Priest

Jesus SEES Zaccheus the traitor:
“And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.”
(Luke 19:5–6, ESV)

Jesus then scandalously invites himself over for dinner, and there are two responses:
“And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.””
(Luke 19:7–8, ESV)

The two responses are: Self-righteous indignation and genuine repentance.

In the midst of self-righteous grumbling, Jesus pronounces salvation over Zaccheus.
“And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.””
(Luke 19:9–10, ESV)

Jesus - The Great Priest, Shepherding the Lost Sheep Back to Green Pastures.

King

The Parable of the Ten Minas: Jesus is the King who is giving the stewardship of His kingdom to his slaves until he returns. We are to “do business” on his behalf, not live in fear of messing up. The first two servants do as commanded, and return the proceeds to the King when he returns. The third servant gets rebuked by the King! He didn’t “do business”.

“for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’”
(Luke 19:21, ESV)

Jesus is a gentle and generous king, who gives back extravagantly to those who trust him and give him their lives.

“He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?”
(Luke 19:22, ESV)

“But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’”
(Luke 19:14, ESV)

“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 19:27, ESV)

The citizens, afraid to lose their own power and authority, reject the King and become enemies, who are slaughtered.

The slaves who have nothing but what the King gives them, become kings themselves, given cities to rule.

“And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’”
(Luke 19:17, ESV)

The triumphal entry: The king is here, and his kingdom is different than you think it is. He’s riding on a donkey. The climax of the gospel of Luke!
“As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.””
(Luke 19:37–39, ESV)

Jesus - The Generous King, Who Will Return to Reward His Servants.

Prophet

“And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.””
(Luke 19:41–44, ESV)

Jesus is emotional. Just like we are. Emotions are critical to a vibrant faith and being a fully alive human. Be in touch with them and feel them. Jesus loves Jerusalem. He loves the people. He is so very sad that they are hard of heart and are rejecting them. He’s beckoning them to WAKE UP.

Jesus - The Weeping Prophet, Embodying the Heart of God for His People.

Judge

“And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.” And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.”
(Luke 19:45–48, ESV)

Driving out those who wanted to make a profit over worshipping God. Darkness was present in the house of the Lord, and Jesus was rightly angry with it. He set up shop in the temple and taught daily, pushing back the darkness and leading the people back to God.

Jesus - The Angry Judge, Going to War with Darkness.

Jesus is the Hero You Need Most

Conclusion

What role do you need to let Jesus be for you right now? We talked about Jesus as:

• Priest - the gaze of God to turn to you, to see you as your lost self, and through his sacrifice bring you home.
• King - to realize that everything you have is actually his. He is Lord.
• Prophet - Do you need to repent and return to God, to choose God?
• Judge - Do you need a deliverer, or are you tired of evil and darkness? How can you work with Jesus to push back against darkness?