Invest: While the King’s Away . . .

“A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’ ” (Luke 19:12-13)

We’re going to spend this week listening to Jesus tell a story, a parable. It’s one he told on the day or so before what we call the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday.

invest_350Jesus told this story at this moment for a few reasons. One was that many of his followers expected him to become the king of Israel right away. He wanted to help them see that, like the king in his story, he would have to go away first and return later as the king.

He also wanted them to see that they had work to do while he was gone. If they really believed in his kingdom, they would eventually remember this story and be challenged to make the best use of their lives after his death and resurrection.

Think: If you had been following Jesus for years, expecting him to overthrow the Romans and become the next king of Israel, how disappointing do you think it would have been when he died on a cross? How hard would it have been to keep living for him after he was gone?

Pray: Thank God for Jesus’ parable about the “ten minas.” Ask him to help you to understand and learn from it this week.

Do: Read in Luke 19:1-11 what happened between Jesus and a tax collector named Zacchaeus just before Jesus told this story.