The passage I read was Luke 19:1-10
You can find that passage here:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+19:1-10&version=NIV
My summary of the passage is this:
Jesus was headed through Jericho and a wealthy chief tax collector named Zacchaeus was too short to see and thus climbed a tree for a better view. Jesus ended up inviting him down from the tree so that Jesus could have dinner with him (which of course caused others to judge Jesus – for hangin with a sinner).
Luke 19:8-10
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “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 to him, “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 the lost.”
As I reflect:
In considering the route Jesus chose to take to get to Jerusalem one may be curious of the reason going through Jericho was chosen. There are other routes, but perhaps Jesus’ only reason was this encounter with Zacchaeus. Perhaps He wanted the word to more widely spread that he did reach out to and spend time with sinners instead of hiding from or condemning them. Perhaps. I speculate though. It just kinda seems like something Jesus would do. Make a detour to spend time with a sinner (who in this case ended up repented and saved btw), and let everyone see.
Thinking about Zacchaeus and what he did to see Jesus, I find it a bit “beneath him” as a wealthy adult. This surely seems something that would get you laughed at…. Especially considering his size and that he was likely not well liked. I am pleased to see that he didn’t seem to care about what others thought though. He was more excited for a chance at merely seeing the Savior. Perhaps that is one of the reasons that Jesus chose him to dine with. Perhaps Jesus knew this man’s heart already (very likely I thinks) and that this man’s heart was prepared to receive new life. How grand to be called by name as the Lord does here for Zacchaeus.
John 10:3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
I don’t think Jesus chose this route by accident at all. God only knows the changes that occurred in the time line of Zacchaeus’ life and all he came across from that point on. I think for me, one of the largest portions of this passage to reflect on is that there is effort on our end to reach out to the hand that is reaching in. We are also told in the Word to “ask”, “seek”, and “Knock”. I think again here we are seeing someone else making the effort to reach out to Jesus; an effort to make a connection genuinely and my loving Savior has never been quick to turn away from such an advance. I remember the day when I finally hit rock bottom and I reached out to Him. He didn’t hesitate for a moment to immediately take my hand and pull me from the mire I was drowning in. I haven’t let go of that hand since and He hasn’t let go of me.
Jesus at the end of this passage says that He came to seek and save the lost. This was exactly the reason He went to dinner with Zacchaeus. He also said that Zacchaeus was a true son of Abraham. This is because he was not only a descendent genetically, but also had the faith in God that Abe had.
There is also a completely different study I see here on the wealthy man Jesus met with that thought he was all that plus HBO but ended up walking away sad cuz he had to give up great wealth. Why Zacchaeus received such a different approach was because his heart placed Jesus far higher a priority than the money. His wealth was easily released showing no strong hold in the heart that would hinder him from thus following after Christ. This rich man was one of the few who could be rich and make it into Heaven still because of the state of his heart. But that’s a whole other study.
My response to the Lord:
Lord, I believe you are worthy to go out on a limb for (both literally and figuratively). I believe you are worthy of far greater than this, but if it will appease may you accept my going out on a limb; my taking a detour to reach others as an offering of my service to you. I pray I never stop seeking You in my life. I want to look around inside and out in my life and eventually find that there is no more of me there… Just you. I pray to be able to look in the mirror one day and just see what you have done, not what I have failed to do. If it is only by the merit of Jesus that we are saved, than may it be only by His merit that I live. May I never become content to simply be saved, but I pray Lord that I would continually strive to know you more. I pray that my heart would always be prepared to receive your word and that I would eagerly meet with you daily to do so. I pray that those who would read these words, would also have this desire planted deeply within their hearts. In Jesus name.
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