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Bro. Bill Nichols
Luke chapter 19. Jesus on his way to the cross. Jesus had been teaching through Samaria and Galilee and it was there that the rich young ruler questioned him about what he needed to do to inherit eternal life.
I'm going to read the little passage in Luke 18 for you. Luke 18 starting at verse 31. This is after he has talked with the rich young ruler. Then he took unto him the twelve, the twelve disciples, and said to them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished.
For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles and shall be mocked and spitefully entreated and spit upon, and they shall scourge him and put him to death, and on the third day he shall rise again. And they, the disciples, understood none of these things.
And this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. And it came to pass that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the wayside begging. So Jesus stops on the outskirts of Jericho to give sight to the blind beggar, and now he enters the city proper.
So let's pray. Most gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for all of the facilities that you have given us both to meet together face to face and to meet throughout the US as a virtual church.
Thank you for giving us all of these things. Thank you for the blessings that you've given us. Thank you for the protection that you've given us. Thank you for your Son, and thank you for the Holy Spirit that you gave to guide us as we study your Holy Word.
Protect us as we go through the day. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So now we're getting ready to leap into chapter 19. And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now he had been on the outskirts of Jericho where he gave sight to the blind beggar.
We dealt with that two weeks ago. Then last week we dealt with the... I'm sorry we dealt with that last week. This week we're going to deal with a man by the name of Zacchaeus. And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho, and behold there was a man named Zacchaeus which was the chief among the publicans and was rich.
Now that is kind of an understatement. He was not just rich. He was very rich. He had other tax collectors working under him. If he didn't have enough money of his own right now, he could always get more just by collecting taxes because he got a percentage of all of the taxes that he collected, and all the taxes that all the other tax collectors collected.
So he was not rich. He was very rich. Now in the last chapter, the rich young man approached Jesus with the question, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And he got an answer he didn't like. There's nothing you can do, Jesus told him.
So he left full of sorrow. Here we have another rich man, Zacchaeus, with a desire to see Jesus. Now John MacArthur says this about Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus probably oversaw a large tax district and had other tax collectors working for him.
Jericho alone was a prosperous trading center, so it was certain that Zacchaeus was a wealthy man. He goes on to say, it's striking to note that only a chapter earlier, Luke records the account of the rich young ruler and Jesus's statement about how hard it is for those who have riches to enter unto the kingdom of God.
We're not going to discuss that in any depth this morning, but I will read it. Luke 18 verse 24, and when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, that's the rich young ruler, he said, how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God.
For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter unto the kingdom of God. And we did deal with that last week, and he didn't say it was difficult. He says it's impossible.
Here Jesus demonstrates that with God, nothing is impossible. Luke 18 verse 26 says, and they that heard it said, who then can be saved? And he said, the things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
So now we're back in Luke 19 verse 3, and he, that is Zacchaeus, sought to see Jesus who he was and could not for the press because he was little of stature. He was a small man. We sometimes refer to him as a wee little man.
There's even a children's song about Zacchaeus, the wee little man who climbed up in the sycamore tree. Well, this is he. He was small, and he could not see over the ground, and he ran, and he ran before, and he climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.
The him that he was looking for was Jesus. Now he ran, and he climbed a tree so that he could see Jesus as Jesus passed by. He had no intent, I don't think, of speaking to Jesus. He just wanted to see Jesus pass by.
Now running was undignified for a Jewish man, and climbing a tree was even more so. So he shamed himself by running up ahead of the crowd and climbing up into the tree so that he could see Jesus as he passed.
Both were undignified and not something you might expect a rich Jew to do, and when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and he saw him, and he said to him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must abide at thy house.
I'd like for you to notice something. First of all, Zacchaeus hasn't said a word. Zacchaeus is just sitting up in that tree waiting for Jesus to pass. Now he knows who Jesus is, and you can tell he knows who Jesus is by his reaction as soon as Jesus speaks to him.
Now Jesus' speech was not worded as a request. It was a mandate. He didn't say, Zacchaeus, please come down from the tree. He said, Zacchaeus, come down. And this is the only place in the gospel, in all of the gospels, where Jesus invites himself to someone else's home to be a guest in that person's home.
