Luke 19:1-10 ESV
“He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.’ So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.
“And when they saw it, they all grumbled, ‘He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.’ And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.’ And 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 lost.’”
This story is another one of those “divine appointments.” Have you ever experienced something you believe was a “divine appointment”? Oh, I have for sure. And I get amazed on a regular basis at how God orchestrates so many things in my life and at how they all come together in a way that can only be through his direction. Sometimes it is a sequence of events that end up all fitting together for one specific purpose. And sometimes he has me at a specific place at a particular time just so I will talk with someone.
Now back in that time, tax collectors were regarded as “sinners,” probably because they were known to be crooked people who cheated the people, or because the people just didn’t like being taxed, or they felt the tax was unfair and extreme. Whatever the cause, the people did not like tax collectors. And, although we are all born into sin into this world, and even though some who were accusing them of being “sinners” were also sinners, in practice, the tax collectors were regarded with disdain.
And Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and was rich. But when he was being drawn to faith in Jesus Christ by God the Father (John 6:44), none of that mattered anymore to him. For his seeking of Jesus was obviously not just out of curiosity. God was drawing him to seek Jesus in truth and in righteousness, i.e. for the right reasons, that he might put his faith in him. And this was Zacchaeus’ divine appointment with Jesus Christ which would change his life forever!
Now I just love this part. Zacchaeus’ thirst to know who Jesus was was not hindered by the fact that he was short and that he could not see over the crowd. His hunger to know Jesus was so strong that he found a way to see him by climbing up in a tree. In fact he ran ahead and climbed up into that tree. Now that is what I call “seeking Jesus”. And that is the kind of passion we are to have for our Lord when we seek him, too. And no amount of roadblocks should discourage us from seeking him, either.
Now, none of this just happened. This was God’s divine appointment for Zacchaeus, regardless of what was going through this man’s mind at that time, for clearly God was drawing him to faith in Jesus Christ. For when Jesus called to Zacchaeus to hurry and to come down, for he must stay at his house that day, Zacchaeus did not hesitate one second, but he hurried, and he came down out of that tree, and he received Jesus joyfully.
And so I relate this to God’s call to us, whether we don’t know him at all, or whether we know him but presently we are not living for him as we ought. He is telling us to hurry and come to him and to let him dwell within us. And this is a call to a change of heart and mind and behaviors. And he is saying “hurry” because time is running out and there may not be much time left before we die or before the world comes to an end and Jesus returns and then it is too late for us if we have not followed him with our lives.
But so many people who are being called of God are dragging their feet, and they are not listening to the Lord, and they are continuing in their sins, and so they are resisting the Spirit, and they are putting off what they know they need to do. And for some of them, they will never make that decision, and then it will be too late. For many are called, but few are chosen. But we all have a choice to make, too, and none of us is without excuse if we choose our sin over God and if we refuse to repent and follow Jesus in obedience.
Now when the people saw Jesus receiving Zacchaeus, many of them grumbled and complained that Jesus had gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. But Jesus didn’t become his guest just so they could hang out together and talk about all the latest gossip or news or about all the latest fads and gadgets and games that were out now. Jesus went to that man’s house with one specific purpose in mind, which was to save his soul from hell and to receive him into God’s eternal kingdom. And we should be doing the same.
Because Zacchaeus’ heart was being drawn to genuine faith in Jesus Christ, he repented of his sins, and he offered to make restitution for all that he had done wrong. And that is what it looks like when our faith is genuine. We are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer living as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness (Romans 6:1-23). The old is gone. The new has come. We aren’t the same people we were before. Jesus Christ has made us new! Our hearts and minds and actions are no longer the same.
So, please know that salvation from sin doesn’t come to us through us giving lip service to God. And salvation from sin is not just God forgiving us our sins and then him promising us heaven when we die. Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and live to his righteousness. He died to free us from our slavery (addiction) to sin so that we might now walk in holiness and in righteousness in obedience to our Lord’s commands (New Covenant).
So, if we choose to continue living in deliberate and habitual sin, then we must know that we will not inherit eternal life with God. See:
[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
Seek the Lord
An Original Work / July 20, 2012
Based off Isaiah 55
“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.
Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,
And your soul will delight in richest of fare.
Give ear to Me, and you will live.
I have made an eternal covenant with you.
Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”
Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him.
Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.
Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.
Freely, God pardons him.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,”
declares the Lord, our God.
“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.
It will not return to Me unfulfilled.
My word will accomplish all that I desire,
And achieve the goal I intend.
You will go in joy and be led forth in peace.
The mountains will burst into song… before you,
And all of the trees clap their hands.”
https://vimeo.com/379408296
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