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.
没有评论:
发表评论