But you might need to recall, if you can, Isaiah 65 verse 1, I am sought of them that ask not for me. I am found of them that sought me not, and behold me, behold me unto a nation that was not called by my name.
So he is going to reach out to other people, other Jews, and to other people. And he, Zacchaeus, made haste and came down and received him joyfully. Now you see a stark contrast between the rich young ruler and Zacchaeus.
The rich young ruler left Jesus sorrowfully, and Zacchaeus joined himself to Jesus joyfully. A second thing you might notice is the young man in chapter 18 approached Jesus with a question. Zacchaeus is just sitting up in the...
Did I say Zacchaeus? The rich young man in chapter 18 approached Jesus with a question. Now Zacchaeus was just sitting up in the tree. I don't think he had any intent to speak to Jesus. Jesus approached Zacchaeus, not with a question, but with an invitation.
An invitation to spend the day at Zacchaeus' house with him. Now it's interesting that Zacchaeus did not invite Jesus. Jesus invites Zacchaeus. A whole different prospect, is it? In the one case, the rich young ruler thought he could approach Jesus on his terms and bring Jesus into his life.
Zacchaeus allows Jesus to bring Zacchaeus into Jesus' life. Now considering his position as the chief tax collector, he was probably even richer than the rich young ruler. But here we'll see an entirely different outcome.
An outcome more in line with what happened to the beggar found on the outskirts of Jericho, than to the rich young ruler. The beggar followed Jesus, glorifying God. The young man left full of sorrow. Zacchaeus greeted Jesus filled with joy.
So apparently, the outcome was not related to wealth. And that's what the Jewish people thought. The Jewish people thought those that were blessed with financial assets were blessed of God, and those that were deplete were not blessed of God.
And here Jesus is saying, it doesn't matter. Now a lot of people think, well that's teaching that you should be poor. And Zacchaeus is going to give away a lot. In a minute, Zacchaeus is going to be a poor man.
But right now he's not. Right now he is wealthy, and Jesus didn't receive him while he was poor. He only received him when he was wealthy. Maybe wealthier than the rich young ruler. That doesn't make any difference.
What makes a difference is whether Jesus approaches you, or you try to approach Jesus. So that's what it's related to. The outcome is related to who is inviting whom. Now for the crowd. And when they saw it, now this they that we're talking about are the people in the multitude surrounding Jesus.
There's scribes, and there's Pharisees, and there's our true believers. They're common people. There's rich people. There's poor people. All kinds of people. Both the religious elite and the common people all hated Zacchaeus.
Now why is that? Why do they all hate him? He was a tax collector. Tax collectors were even worse than dogs. They had very little respect or love for a tax collector because all, I think I can say this, maybe I should say almost all, almost all of the tax collectors were dishonest.
They collected more tax than they needed to. They could collect as much tax as they wanted. It was their privilege to choose how much tax to collect, and then they took a cut of whatever it was. That's why Zacchaeus was so rich.
But what the religious people, the religious elite, and the common people failed to understand, and they refused to see, they refused to see and could not understand what possible righteous purpose Jesus had in visiting such a notorious sinner.
But why did he come to the earth in the first place? He came not to find righteous men. He came to seek and save the lost. And furthermore, what they failed to recognize is that all men are sinners. That not only included Zacchaeus.
It included the rich young ruler, the blind man, and every other man that has ever lived save one, and that's Jesus. Romans 3, 9 leaves no doubt. Especially the people, I'm going to say especially, yes, including the people that were saying that this man was a sinner.
Yes, he was, and so were they. And by the way, their sin was probably greater than his. Romans 3, 9 says it this way. What then? Are we better than they? Talking about Jews and Gentiles. No, in no wise, for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, there is none righteous.
No, not one. There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after God. So of all of these people in the crowd, they're there to witness miracles. They're there to be healed. They're there for the joy of the crowd, but they're not there seeking God.
Well, some of them sometimes are, but only after Jesus or God triggers that desire in you. It's only after he triggers that desire that you desire anything of him. Now, Zacchaeus, when he climbed the tree, already knew that he wanted to see Jesus pass by.
And Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, by half of my goods I give to the poor. Now, he's still a wealthy man. By giving half of his goods to the poor, he's still a wealthy man, but he didn't stop there.
