Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10)

This is one of the classic stories taught to kids in Sunday school about the sinner who repents upon meeting Jesus and shows great generosity by giving away most of his ill-gotten gains to the poor. It is often used as an illustration of how people can change when they meet Jesus.

But is that what is really going on in this story or is there another way it could be understood?

Zechariah the Priest (Luke 1-2)

Zechariah is the father of John the Baptist, the story of whose birth is connected with that of Jesus in Luke’s infancy narrative (Luke 1-2). Zechariah is described in Luke 1:5 as “a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah” (NRSV). Elizabeth, his wife, is described as being a descendent of Aaron (the original priest and brother of Moses). On this occasion it was the description of Zechariah as belonging “to the priestly order of Abijah” that got me thinking. There are parts of the Bible (usually in the Old Testament) that are very boring for the modern reader. One of these is the long genealogies which detail generations upon generations of Israelites, most of whom are never mentioned again. The most extensive are found in 1 Chronicles. I couldn’t help wondering whether these genealogies would enlighten who Abijah, the ancestor of Zechariah who gives his name to the order, was.