“My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.”
- Luke 19:46
Luke 19 has somewhat of a common thread across the chapter when it comes to robbery and rebellion. We have the story of Zacchaeus, the parable of the 10 minas, and rounding it out with Jesus’ triumphal entry of Jerusalem and clearing of the temple. In each case, Jesus presents a unique approach to robbery and rebellion
Zacchaeus:
In the story of Zacchaeus and Jesus, we get a short man who is a leading tax collector. He’s very much not liked and considered a sinner because not only does he work closely with Rome, but also takes way more money than he needs to. He skims off the extra taxes for his own life. Perhaps at one point, he didn’t, but as time went on he skimmed and skimmed, to the point of becoming the richest and leading tax collector in the city of Jericho. Zacchaeus robbed a lot of people!
However, Zacchaeus has also heard many stories about Jesus, perhaps from people he has even robbed. He’s curious, hoping that all he has heard about Jesus is true. Just maybe if they are true that maybe there is hope of salvation for even someone like himself. Someone who works with the oppressive nation robs his brothers and sisters and keeps all his wealth to himself.
His hope leads him to work his way through a crowd to find a place to see Jesus. Being a short guy though he runs further up the road and climbs a tree, hoping to see if this Jesus guy is who he had heard about. When Jesus comes closer, He looks up into the tree and sees Zacchaeus, and calls him to Himself. Joy ignites within Zacchaeus, and grumbling weaves through the crowd. As Zacchaeus comes down the tree and through the crowd, he sees this as a chance for the robber to be redeemed. So in that moment, he commits not only to give half his wealth to the poor but also to repay anyone he has robbed four times as much as he took! Along with these restitutions, he welcomes Jesus into his home. To this robber, salvation went.
Parable of the 10 Minas:
In this parable, we tend to focus on how three servants handle the money that their ruler gave them. To the faithful, more will be given; and to the faithless, even what they have will be taken away. However, I want to draw attention to one other detail in this parable.
“But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’”
“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 19:14, 27
In the parable is a ruler, who goes off to another country to receive it under his reign, but within his nation are those who rebel against him. It’s a small detail but alludes to the fact that the Gentiles (another country) are welcomed into the Kingdom, yet also that those who rebel and deny Jesus’ reign will be punished.
I’m not going to resolve the tension between God’s great grace and severe punishment, for it’s not well resolved here. I will say though it’s a punishment for rebels, those who opposed the reign. How exactly that works, I’m not sure.
Triumphal Entry:
This parable also needs to be read in light of what comes after, Jesus’ triumphal entry revealing Himself to be King. He is the real ruler of not only Israel but the world. This was an act worthy of being worshipped, much to the dismay of the religious leaders. After this momentous moment though comes weeping and frustration.
Due to the rebellion by Jews from the days of Moses to the days of Jesus, Jerusalem did not know true peace. Rebellion leads to weeping. Weeping led to lament.
During Jesus’ royal tour, He heads to the temple and clears the house. For they turned a house of prayer into a den of robbers. Like Zacchaeus, who skimmed off of people’s taxes, these people skimmed off of people’s sacrifices. Charging for things that people need to worship, but doing so within the temple area. Some also speculate that this hindered the ability that Gentiles to come to the temple courtyard.
In this case, Jesus’ “first act” as King was to clear out the robbers and rebels from His kingdom. Does that mean they have no shot of entering? Not necessarily. Even Zacchaeus who robbed so many people, considered one of the worst sinners, found salvation. This is due to his belief in Jesus and repentance of his sins, leading to seeking restitution for all his wrongs. Could a rebel respond with repentance and belief? Yes. Could a robber respond with repentance and belief? Yes!
Final Blessing:
Honestly, this was a harder chapter to write on, even with some amazing stories like Zacchaeus and the Triumphal Entry. In part, this chapter reveals both God’s grace and justice, and sometimes that’s just hard for us to wrap our minds around. I think within the mystery, and the call to repentance and belief lies another important point, prayer. Jesus’ home is not a place for robbers or rebels, it’s a place of prayer. Drawing to Jesus means talking with Jesus. Drawing to Jesus means listening to Jesus. Drawing to Jesus means being with Jesus. So let us lose our rebel hearts, and shape them to be a place of prayer and dwelling with the King.
Now may the Lord of Life and Redemption be with you in every step, every breath, and every heartbeat of your journey!
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