I opened up my Bible to the Gospel of Luke, and one of my favorite stories, the story of Zacchaeus. Here is the story as told by Luke 19:1-10 NIV:
[1] "Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. [2] A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. [3] He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. [4] So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
[5] When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” [6] So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
[7] All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
[8] 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.”
[9] Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. [10] For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
As I read through the story once again, I was most impacted by Jesus' statement, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” We know from Jesus' statements in John that He only said and did what the Father told him to do and say. When I read this statement today, it was apparent to me that Jesus was being obedient to the Father, when he told Zacchaeus that "I must stay at your house today"! It seemed clear to me that Jesus was following the Father's specific directions.
Wouldn't that be awesome to have that type of interaction with the Father?
The good news is that is exactly what we are invited to do, we are invited to have the Father and Jesus come and make their home in us (John 14:23).
So, taking that belief that it was the Father directing Jesus, we see in Jesus' words and actions the Father's heart for Zacchaeus, while he was still steeped in His sins. It was clear that the Father had been already been drawing Zacchaeus, as he had it in his mind that he wanted to see Jesus. The Father's heart is further revealed in Jesus' statement at the very end, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” That was the assignment that He had given to Jesus and that is what occurred.
What a wonderful example of the Father's heart for the lost, for those who are caught up in sin, for those that would be considered traitors and the worst of the worst. I am encouraged today, that the Father has the exact same heart for all those I know who are in the same heart condition as Zacchaeus. I am confident in His ability to find them where they are, to draw them towards Himself, and finally to encounter Him in such a way that their hearts are changed and their lives transformed.
The Father wasn't calling judgment down upon Zacchaeus and his household for his sins and evil ways! Instead the Father was visiting his whole house with salvation! Oh that all the church would learn to pray for the sinners and lost this way!
Lord, I lift up to You those that I know who have wandered away from You, have never known You, or who are worshipping money and material goods. I pray that You would seek them and save them and their whole households!
Amen and Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment