Talks, Sermons and Reflections

LUKE 19:1-10 The story of Zacchaeus: one of the most famous vertically challenged people in the bible! In verse 9, Jesus says, “Salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham”. How does Jesus know? 1. Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus It might have been curiosity. It might have been because of the things people said about Jesus; it might have been the fact that Jesus had been nicking some of his employees. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector – and he was the man who would have been left with the headache when someone like Matthew left everything to follow Jesus. We don’t know. But he had a desire to see Jesus. And it was not a simple, “I wonder what Jesus is like?” It was a real desire. We know that, because he was not put off by other people. He is a small man, there is a big crowd, and they’re not going to let him through. So Zacchaeus swallows his pride, gathers up his robes and climbs the tree. So the first question that we need to ask of ourselves or of th...

MARK 11:12-25 In our passage today, we meet gentle Jesus meek and mild! As if! Ø He curses a fig tree Ø He overturns the tables in the temple So what is going on here? Is Jesus having a bad hair day? He’s hungry. He sees the fig tree. He goes over to get a fig, but there is no fruit. So he zaps the tree. The setting is significant. Jesus has just entered Jerusalem in triumph. He deliberately sets out to fulfil the prophecy of Zechariah. We saw that last week. He is God's king coming to God's city. He is coming to his throne. And in these verses what we see is that God’s king comes to God’s city and he finds it wanting. The fig tree is cursed because it is not bearing fruit. We are told the reason it is not bearing fruit: it is too early on in the season. But it doesn’t change the issue. Jesus is looking for fruit. And if the fruit is not there, then there will come a time when God will act in judgement. Maybe we think the fig tree gets a raw deal. It is worth remember...