Luke 19
Jesus has come to seek and
to save the lost (from verse 10). I
sense a theme as we continue to read through Luke. We’ve already heard the parables of the lost
sheep, lost coin, and the prodigal son, and now Jesus is talking about saving
the lost again. This time it’s
Zacchaeus. How many of you like me grew
up in the church and the minute you start reading about Zacchaeus you can’t get
that silly Sunday School song out of your head.
You know the one about Zacchaeus being a wee little man. Now it’s going to be stuck in your head. That makes me happy. We call that “music cooties” in our house.
So who was this guy
Zacchaeus anyway? He was another one of
those tax collectors we keep hearing about.
Except this time it’s not just a tax collector but a chief tax
collector. As the text indicates, this
pretty much means he was rich. I’m not
exactly sure how it worked, but my hunch is he got a cut of the action on all
the tax collectors working under him who were busy extorting the masses. But we see real transformation in
Zacchaeus. That’s what Jesus does; He
transforms. 2nd Corinthians
5:17 declares, Therefore if anyone is in
Christ He is a new creation. The old is
gone and the new has come. How do we
know Zacchaeus was transformed into a new creation? We see it undeniably in his actions. He didn’t just start living in a new way; he
also made restitution for his old ways.
When he said he would give half of his goods to the poor, that’s not
just his money, but his possessions too.
And to restore people fourfold for whom he had defrauded; that was going
to make some unexpected folks very happy.
I would love to see Zacchaeus doing that. I bet he did it grinning from ear to ear,
because His life was no longer about wealth and acquiring possessions. His life was now about something much
greater; following Jesus Christ.
Prayer
Dear Lord help me to
remember my life is not about acquiring wealth and possessions. For true contentment does not come from such
things, it only comes from You. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment