2024年3月27日星期三

讓復活的盼望,取代心中的絕望

 

林多前書15

引言

適逢復活節,我们来探讨“基督的复活”與我们有什麼關係?

哥林多教會的信徒當中,有一些人否認耶穌基督復活的教導。保罗就写哥林多前書十五章,向他們辨明基督復活的必要性。保罗指出,基督的復活是影響着我們每天如何過生活,面對世上活著的奮鬥和生存意義!

今天的死亡,絶不是我一生人的終結 (1-22节)

首先,『基督復活』的信息提醒我們:我們今生死亡,離世,絶不是一生人的終結

保羅指出,若耶穌沒有復活,信徒還是活在罪中,死去的信徒最終也會滅亡,以及面對罪的刑罰。這樣的話,相信耶穌是徒然的,是沒有意思的。

保羅接着作出一個重要的宣告:「但基督已經從死裡復活,成為睡了之人初熟的果子。

耶穌基督的復活好像「初熟的果子」,這表示隨之而來的果子也會結果累累,因而基督的復活成為將來信徒復活的保證,信徒的復活就如隨之而來的果子,結果累累!

為何人會死?死亡是因為亞當不順服神,犯罪悖逆神,罪進入了世界,因此人就會死,因為罪的工價是死!世上每一個人都是亞當的後裔。作為亞當後裔的整體人類都要面對死亡。同樣地,復活是因為基督的復活而來到世界,而使接受耶穌基督救恩的人,就成了「在基督裏」的新人類,也都會像基督一樣,經歷出死入生,身體得以復活。

因此,今天信徒在肉身經歷到死亡,不是生命最終的終結,因為基督復活使信徒死後有復活的盼望。我們相信耶穌基督的應許,將來我們都會像基督一樣要復活,得到一個新的,不朽壞的身體。昔日保羅向哥林多教會信徒所作的宣告,提醒今天的我們:我們今生一天若死去,我們的生命絶不是終結了。

想想看,如果耶穌死了而沒有復活,死亡對我們而言真的是可怕的事,也是令人傷心絶望的事。然而,對於信徒而言,我們雖然會經歷死亡,但我們知道一件令我們心感安慰的事,就是我們雖然會死,但都會像基督一樣要復活,得到不會朽壞的身體,而且能夠與我們信主的至愛親朋一起再相會。這是我們面對離世信主親友的一份盼望及安慰。

還有,當我們信主之人要面對自己的生死時,我們不再需要害怕死亡。我們深信死亡只是一扇的門,我們從這扇門通過進入永恆地與神同在。我們不是人死如燈滅,卻是熟睡等待復活日的盼望。基督徒墓碑上时常所刻上:Safe in the arms of Jesus,「在耶穌懷內得拯救」。基督徒是有盼望从死里復活,並且與復活主相會。

請問我們是否活在這種盼望而得安慰,從而能夠從容,坦然的面對自己的死亡,以及信主的親朋戚友的死亡?這個時候,我們更應該做的就是抓緊每一個機會,與那些還未信主的親朋戚友傳福音,好叫他們也能夠信耶穌而蒙拯救。

今天世界的局面不是永恆的(23-28节)

『基督復活』的信息也是提醒我們,今天世界的局面不是永恆的。

保罗在23節指出基督先復活,之後信徒也跟著復活,是「以後在他來的時候」發生。經文中「來」(parousiva/)這個字是指「國王出巡駕到」的意思。因此,這是指耶穌基督再來的時候,祂是以一個得勝君王身份再臨這個大地的時候,這就是我們信徒復活的時候。

還有,保罗清楚地指出,因着基督要作王,祂必將「執政的、掌權的、有能的」,就是撒旦及世上一切的勢力,都要毀滅,最終連死亡的勢力也都毀滅,使這些勢力都服在祂的腳下,全然被毀。從而父神,透過基督的復活,而使萬物都歸祂所管治,成為萬物之主。

因此,今天世界局面,縱然是動盪不安、人欲橫流,邪惡當道,也不是永恆的,因為主耶穌必定再回來,神必會將撒旦及一切與祂為敵的勢力毀滅,必定以祂的真理及慈愛掌管這個大地。我們所擁有的復活盼望,是在表明我們正在等候一件大事的發生,就愛我們的主要回來作王。當時,神的國度完全的,終究的降臨!

當我們眼見今日世界的局面,我們不禁感到無助:世上天災與人禍、世上政權的邪惡、撒旦對人發出罪的引誘及之後在我們內心中所作的控訴、多方的勢力用着各種的方法令信徒不再稱耶穌基督為我們的主、活出一種與世人不一樣的門徒生命。

面對着這麼多沖擊,可能我們今日會變得十分退縮,當別人挑戰我們的信仰時,我們就縮在一角,沒有勇氣宣告的我們所信的是一位又真又活的神。亦有可能,我們會變得悲觀,以為基督徒活在世上是一種的無奈,今天的生活只是為了今天的生存,不再有一種為福音而活的盼望。

世界若終究是不會變的,我們就無須為耶穌而活,為福音作出勇敢的宣告了。今天我們當中若有人是這樣想,我希望能夠透過這段經文鼓勵你。今天我們眼見的世界局面不是永恆的。基督已經透過復活,得勝了死亡的權勢。復活的主,展示他新的身體,在確定的告訴我們,新的創造已經開始了!

我們現在以等候的心去過每一日的生活,我們等候耶穌再回來作王,將一切邪惡的權勢、撒旦的能力及死亡的大能完全的毀滅。這“復活的盼望”給我們無比的力量,在這麼多的沖擊之下,能夠稱耶穌基督為我們的主、活出一種與世人不一樣、為主而活的門徒生命。就如戰士們知道大軍已攻入敵人的首都,也將敵軍的首領也被捕獲。戰士們不會因眼前的困難而灰心退縮,更不會因敵人的砲火厲害而悲觀。因都是暫時的情況,勝利在手,應該更加勇敢地打餘下戰爭,直到戰爭完全勝利為此。

請問我們有沒有因着主復活,將來要作萬王之王的盼望,從而勇敢地在這個信仰受着衝擊和挑戰的年代,稱耶穌基督為我們的主、活出一種與世人不一樣、為主而活的門徒生命?

今天的生命不是只為今生而活 (29-34节)

最後,復活的信息提醒我們,今天的生命不是只為今生而活。

保羅在29節挑戰哥林多的信徒,若他們真的不相信復活,為何要“死人受洗禮”?其實“為死人受洗禮”是指因着懷念已死去信主親人而作的獨有儀式,盼望藉着某種特殊的洗禮,猶如給死去的人做洗禮,將來就能夠在身體復活時與死去親人團聚。

保羅在此處沒有肯定這種做法是對的。他只是透過他們的一個行動指出基督的復活對他們的影響,就是對親人是否能復活而着緊。我們對此認識不多,日後教會也沒有遵守這種洗禮。

對我們而言,這表明我們因基督的復活而為他人能否得到在基督裏得永生及復活而着緊。還有保罗繼續指出,若真的沒有復活的事情,他們「時刻冒險」、「天天冒死」,就是他們為着信仰的緣故受迫害、負代價地過生活的經歷,就會變得毫無意思,不如「我們就吃吃喝喝吧!因為明天要死了。

保羅用嚴厲的說話來警誡信徒要醒悟作正確的事,不要被不認識神的人,就是對信仰懷着不正確認識的人所影響,因為這種人在信仰上錯誤的認識,就會在生活上產生錯誤的犯罪行為。因此,保羅在此提醒他們,因為基督的復活了,我們在世縱然受到逼迫,承受苦難,也當義無反顧的堅持背負信仰代價地活著。

今天我們也是要因基督的復活,為主負出代價,活出合神心意的生活。總言之,復活的盼望推動信徒今天活出一種不一樣的生命,就是關心他人能否同享復活永生的好處,以及在生活每個方面,與主同工,努力打造上帝的國度,正如主教導我們這樣禱告:願神的國度降臨這地!神的國度是永恆的,是超越我們今生的。所以說,我們今天活著,不只是為今生而活;我們是為神永恆的國度而活!

我們今天的生命不是只為今生而活,不是為了今生的享樂而活。基督復活的信息是推動我們活出不一樣的生活。我們可能曾這樣想:反正世界的局面都是會這樣差,跟隨基督又面對這麼多的困難,我們也信了主,不如將餘下的時間吃喝玩樂;面對信仰受到挑戰時就「靠邊站」,在未信主的人面前故意隱藏自己是基督徒的身份,輕輕鬆鬆,有多好!反正之後都可以復活上天堂!若我們真的有這樣想法又這樣行,求主饒恕我們的無知。

基督的復活是鼓勵我們更熱心將福音與人分享,因為希望他們也能因接受救恩而得着使人復活的永生。同時,這亦推動我們在信仰上受到挑戰與逼迫時,能夠負上代價去活出信仰,成為活生生的福音見證。有些基督徒因着承認自己是基督徒而被極端回教組織所殺。他們願意放棄自己的生命而宣認基督,因为他們對復活有盼望,所以連死都不怕也要用生命來為主作見證。他们成為我们的鼓勵,更要在困難中持守信仰。

請問我們是否會因基督復活再來的盼望而再次熱心傳福音?盡心為主活出負上代價的基督徒見證生活?與主同工,跟從主的腳踪在世上努力做工,打造神的國?

耶穌基督复活了!這福音宣告提醒我们,將來我们能夠與基督一樣從死裡身體復活。今天的死亡絶不是終結,因我們活在復活的盼望下而得安慰,從而能夠面對信主親友及自己的死亡。

還有,今天世界的局面不是永恆的,因着主復活,將來要作萬王之王的盼望,從而使我們能勇敢地在這個信仰受着無數挑戰的年代,稱耶穌基督為我們的主、活出一種與世人不一樣、為主而活的門徒生命。

最後,今天的生命不是只為今生而活,因基督復活再來的盼望,而使我們再次熱心傳福音、盡心為主活出負上代價的基督徒見證生活,並且熱心參與各種事奉,延續主在世上的工作,打造神的國度在地上。

難怪保羅講述了這麼長篇的“耶穌基督復活”的信息之後,在59節總結說:『所以,我親愛的弟兄們,你們務要堅固,不可動搖,常常竭力多做主工,因為你們知道,你們在主裡的勞苦不是徒然的。』

請問大家,今天你明明,耶穌基督復活與你有什麼關係嗎?

2024年3月17日星期日

All Hail King Jesus

 

Mark 11:1-19

The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

The traditional calendar for the events of our Lord’s last week of ministry looks like this:

Sunday

Triumphal entry into Jerusalem

Monday

Cleansing the Temple

Tuesday

Controversies with the Jewish leaders

Wednesday

Apparently, a day of rest

Thursday

Preparation for Passover (evening)

Friday

Trial, and Crucifixion at 9am-3pm

Saturday

Jesus rested in the tomb

Sunday

Jesus raised from the dead

 

At last Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, where his final days are taken up with the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders there and with his teaching about judgment.

As instructed by Jesus, the disciples brought a colt to him and threw their cloaks over it. Jesus sat on it and entered Jerusalem. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem is always interpreted by pointing to Zechariah 9:1-13. In Zechariah, Israel’s king is pictured returning to Jerusalem after a military victory. Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Jesus’ riding on a colt, entering Jerusalem shows that he is the Messiah, that’s God is returning to Jerusalem to become king over Israel and the nations. Jesus is laying claim to David’s throne.

About a century and a half before Jesus’ time, the Jewish national hero, Judah Maccabee rode into Jerusalem following his victories against the Seleucid armies. The people welcomed him with joyful shouts of praise. Once there, his first act in Jerusalem was to cleanse the temple of the pagan pollution visited on it by the Greek king Antiochus IV Epiphanies.

Judah started a Jewish royal dynasty that lasted hundred years. Yet the worldwide kingdom expected by Israel did not materialize with Judah Maccabee. And so the Jews waited for another king to establish the universal kingdom promised to David and the prophets, a king who would follow in the footsteps of Judah Maccabee and truly fulfill the prophecies of Zechariah.

And some other “kings” had come, following Judah in this practice, laying claim to the throne of Israel. But none of these had brought God’s kingdom with him.

Against this background, Jesus’ claim to Davidic kingship cannot be clearer. He enacts this same ride into Jerusalem, coming as Messiah to claim the throne of Israel, to bring the kingdom that Judah Maccabee could not bring.

The crowds in Jerusalem understand this action and greet the arrival of Jesus with shouts, welcome, and praise. They also lay their outer garments on the road, and then add festal branches.

The shout “Hosanna!” means “I beg, deliver us now!” and comes from Psalm 118:25-26. Of course, Jesus knew that the people were quoting from a messianic psalm, but he allowed them to go right ahead and shout. He was openly affirming his kingship as the Son of David.

However, we also note that Jesus sat on a colt which was meant for kids to ride. A king would normally ride on war horse as he enters the city. This is somewhat intriguing!

Matthew, writing to Jews who expect a military Messiah, stresses in his account that Jesus comes as a gentle and humble king. He quotes Zechariah: “See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey (Matthew 21:5).

The animal chosen for this entry is a humble creature of burden rather than a royal steed suited to military conquest, for Jesus comes in peace. The people of Jerusalem “do not recognize ….God’s coming” (Luke 19:44) because they misunderstand the nature of his kingship which is “one of humility and service rather than political conquest.”

Jesus was God’s anointed King and Savior. He was both majestic and humble. His conquest would be spiritual and not military. In a few weeks, the gospel would “conquer” some five thousand Jews and transform their lives (Acts 4:4). Christ’s “triumph” would be the victory of love over hatred, truth over error, and life over death.

Neither the crowd nor the disciples (John 12:16) understand what kind of king Jesus is. Nonetheless, Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem deliberately challenged the religious leaders. This set-in motion the official pot that led to his arrest, trial, and crucifixion. The Jewish leaders had decided not to arrest him during the feast, but God had determined otherwise, The Lamb of God must die at Passover.

Application

As we arrive at Jerusalem with Jesus, the question presses upon us in our own following of Jesus and loyalty to him, is the cost of discipleship.

Are we going along for the trip in the hope that Jesus will fulfill some of our hopes and desires? Are we ready to sing a psalm of praise, but only as long as Jesus seems to be doing what we want? Are you one among the crowd or a disciple of Jesus?

Are we ready to go out of our way to honor him, finding in our own lives the equivalents of “cloaks” to spread on the road before him, and “branches” to wave to make his coming into a real festival? Or are we just living a quiet, deserted Christian life, distant from the people of God and God’s ministry?

Are we ready not only to spread our “cloaks” on the road in front of him, to do the showy and flamboyant thing, but also follow him into trouble, controversy, trial and death?

Are we ready to put our property at his disposal, to obey his orders even when they puzzle us – “a king on a colt”? Let’s crown Him king of our lives!

Jesus Enacts Judgment on the Temple

Luke 19: 41-44 record, as the shouts of the crowd died down, to everybody’s astonishment and embarrassment Jesus burst into tears. Through his sobs he uttered a prophetic lament over the city, predicting its destruction because it did not recognize the time of God’s visitation.

When Jesus warned the city of judgment, he was weeping over it in love. Divine judgment is a solemn, awesome reality. But the God who judges is the God who weeps. He is not willing that any should perish. And when in the end his judgment falls on anybody, God’s eyes will be full of tears.

Jesus later went to the temple and “looked around at everything”. Then, because it was late, he and the disciples went out of the city for the night.

The Jerusalem temple is the single most important symbol of Judaism, the place where God dwells among his people. There sacrificial system allows an unfaithful Israel to repair the breach made in the covenant relationship by sin. Beyond this, the temple is loaded with religious, political, economic, and social significance; above all, it stands as the center of Jewish hope for the coming kingdom.

As Jesus was out of the city for the night, he had time to reflect on what he had seen and what had profoundly shocked him, namely the commercialism of the temple of God, the very center of the religious life of Israel.

The business of the money changers related to the half-shekel temple tax and to the merchants who were selling cattle and sheep for the sacrifices. This lucrative business had become a monopoly in the hands of the high priests and had led to the gross exploitation of poor pilgrims.

The tragedy is that this business was carried on in the court of the Gentiles in the temple, the place where the Jews should have been meeting the Gentiles and telling them about the one true God. Any Gentile searching for truth would not likely find it among the religious merchants in the temple.

So on the next day, Jesus entered the temple area. He made a whip of cords, which it seems clear he used on the animals, not on human beings. In addition, he overturned the tables used by the money changers, and the vendors of doves. He also prevented people from carrying merchandise through the temple courts. He temporarily shut down operations in the temple, possibly prefiguring the ultimate demise of the temple.

The Christ who rode into Jerusalem in humility, and who wept over the city on account of its willful blindness, now brandishes a whip, a symbol judgment. It is only after we have seen the tears in his eyes that we are ready to see the whip in his hand. This was Jesus’ way of announcing God’s condemnation of the Temple itself and all that it had become in the national life of Israel.

Jesus’ words interpret his act: the temple is to be a house of prayer for all nations (Mark 11:17), the place to which all people will come to acknowledge Israel’s God (Isaiah 56:7-8). But the authorities had turned God’s house of prayer in to a den of thieves.

After that Jesus remained in the temple and used it as a gathering place for those who needed help. He healed many who were sick and afflicted, and he taught the people the Word of God.

God has chosen the people of Israel to dwell among the nations so that all nations can enter the covenant with God, but the temple Jesus enters now functions in a quite different way, supporting a separatist cause, cutting Israelites off from their neighbors.

And the chief priests and scribes were using the temple and its religious services to “cover up” their sin and hypocrisy, making the temple “a den of thieves.”(Mark 11:17)

When we see Jesus’ cleansing of the temple in this context, it becomes clear why the Jewish leaders begin to look for a way to kill him. Not only is he challenging their treasured wealth, status and aspirations, and announcing the destruction of their most cherished symbol; he also is doing these things in the name of the Lord, their God! He is acting as if he is God’s chosen Messiah.

Though the Pharisees, Sadducees, and others who vie to lead Israel can agree on nothing else, they do agree that this man Jesus threatens their whole way of life with his claim of the coming kingdom. This man has to go. In order to save guard their own agenda, the religious leaders set out to destroy Jesus—the true temple of God.

Jesus said, “The son of man came to give his life as a ransom for many.” He used sacrificial language to describe the death he would die, the death through which God’s sovereign and saving presence, that is, God’s kingdom, would come to its full effect. Jesus is the true temple: he is the Word made flesh, the place where the glory of God has chosen to make his dwelling.

So judgment on this temple must take place so that a new “temple,” Jesus’ resurrection life in the renewed people of God (cf. John 2:21), can become the light for the nations that God intends.

We also note that the cleansing of the temple action is framed by Jesus’ curse on the unfruitful fig tree (Mark 11:12-14, 20-21), a messianic and prophetic action that symbolizes judgment on an unfruitful nation. Israel had failed to be fruitful for God. In the Old Testament, the fig tree is associated with the nation of Israel (Jer. 8:13; Hos 9:10; Nah 3:12).

Mark makes it clear that the fig tree is a dramatic acted parable, indicating the meaning of what Jesus was going to do in the Temple.

Application

Before we quickly condemn the Jewish religious leaders for their sins, we should examine our own ministries to see if we are making merchandise of the gospel.

Do the outsiders in our community think of our church as house of prayer, where they can connect with God: receive his Word, receive his healing touch, and have faith in him, worship him? Are we, who claim to be God’s people producing fruits? What kind of fig tree are we, bearing fruits or withered?

Are all nations welcomed in us? Do we go to church and participate in religious worship just to give people the impression that we were godly?

If the Lord Jesus were to show up in our house of worship, what changes would he make?

Do we set out to protect our own agenda, to the extent of hurting the body our Lord Jesus—the church?

Seeking and Saving the Sinners

 

Jesus and Zacchaeus

Jesus and his disciples were on their way to Jerusalem. When they passed by Jericho, there was a man in Jericho by the name Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was very rich. He heard about Jesus’ ministry. He was keen to see Jesus.

Zacchaeus was short in figure, and very big crowd gathered to see Jesus. So, he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed on a sycamore tree to see Jesus. The act of running and climbing on the tree would tarnish one’s honor, but Zacchaeus didn’t care. He was so eager to see Jesus. He has a simple faith like a child.

Zacchaeus was a Jew but he was also a chief tax collector. The Roman rulers hired these Jewish men to collect tax from their own people. The tax collectors imposed unreasonably high tax on the people, higher than the agreed sum imposed by the Roman authority. The they would take the extra collection to be their legitimate income.

When the Jewish public saw the luxurious lifestyle of these corrupt tax collectors, they could not hide their disdain for them. They hoped that when the kingdom of God finally arrived, these great sinners would be judged by God and perish/lost.

When Jesus arrived there, interestingly, He looked up and saw Zacchaeus on the sycamore tree, and he called out his name, Zacchaeus!

Jesus knew very well the dark side of sinners. He saw through Zacchaeus’ greed, corruption, lack on inner peace, and loneliness. Jesus is able to bring healing to the souls of those who are bonded by sin so that they may be free and live a new life.

Jesus said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”

And Zacchaeus came down at once and received Jesus with great joy. However, those who saw what happened grumbled and murmured among themselves, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

Zacchaeus truly repented. In Jewish thought, true repentance means a change of heart and, through action, makes restitution for past sins.

Zacchaeus’ restitution for the past sins and also his own generosity, resulted in him losing everything but he could not care less because he had gained the salvation that Jesus gave him.

Seeing Zacchaeus’ profession, Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the perished/lost.”  (Vv. 9-10).

Jesus was the seed of Abraham through whom all nations be blessed by God. He accomplished it by bearing the sins of his people and dying the death of sinners so that they may have life. As long as a person is willing to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior and repent from their sinful ways, he would be saved and re-admitted into the society to live a full and overcoming life.

