fig tree represents Jerusalem, and our Lord's proclamation against the fig tree, is His proclamation against Jerusalem. This prophecy against Jerusalem was fulfilled in 70 A.D. when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple leaving not one stone upon another. In the Gospel of St. Luke we are reminded of this by our Lord Jesus Christ's weeping over Jerusalem, as He enters into this once holy city. (St. Luke 19:41-44) This also takes place before the cleansing of the Temple.

What that means is that in two Gospels we have between our Lord's arrival on a donkey into Jerusalem and the cleansing of the Temple, we have our minds directed towards it's destruction, one, the Gospel of St. Luke, does this by showing our Lord weeping as His praises are being sung by the crowds as He enters Jerusalem, and the second is here in the Gospel of St. Mark, where our Lord, through the destruction of the fig tree, foreshadows Jerusalem's destruction.

Thereupon, He cleanses the Temple (for the second time, for He did this at the beginning of His ministry as related by the Evangelist St. John) and having done so, the scribes and chief priests sought to destroy Him. This is interesting indeed. For the Lord has already passed judgment on Jerusalem through the withering of the fig tree, which He does because of the unbelief of the Jews, and now, having cleansed the Temple, the Jews seek to destroy Him. We see in this a picture of the battle between God and the devil. For God has already passed judgment on the devil, and for this reason, he seeks to destroy mankind, and now that the Son of God has shown up to save mankind, he seeks to destroy Him.

But the Lord Jesus shows His authority over these would be destroyers, for here they come to question Him on whose authority He does these things. This is strange, for they know full well, which is shown us by their reasoning amongst themselves over our Lord's question to them about St. John the Baptist. They knew he was from God, but did not want to admit it, for this would reveal their unbelief. See how unrepentant they are! The same is true of their view of our Lord, for they know that He is from God, even all the people see it, but they cannot bring themselves to confess it, for their unbelief is great.

This again leads us back to the fig tree, for as St. Peter points out, the fig tree that our Lord Jesus cursed, has withered, and the disciples, wanting to understand this, ask of Him what it meant. To which our Lord Jesus reveals that it is about faith. The fig tree represented the unbelief, or the unfruitfulness of the Jews, which led to the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem, but those who have faith, those who believe that our Lord Jesus is the Son of God, sent from the Father to win forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation, produce much fruit. And this faith, this fruit, always comes back to forgiveness of sins.

This is perhaps an odd thing for our Lord to say, since He was not very forgiving to the fig tree for not having any figs when it wasn't the season for them. But this is made more clear when one understands the fig tree to represent the unbelief of the Jews, who in their unbelief cannot forgive. Therefore, our Lord Jesus is teaching His disciple to not be like the scribes and chief priests, but rather be forgiving. For whenever there is forgiveness, the fruit of faith is produced, in those who are truly repentant. For forgiveness is only half of the equation, the other half is repentance, or confession of one's sin. The Jews refused to confess their sin of unbelief, and as a result they condemned themselves to destruction.

Therefore, we should view this a stark warning to ourselves to confess our sins, and receive absolution. This is why private confession, which sadly, has fallen into disuse among Lutherans, on account of pietistic and Reformed influence, is starting to be observed in more parishes in the Lutheran Church. This is rightly so, since our Lutheran Confessions state that it should not fall into disuse. This private confession, offers a chance for an individual to get into the habit of bearing one's sins to God the Father, and being able to hear the absolution from God pronounced by the minister sent by Him to do this.

This is especially important as we enter into the season of Lent, where our eyes will be directed to our sinfulness over the next few weeks. We have a great opportunity to relieve ourselves of those burdens of sin which trouble us, by seeking out our minister and confessing to him our sin, so that he may forgive us. Even if your parish does not provide set times for private confession, if you contact your minister, he will be happy to hear your confession. If he is not willing, or doesn't know what he is doing, then perhaps you need to seek a new parish and minister, one who knows the importance of these things, and actually follows the Lutheran Confessions.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Now They Were on the Road, Going Up to Jerusalem, and Jesus Was Going Before Them: St. Mark 10:32-52

St. Mark 10:32-52: "32 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him: 33 'Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; 34 and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.' 35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, 'Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.' 36 And He said to them, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' 37 They said to Him, 'Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.' 38 But Jesus said to them, 'You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?' 39 They said to Him, 'We are able.' So Jesus said to them, 'You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; 40 but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared.' 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. 42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, 'You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. 44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.' 46 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!' 48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, 'Son of David, have mercy on me!' 49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, 'Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.' 50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. 51 So Jesus answered and said to him, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' The blind man said to Him, 'Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.' 52 Then Jesus said to him, 'Go your way; your faith has made you well.' And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road."

