Wednesday, October 20

Wednesday

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 what was lost.”  - Luke 19:8-10

Here we come to the end of the story of Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus.  Jesus has called the little man out of the tree, he has invited himself over to his house to stay for a few days, and now we find out what has happened to Zacchaeus as a result. 

Zacchaeus makes a public declaration that he is a changed man.  He announces that he intends to give half of his possessions to the poor and that he is going to pay back four times the amount of anything he has taken dishonestly.  This is a shocking declaration and an extreme commitment.  Jesus then states that salvation has come to his (Zacchaeus’) house.

It is important that we don’t misunderstand what is happening here.  We have to understand what Tim Keller calls the “order of grace”. The order of grace is; first Jesus comes in, then a changed heart and life follows.  This story does not teach (and neither does the Bible) that you have to do great things for God before you can get salvation. 

Salvation did not come to Zacchaeus because he pledged to give a lot of money away…he decided to give half of his possessions away because salvation had already come into his life and heart!

Jesus ends by saying that he came to seek and to save the lost.  Most of us hear the word “lost” and immediately think about someone who is not a believer.  However, the word for lost actually refers to being in the wrong place.  Remember that Zacchaeus was a Jew, he was born into the OT covenant as a child of Abraham.  The point is that it is possible for a person to be from a good family, go to a good church, do lots of good service, and yet still be in the wrong place spiritually.  This is precisely Zacchaeus’ situation and it is the reason that Jesus called him out of that tree.

I can’t help but wonder what those few days were like for Zacchaeus and his family with Jesus (the Lord of heaven & earth) as a house guest.  What did they talk about?  What did they eat?  Did they hang out together on the back deck in the evenings and swap stories?  Did the disciples organize a block party?  Whatever happened, one thing is certain, Zacchaeus emerges as a radically changed man.

This is the most profound truth of this whole story – when you let Jesus all the way in to the center of your life, genuine life change will always follow!

Oh Lord, we confess that we are lost without you.  We acknowledge that we are often in the wrong place in our lives.  You have told us that you came to seek and to save those who are lost.  Come into our hearts and save us from our lost condition and put us back in the right place, closer to you – Amen.


Jeff Frazier