Submitted by: Mark Harvey
"For the Son
of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Context: Luke 19:1 - 10
In Bible times, Jewish tax-collectors were hated men. Do you know why?
They were considered to be traitors – because they worked for the Roman government.
They were considered to be thieves – because they cheated their own countrymen
out of money that was not rightfully supposed to be taken. Maybe you have heard
a song about Zacchaeus, who was a Jewish tax-collector during the time of
Jesus' ministry. Zacchaeus may have been rich, but he was hated by his
fellow-Jews, and he was not a happy man. His riches and his job did not make
him happy. If Zacchaeus believed that quitting his job as a tax-collector would
help him be friends again with his countrymen and help make him happy, he might
have tried it – but he must not have thought that, because he did not quit
collecting taxes. Instead he decided to try something unusual: He decided to
listen to what Jesus had to say.
Zacchaeus was not a tall man. In fact, he was such a short man that he
could not see Jesus above the crowds of people who gathered around Him. So
Zacchaeus climbed up into a tree to get a better look. This might have been
humbling for such a rich man, to climb up into a tree like a little child
trying to see over the crowd. But maybe Zacchaeus was used to being mocked by
his fellow-Jews, anyway, or maybe he just wanted to see Jesus so much that he
didn't care what people might think of him.
This little man was open to Jesus' message. He was learning a lot about
himself and how short he had fallen of God's glory. The Bible says that we all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God. From his place up in the
tree, Zacchaeus was getting a glimpse of his own sinful heart.
Suddenly, all eyes were on Zacchaeus. If he was able to hide before,
there was no possible way of hiding now. Jesus had looked up into his tree and
told Zacchaeus to come down. Jesus was inviting Himself to Zacchaeus' house for
supper. What was this little sinful man's reaction? Zacchaeus got down out of
the tree joyfully and took Jesus to his home. The Jewish people were not happy
about Jesus' decision to dine in the home of Zacchaeus, of all people – a
cheating, stealing, unpatriotic tax-collector!
Neither Zacchaeus nor Jesus seemed to mind what the people were saying.
For Zacchaeus' part, he had learned that he was a sinner, and he was sorry for
what he had done. He stood before Jesus and told Him he had decided to give
half of everything he owned to the poor, and he promised Him to pay back four
times the amount of anything he owed to anyone he had cheated. After promises
like that, Zacchaeus would probably not be a rich man anymore, at least not for
a long time! The Bible does not say he stopped collecting taxes after that, but
he was a saved tax-collector after that, not a cheating or traitorous
tax-collector. And best of all, Zacchaeus was a joyful man
after that.
Jesus wasn't listening to the people's complaining, either. When Jesus
heard Zacchaeus' testimony of faith and repentance, He said, "This day is
salvation come to this house"! And Jesus did eat with Zacchaeus and his
family, even though the people said He was eating with sinners. Jesus said He
had "come to seek and to save that which was lost." Maybe the people
did not think they were sinners who needed saving, but Zacchaeus knew
for a fact that he was lost and needed to be saved from his sin.
Because this little man humbled himself and placed his trust in the only Savior
of lost sinners, he was gloriously saved.
Jesus did not come
to help those who think they can save themselves;
He came to help
those who know – by faith, through grace – that He is
their only hope for salvation.
Jesus came to seek and save sinners
who need His salvation.
Watch and Listen: "In Christ
Alone" http://youtu.be/8welVgKX8Qo
Reflect:
» Do I sometimes look at others and think of them as worse sinners than I am?
» Did Jesus really come to save only the sinners who look better off than other sinners?
» How can I, like Zacchaeus, show others by my life that I have changed my mind about sin and following Jesus?
» Do I sometimes look at others and think of them as worse sinners than I am?
» Did Jesus really come to save only the sinners who look better off than other sinners?
» How can I, like Zacchaeus, show others by my life that I have changed my mind about sin and following Jesus?
One love - Mark
