We have seen that the Lord Jesus unveiled His death and resurrection to His disciples three times (9:22; 9:44-45; 18:31-34). Why did the Savior reveal His death and resurrection to His disciples? The full answer to this question requires the fourteen Epistles of Paul.
The Lord’s death involves the termination of His followers. The followers of the Man-Savior were all in the old creation, and it was necessary for this old creation to be brought to the cross and terminated. After the termination of the cross, there is germination. For germination there is the need of resurrection. Therefore, it was necessary for the Lord to die and then to be resurrected. He died to bring His followers into termination, and He resurrected to bring them into a new life.
When the Lord unveiled His death and resurrection to His disciples, He seemed to be telling them, “If you remain in the old creation, you cannot enjoy the jubilee. In order to enjoy the jubilee you must be a new creation. You need to be re-created. For this, you first need to be terminated, and then you need to be germinated. In this way you will become a new creation. The jubilee is not for the old creation; it is for the new creation. If you would participate in the jubilee, you need to go with Me to the cross.”
In Mark we have the thought of universal replacement. But in Luke we have the thought of termination and germination. When we have the termination of the old creation and the germination of the redeemed ones to be a new creation, we shall be in the jubilee.
In the Gospel of Luke the Man-Savior emphasizes the dealing with riches and material possessions. We see this emphasis in the case of Zaccheus, who said to the Lord, “Behold, the half of my possessions, Lord, I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusations, I restore four times as much” (19:8). Zaccheus could renounce riches and material things because he received the living Savior as his dynamic salvation. This indicates that it is not by our old creation that we can renounce material things. Even if we could do this by the old creation, this would not mean anything. The way to renounce earthly possessions is to receive the living Savior to be our dynamic salvation.
Zaccheus did not hear the Lord’s messages concerning money and material possessions. He was not present when the Lord spoke about this in chapters twelve, fourteen, sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen. However, Zaccheus received the Man-Savior as his dynamic salvation. Therefore, automatically and spontaneously he could give half of his possessions to the poor.
Today sinners also need the Man-Savior to be infused into them as the all-inclusive Spirit. When the Lord is infused into people in this way, He becomes their dynamic salvation.
The case of Zaccheus is an illustration of the richness and all-inclusiveness of the Gospel of Luke. In these messages I can do little more than give you some hints how to study this book. I encourage you to spend more time to delve into the riches of this Gospel.