Again, we are told that our dear Lord Jesus is on the road going up to Jerusalem. This is more then just the Evangelist St. Mark telling us were Jesus is headed geographically. This is an indirect statement about our Lord's purpose. He is going up to Jerusalem, the place where He will be scourged, beaten, spit upon, mocked, and crucified by the Gentiles. The Evangelist St. Mark is preparing us for the Passion of our Lord. Our Lord Jesus Christ also prepares His disciples for His suffering and death by telling them what will happen to them when they reach Jerusalem. Although there is a light at the end of the tunnel. On the third day He will rise again from the dead.

We are told over and over again in the Gospels that the disciples didn't understand what He was talking about whenever He tells them about His work. And this lack of understanding continues until after His resurrection, and then they finally understand. However, here in this pericope, we get an example of two of the disciples' lack of understanding; St. John and St. James the Elder, two of our Lord's chief disciples. Here they ask our dear Lord Jesus to take their places on the left and right of Him in His glory.

The Sons of Zebedee, St. John and St. James the Elder, understood this to be His earthly glory. That is, they believed that He would establish an earthly throne, and rule. They were simply asking to be His right hand men. There are others today, who say that this glory is a reference to the throne that our Lord Jesus sits on in Heaven. Besides the obvious dilemma that our Lord Jesus sits on the right hand of the Father, and that one of the disciples would be sitting where the Father is sitting, this understanding of the text fails to take into consideration what our Lord Jesus tells St. James the Elder and St. John next.

The Lord starts talking about His cup and His baptism. Obviously we can see allusions to the two Sacraments of Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper, but more than that we see a glimpse of what our Lord considers to be His glory. It is the cross. His crucifixion is His glory. This ties in nicely with what our Lord Jesus says about being servant of all. He is the greatest, because He became our servant and suffered and died in our place, fulfilling the Law. Our Lord's glory is not sitting on a throne judging people, even though He does that too. But, our Lord's glory is His Passion.

This too, is our glory. For it is His cross which we bear. We bear this cross through our Holy Baptism, where we were crucified and buried with Him in the waters of Holy Baptism, so that we too might rise again to new life. Indeed St. John and St. James the Elder were baptized with Christ's baptism, this takes place during the washing of the disciples feet on the night when He instituted the Lord's Supper. But, more than that, they both were baptized in blood. St. James the Elder became the first disciple to be martyred, and St. John, although not a martyr in the flesh, was a martyr in spirit, and his life was constantly in jeopardy, including being poisoned, which he survived. This is why his symbol is a cup with a coiled snake coming out of it.

The cup also represents blood, and it also is a symbol of the martyrdom of these two disciples. This cup that our Lord Jesus speaks about is the cup of His Passion. And from His Passion, our Lord gives His Blessed Apostles the cup that would be the life blood of the Church. It is this cup which we drink everytime we receive our Lord's Body and Blood, in bread and wine. This Body and Blood, is what He offered once and for all on the tree of the cross, and He gives it to us; to His holy Christian Church, as heavenly food for us to eat and drink. And this heavenly meal keep us in the one true faith unto life everlasting, by the in-working of the Holy Ghost.

Therefore, our Lord Jesus must go up to Jerusalem, in order to win for us forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation on the cross. And along the way, He opens the eyes of the blind man Bartimaeus. It is interesting that after our Lord Jesus tells His disciples what He must do, St. John and St. James the Elder reveal the spiritual blindness and misunderstanding of all the disciples, but on the road to Jerusalem, in the city of Jericho, the town which the Israelites first encountered after they crossed over the Jordan, a man who is physically blind, can see clearly spiritually. The blind man Bartimaeus represents all those who upon hearing of the cross of Jesus Christ, become enlightened, and believe on our Lord Jesus, the Son of David, and the Son of Man, that is, the True Messiah. Having received their spiritual sight, they follow our Lord Jesus on the road to Jerusalem.

Therefore as we prepare for Lent, and the journey to the cross and Passion of our dear Lord Jesus, we rejoice in our Holy Baptism, and we receive the cup of Salvation, and rejoice that our sins our forgiven, and that our eyes have been opened, so that we can see clearly our Lord's glory, and our glory. For our glory is His glory, and His glory is the cross. This too is our glory, for it is the means whereby we have forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas