Monday Thought – December 14, 2015

Good Morning Friends,

“Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a “sinner.”’ Zacchaeus stood up and said, ‘Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’ Jesus said, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.’” (Luke 19:1-10)

Why did Jesus come to earth?

Jesus provided the clear answer Himself. He came to seek and save the lost. That was the purpose of Jesus’ coming. It was the goal of God’s decision to send Him. Zacchaeus provides a great example of Jesus fulfilling His purpose.

Zacchaeus was lost. His sinful ways were obvious. He had cheated people as a tax collector. He had become a puppet of the Roman government that was oppressing the people of Israel. The truth is, though the sins of some are less obvious, all of us are sinners just like Zacchaeus. We are all lost.

Jesus sought Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus didn’t ask Jesus how to be saved. He didn’t invite Jesus to come to his home. Jesus invited Himself. Jesus did the seeking. Zacchaeus probably felt too unworthy to invite Jesus to his home, too unworthy to be saved. The truth is that none of us comes to Jesus at our own initiation either. Jesus seeks us – He seeks us all.

When Zacchaeus was found his life changed. Jesus didn’t have to require it – it was the natural response to what Jesus was doing in Zacchaeus’s life. He became generous. He repented of his cheating. Zacchaeus changed because of Jesus. The same thing happens to every person that comes to Jesus – our lives change. Change is the natural response to what Jesus does for us.

His, by Grace, Steve