He said, If I have taken from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. Now, unlike the rich young man in chapter 18, Zacchaeus did not need to be told to divest himself of his wealth. In fact, there's nothing anywhere that told any man he had to divest himself of his wealth.
Abraham died as one of the world's richest men. Job died as one of the world's richest men. David died as a wealthy man. Solomon's son died even wealthier. There's nothing that says you have to divest yourself of your wealth.
Why did this man divest himself of his wealth? Because he wanted to. It was his desire to do that. And we'll talk about that a little bit more later. John MacArthur says this about Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus's willingness to make restitution was proof that his conversion was genuine.
It didn't cause his conversion. It was just proof. It was the fruit, not the condition of his salvation. The law required a penalty of one-fifth as a restitution. Just one-fifth for money acquired by fraud.
So, Zacchaeus was doing more than was required. The law required a four-fold restitution only when the animal was stolen and killed. If the animal was found alive, only a two-fold restitution was required.
But Zacchaeus judged his own crimes severely, acknowledging that he was as guilty as the lowest common robber. Since much of his wealth had probably been acquired fraudulently, this was a costly commitment.
Someone had something to say? I kind of cut you off, I thought. So, he judged himself as a robber, as guilty as the lowest common robber. Now, on top of that, not only is he going to do a four-fold restitution of all that he stole, he's going to give half of his wealth to the poor.
But he had found something incomprehensible. Zacchaeus had found incomprehensible spiritual riches and did not mind the loss of material wealth. And that was in stark contrast to the rich young ruler who refused to divest himself of his wealth after Jesus asked him, well, if you really want to follow me, here's what you will have to do.
And Jesus said to him, this day is salvation come to this house, for so much as he also is a son of Abraham. Now, I thought that was interesting, too. That statement comes after, but when did the salvation come?
The salvation didn't come at the point of time of this statement. When Jesus says unto him, this day is salvation come unto this house, for as much he also is a son of Abraham. That's not when the salvation occurred.
The salvation occurred before Zacchaeus climbed the tree. The difference between the rich young ruler and Zacchaeus is this. The rich young ruler wanted to justify himself. He wanted Jesus to tell him what he needed to do to earn his salvation.
And when Jesus says, there's nothing you can do, I've done it all already. Now show your thanks to me by giving up your wealth and following me. He said, thanks, but no thanks. He went his way, but he went his way sorrowfully.
Zacchaeus wanted to show his gratitude for having been justified. Now verse 10 tells us the reason for it all. For the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Who was lost? Every man, woman, and child in the world except Jesus who was ever born and who is going to belong to the Lord at some point in his life is before that lost everyone.
Jesus did not come into the earth to find righteous men. If he had done that, he wouldn't have found any. So why did he come? To find and to save the lost. Now I want to summarize the events that happened in and around Jericho.
First, the blind beggar. Jesus approached the blind beggar. The blind beggar knew that Jesus was the Messiah. We know that because when he calls out to him, he identifies him as the son of David. He calls out for mercy.
Jesus asked, what kind of mercy do you want? And he said, I want to be healed. So Jesus heals him. And now he's no longer blind. And what he does is he follows Jesus, glorifying God. And because he did that, and because all the people saw what happened, they all gave praise to God as well.
That was what happened in and around the beggar. Now the rich young ruler. Notice in the beggar, Jesus approached the beggar. The rich young ruler approaches Jesus. He comes with a question. What can I do to earn my salvation?
Jesus answers, there's nothing you can do. Everything has already been done. Jesus has done everything. There's nothing you can do. Then Jesus asked the rich young ruler for a show of faith. If you really do want to follow me, you will give up your riches and follow me.
The rich young ruler apparently loved his money more than he loved Jesus. So he left. And now we come to Zacchaeus. Jesus approaches Zacchaeus. Oh, Zacchaeus did put himself out in the road, in the tree in front of Jesus.
So maybe it was inevitable that Jesus would see him, but I don't think so. I think Zacchaeus had been hiding among the leaves of the tree, poking out his head so nobody can see him. Jesus would have seen him.
Jesus would have known when he climbed the tree. Jesus tells him to come down from the tree and invites him, invites himself to Zacchaeus' house. Zacchaeus received Jesus joyfully, but the crowd is angry.