Zacchaeus was once a social outcast, despite very rich. Everyone complained when Jesus received him. He is lonely and swallowed by guilt. He is not a happy person. He is indeed a lost person. Now Jesus found him, healed him and saved him, making him a totally changed person.

We notice some of Zacchaeus’ positive characters.

Zacchaeus is Proactive, Resolute, Determined, Never give up

Zacchaeus came to see the Lord with a heart of a child. He was truly craving to see Jesus. He did not allow his own inadequacies and oppositions to stop him from knowing Jesus and receiving grace from Him.

Many Christians when faced with cynicism, obstruction, and negative comments from others, easily be affected, and become critical and hostile to others. They may not want to attend church services or serve in church anymore.

We should not allow the attitude or the opinions of others to affect our personal relationship with God. It is simply not worth doing so.

Instead, God wants us to be full of zeal, as well as being mature in faith and growing daily in our spiritual lives. Mature Christians are those who are rooted in the Bible and understand God’s purposes. Such people do not waver from their God-given missions. They will not be affected by negative responses from others. Instead, they will find encouragement and positivity from the good testimony by others.

Zacchaeus was Creative, Humble and Submissive to Christ’s Calling

Zacchaeus indeed humble himself. He happily ran like a child, and even took the risk of climbing up a tree like a child, just to see Jesus. His sight could be blocked by the tree, yet he turned the tree to be an instrument for him to see Jesus.

Zacchaeus was humble and submissive, as he quickly came down from the tree as Jesus commanded him. Jesus came to lower those who are exalted and exalt those who lowered themselves.

What obstacles do you face today? Are you facing criticism by others? You feel that you do not have any friends? Are you experiencing financial difficulties? Do you feel you are lacking in talent? Are you too young? Are you too old? Seem hard to find any free time to serve God? Too introverted to be willing to contact other people? Is your faith or love fading away?

Let’s encourage and remind each other to always maintain a positive and humble attitude like a child. Be determined to seek for change, be willing to go the extra mile and work hard in matters big or small, the Holy Spirit will grant you the wisdom to be creative in order to overcome your obstacles. By then you will be able to live a life of breakthrough, an extraordinary life of an over-comer.

Jesus Knows You and Accepts You

The Scriptural does not say that Zacchaeus saw Jesus. Instead, Scripture emphasizes that Jesus was the one who looked up, seeing Zacchaeus, and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today” (v. 5).

Jesus already knew his name – Zacchaeus.

The Bible tells us, while we were yet sinners, God knew us and sought after us so that we may become His children and be accepted into God’s community. God sent Jesus into the world with a purpose to seek and save the lost.

Upon experiencing the saving grace of Christ, Zacchaeus professed publicly that he would pay back four times to those he had cheated. And he would give out half of his wealth to the poor.

Zacchaeus now is a changed person in contrast to his unscrupulous and evil past. He found the free grace of God and now he also is gracious to others.  Since then, the community would certainly be happy to receive him and treat him as fellow sons of Abraham.

Today, in some ways, we all are “Zacchaeus”. We in our own ways have weaknesses, inadequacies, guilt and shame, loneliness. We long for acceptance, recognition and living a meaningful life.

Jesus had found us and saved us from sins and guilt, and given us an abundant life. In response to the Lord’s saving grace, we are to repent from past sinful acts. The Holy Spirit who convicts us of sins will surely empower us to resist sins.

Besides, as sinners who are reconciled to God, we also are to accept one another, love another, and render help to each other. 

Let’s now declare together, “It is so good to know Jesus. We accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. We want to follow Jesus and serve him. We want to offer up our money, our time, and our energy to build God’s work in his Kingdom and to help the brothers and sisters who are in need. We want to forgive one another. We want to correct our past mistakes. With the help of Jesus, we want to be pro-active and creative to overcome difficulties and obstacles in life!”

Conclusion

Dear friends, brothers and sisters, Christ is here today, seeking you out. Turn back to Jesus and serve Him! Pursue the full knowledge of Christ and draw nearer to Him. By the grace of the Lord Jesus, we can accomplish great things that are beyond our own imagination and talent. Our lives can be turned around by God’s grace.

Let’s commit all our obstacles, worries, inadequacies, and weaknesses to Jesus. We need to repent and repair the wrongs we have made in the past. Let’s be resolute in our pursuit of the Lord. Let’s desire after Jesus, serve Him to the best of our ability and obey His commandment to love one another.