SAVING THE LOST

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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.”

Luke 19:8-10

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Jesus was just passing through Jericho on His way to Jerusalem to observe His final Passover before He would be falsely accused, arrested, brutally assaulted, and then killed through crucifixion. A crowd had gathered with the hope to catch sight of this man they had heard about, this man who had delivered incredible teachings and had performed amazing miracles, healing all kinds of afflictions and driving out demons.

In yesterday’s devotion, drawn from the opening seven verses in Luke 19, we read about a short man whose name was Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, who had climbed a tree so he could see this man who hailed from Galilee. And much to Zacchaeus’ surprise, he not only got to see Jesus but ended up hosting Him by request, an even that led people in the crowd to grumble:

“He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” Luke 9:7

Yes, Jesus was yet again hanging out with sinners, those that everyone else in Jewish religious circles would most probably snub. But why did He do this and why is it important that Christians today follow His lead and associate with transgressors as well?

We find the answers to these questions in today’s scripture verses, the concluding verses in this encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus. Look again at these words here:

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.”  Luke 19:8-10

I find it absolutely fascinating that being in the presence of Jesus brought out the best in Zacchaeus who the scriptures tell us was wealthy. He gained that wealth through his prominent position as the chief tax collector, collecting levies for Caesar but also charging every person a little more than what was required to fill his own coffers.

In other words, Zacchaeus gained his affluence off the backs of his fellow Israelites. No wonder they did not hold him in very high esteem.

But look at what Zacchaeus vowed to do in the very presence of Jesus.

“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.”

First of all, he was willing to surrender his wealth to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than himself, promising to give away half of his possessions.

Think about that for a moment.

If you were a millionaire, would you suddenly choose to give up $500,000 to the needy just like that?

Maybe you would, maybe you wouldn’t but in essence, this was the kind of sacrifice that Zacchaeus committed himself to, and he did so in the very presence of Jesus.

But that wasn’t all that Zacchaeus swore he would do. For he added this:

“…if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Now, let’s go back to the millionaire analogy and say that forty percent of what Zacchaeus had was earned illicitly by cheating others. Remember we already established that tax collectors were notorious for doing just that.

Well, you don’t have to be a math major to see how much Zacchaeus was pledging to pay back, based on his proclamation to Jesus. Bilking people out of four hundred thousand would mean that he would pay back 1.6 million which frankly would clean him out after he gave half to the poor first.

In other words, Zacchaeus was in essence saying he was willing to give up all his wealth and I believe he did this because he had met Jesus, and there was nothing that could be of more value than that.

Well, look at the way Jesus responded to Zacchaeus’ sudden change of heart:

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.”

Jesus was celebrating the fact that Zacchaeus had become a changed man. Once a man who valued his wealth, the chief tax collector now had changed his perspective, deciding it was more important to use what he had to help others than to selfishly keep it to himself. Once lost, Zacchaeus was now found and saved, all because Jesus took the time to hang with him.

Friends, Jesus calls us to do the same. He has commissioned all believers to seek out the lost and to associate with them, to hang with sinners and share Jesus with the hope that the lost might be found and come to realize their salvation through the only One who can bring it to them, the only One who can bring them to God (John 14:6).

It’s a labor we should never rest from as long as the Lord has blessed us with life here on earth and there’s no doubt that the reward for our work could never be greater than helping a brother or sister be saved.

Jesus sure reveled in the moment with Zacchaeus.  

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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