Zacchaeus offers to make amends for all the wrongs that he's done. Jesus didn't ask him to. You notice that Jesus did not ask him like he asked the rich young ruler, divest yourself of your wealth. That was Zacchaeus' idea.
And then Jesus affirms the reason he's there in the first place. He has come to seek and to serve the lost, but seek and save the lost. He also came to serve the lost. Now back to verse 11 of chapter 19 of Luke.
And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable because he was not to Jerusalem and because they thought that the kingdom of God should appear immediately. Now remember back at the very beginning of this lesson when I read to you that Jesus had already told the disciples what's ahead of him in Jerusalem.
What's ahead of him is his death and his resurrection, but they didn't understand any of that. Well, they're expecting the kingdom of God to be established right away. Well, in one sense, the kingdom of God is at hand, but not as they think they will see it.
They're expecting Messiah to come to overthrow Rome and to establish an earthly kingdom. And Rome might not be the center of the kingdom anymore, but Jerusalem. But that's not the case, at least not yet.
In fact, it won't happen for a few more years even from now and more than 2 ,000 years after Jesus said this. But before Jesus establishes his earthly kingdom, he must first leave and then return. We know that from John 14 verse 2 and following.
Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there you may be also.
Now that's what is in front of Jesus. He's going to go prepare a place and come back. And he's not going to go and come back in a week or a day or a year. It's going to be more than 2 ,000 years before he comes back.
Jesus in this parable is preparing his disciples for that eventuality. So here is the parable, verse 12. He said, therefore, a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.
Now he's setting the conditions up of the parable. A nobleman nobleman into a far country, receive his kingdom and return. Chuck Missler says this. The man of noble birth obviously represents Jesus because his followers thought the kingdom was to be set up immediately.
Jesus puts this condition on the nobleman. In the parable, he had to go to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. He would have to leave. He would have to leave them before the kingdom would be set up.
But the parable is not just addressed to the disciples. It was also addressed to the nation at large, Israel at large, to show that it too had responsibilities that it needed to carry out while he was gone.
And if the nation did not turn to Jesus, it would be punished. It didn't. And it was. Verse 13. And he called his 10 servants. Those 10 servants represent his disciples and delivered them 10 pounds and said unto them, occupy until I come.
Now, occupy until I come. What he's telling them is you've got duties to perform while I'm gone. And one of those duties in the in in the Jesus says in the disciples, one of these duties is to spread his gospel.
But for this in the parable, one of the duties is take this pound that I gave you and invest it and earn something from it. And when I come back, I want to see a return. Each disciple had duties given to him by Jesus, and each was to carry out his responsibilities while Jesus was gone.
Now, for the parable, one pound was given to each of 10 servants. I read that a dozen times before I finally realized that every disciple here was given the exact same amount in the parable of the talents.
They were given different amounts, but here they're all given the same amount. They're all given one pound. That's about equal to three months wages. Verse 14, but his citizens hated him. Now, he's not talking about the 10 servants.
He's talking about the people of the country, the citizens. And they sent a message after him saying, we will not have this man reign over us. So what's Jesus relating to here? He's prophesying that when he comes up to the top of the mountain down into Jerusalem, he will not be accepted.
He'll be rejected by Israel. He's prophesying his rejection by the nation of Israel. Okay. And when it came to pass that when he was returned, this is like 2000 years later for Jesus, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him to whom he had given the money.
Not everybody, not every citizen, just the 10 that were given money that he might know how much every man gained by trading. So now Jesus has returned and with his return comes the judgment. And he's going to deal first of all, with those 10 that claim to be his servants.
I'm not sure whether all 10 of them really are his servants or not. I have some doubt about the third one, but he may be. All 10 of them may be servants. And we'll discuss that in a couple of minutes.
Verse 16, then came the first saying, Lord, thy pound has gained 10 pounds. Now I don't know whether he's got 11 pounds now or whether he's got 10, but it said he gained 10. So I guess he's got 11. And he, that's Jesus said unto him, well done thou good servant, because thou has been faithful in a very little.
How much was he, did he have that he was faithful with? Three months wages, one pound, three months wages. That's not much because that has been felt faithful with in a very little. I give the authority over 10 cities.
Now that's a lot of wealth. The first servant was faithful with his one pound. He handled it wisely. He earned 10 pounds and he was rewarded according to his works. So now we come to the second one. And the second came saying, Lord, thy pound has gained five pounds.
He wasn't quite as good with his trading as the first one was, but he made a profit. Jesus didn't look at how much profit he made in one sense. He gave him a reward, but he did in another sense. And he said, likewise unto him, be thou also over five cities.
The one that showed greater profit got a greater reward, but they both got a reward. The second servant was faithful with his pound. He handled it wisely, maybe not as wisely or as luckily as the first one.
He earned five pounds and he was rewarded according to his works. Each servant had a different return on his investment, but each had a return. They received different rewards, but they both received rewards.
That's two of them. Now we come to the third. He doesn't discuss all 10. He just discusses these three. And then came another saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin.
For I feared thee because thou art an austere man. Thou takest up that thou layest not down. Thou reapest that thou dost not sow. And he, the Lord said unto him, out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thy wicked servant.
Now already his perception of his Lord is revealed. He views his master as an evil man. This is what the Lord said. Thou knewest. Now he's not agreeing that this is true. He's just saying, this is what you said.
You said I was an austere man taking up that I lay not and reaping that I did not sow. If that were the case, if that were the case, if I was what you said I was, that would be even more of a reason for you to invest my money so that you might show a profit.
Wherefore then gave, at least I've done this, wherefore then gavest not thou my money into a bank that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury. It wouldn't have been as good as the other two did.
It wouldn't have been a fivefold return or a tenfold return, but it would have been something. And so then he said to them that stood by, take from him the pound and give it to him that hath ten pounds.
So he does not get a reward. Moreover, in verse 25, and they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds. I guess they're protesting that the one that had the ten pounds had too much already, but he doesn't respond to that.
He says, for I say unto you that unto everyone which shall be given, which hath shall be given, and from him that hath not, even that that he hath shall be taken away from him. Now you might have noticed something.
Jesus did not say to punish him. He only said, take away what I gave him. See, the one pound was a gift. The one pound was something he didn't deserve. The one pound is something he had. He even took that away and certainly don't reward him.
But he does have something to say with another group of people or about another group of people. Verse 27 says, but those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring them hither.
Now who would his enemies be? If we're relating this to Jesus, who would Jesus's enemies be? I've heard many people say Jesus doesn't hate anybody. He said, love your enemies as yourself and maybe all that.
I'm sure all that's true, but that doesn't mean he won't deal with them in an appropriate fashion. What did he say to do to his enemies? He said, slay them. Slay them before me. Bring them before me and slay them.
And who was his enemies? All of those people in Jerusalem that rejected him. Now, a lot of Christians over the years have blamed the Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus. But who is involved in that crowd?
Who was involved when Jesus talked about being reviled by the prophets talking about him being reviled and spit upon? Who was involved in that? Both the Jews and the Gentiles. So who is ultimately responsible for the death of Jesus?
I can tell you all of us who are going to receive the blessing of his righteousness instead of the punishment for our sins. That's who is responsible for his death. We are. Not even the Jews that rejected him.
Not even the Gentiles that rejected them. They will get their own just rewards at the proper time. They will burn in hell forever. We won't. It was for us that he came to seek and to search. It was for us the loss that he came to seek and to search for and to save.
Okay, I'm going to start just a little. I'm going to go a bit further and then I'm going to cut it off. But that's the end of that parable. Has anybody got any comments or anything they want to say about either of the two issues?
Yes, sir.
I'm Brian Christopher, members, and if I am any man. He said this. The fact that he said if implies that maybe he didn't know he had cheated people, but he was willing to audit anyone who came to him and said, I think you cheated me, and if he did, he would pay it back, which would mean maybe he's not quite as much a thief as the Jews thought he was, but nevertheless, he was willing to make anything right that he would maybe get overlooked.
Now, I like that. I like that, and that very well may be true, but I believe, and I'm not sure. I would have to do a word search on this. If can sometimes be translated sense, and I don't know. I don't know.
I don't know if it's if or sense. I did not check that. So, it could. Yes, and that'd be the same as sense, and so I'm not going to. I don't know, but here's what I do for surely know. I know that he was sorrowful if he had done anything wrong or since he has done something wrong.
He is sorrowful about it. He regrets it. He repents it. He's turned away from it, and at the time that he climbed up into the tree, all of this was actually behind him, and he is fully willing to bring on himself the restitution.
Jesus did not.
Ask him to do that. Yes. Also, I think the whole chapter just plays a pretty stark. I've used certain things. I've used certain things. I mean, Zacchaeus is a good example. The world still looked at him as you're just an evil man, and he was very obviously remorseful.
He tried to make things right. If he knew he had done wrong, and he didn't know he had done wrong, he wasn't being.
Evil. In other words, he was trying to be good. Yeah, and if there's something here that I did not do wrong, but I did not know that I did wrong, but I did wrong accidentally, I'm willing to fix.
That too. The whole world just continues to call him evil, and then later on with the servants when the master says, yes, I was an austere man. I mean, he may say if I was, but if you look at it, we know that this is supposed to represent Christ, and he'll never represent himself with something evil, and so the servants looking at him saying, you're an austere man.
You reap where you sow not and gather where you do not straw. Well, he sees that as evil, but every businessman in the world does that, and it's not an evil thing. It's leverage. You can have servants who do all the sowing, and he does the reaping, and that's a good thing, so it's another example of two.
Different perspectives, and it's a man's perception and God's perception, and we can't have God's perception because we can't have his insight, so we tend to drift toward judging things the way other people judge them, the world's judgment.
Yes, I hired 10 people to work for me, and each one of them makes $10 ,000 a week, and they are getting rich, and I, because I did that, I get a percentage of that for simply sitting back and doing nothing.
Oh no, it was not nothing that I did. I put everything in place to start with. I do deserve what I get, so yes, I agree with you. Leverage is a good thing, not a bad thing, and wealth is a good thing, not a bad thing.
I think that's part of what's being taught here.
There's a perspective shift there, isn't it? It's a big perspective shift. Absolutely. I think we see that perspective switch in our, used to be that it's been a business where it's held at high esteem, but now they're, oh, they're evil capitalists.
That's right, and that is, that also was addressed in Isaiah, I believe, when he said they'll call evil good and good evil. Yes, sir.
Brian, Christopher also asked this. When we talk about the servants who invested, what is the spiritual application of that? In other words, what is the currency of the king? If money is the currency of this world, what's the currency of the kingdom of God?
Obedience to God's command. It is, we are left here with something to do, and the disciples, their job was to spread the gospel, and for it, some of them died. Most of them died as a result of their attempting to spread the gospel.
Our job is also to spread the gospel and do those things that he commands us to do. That's part of what we're here for, to do those things that he has put us here to do, and when we finish our task, he'll take us home.
I don't know if I answered that question,.
Or not. I just have a thought. God gives us, we're just dirt, right? That's right. So, he invested life into us. Each of us have different gifts and abilities, but he invested life into us, and what will we do with that life?
That might be a good question.
An answer might be share it with others, or let others see it in us, so they might inquire as to how to get that life in their bodies. Yes, I like that. That's why you're the pastor, and I'm only a teacher.
No, that is, I think that is a great thought. He does give us, he has invested in us our life, and he expects us to use our life to bring benefit and glory to his kingdom, and that's what our job is. Our job is to bring benefit and glory to his kingdom, not to build a big house, not to drive a fancy car, to bring glory to him.
Now, you can drive a big car. You can have a fancy house, but your job is to give glory to God. Okay, I think I've gone far enough that this is a good stopping point. Anyhow, we didn't get to the question that I asked you to look up last week, but we'll start that next week.
The number of times that Jesus said, my time has not yet come. I asked you to do a word study on hour, and I found, I found, I think, five hits in the book of John alone, and then if you do time as your word search, you'll get some more.
So, there's more than five times he says, my time has not yet come. Well, he's on his way up to the Mount of Olives now, and he's going to say something different. He's going to say, my time is at hand.
Thank you. Most gracious heavenly father, thank you for this day, and thank you for all of our many blessings. Protect us, and keep us, and take us through the rest of the service. In Jesus name, we pray.
Amen. Good morning, everyone.