Weekly Devotional 11-25-13 The Saving of Zacchaeus
Luke 19:1-10 “1 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” 8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
From the above text we learn that Zacchaeus was a Jew (a son of Abraham). He was a chief tax collector, that is, he was over many other collectors of that region, and he was rich and self-sufficient. Tax collectors were representatives of Rome by appointment and considered by their fellow Jews as being apostate, unclean and traitors. They were seen as being hard-hearted, greedy and hated by all. However, from what transpired we learn that Zacchaeus was under conviction. He knew about Jesus and what was being said about Him. He may even have heard Jesus’ testimony that it is “easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle that for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven” (Luke 18:24-25). Certainly that was bearing on his mind when he heard that Jesus was on his way and would soon be passing by. Whatever else was on his mind at that time we are not told, but Jesus knew and invited Himself to Zacchaeus’ house. The reason for this was that He was bringing salvation to Zacchaeus and his family.
Did Zacchaeus deserve this blessing? Certainly not, but Jesus said that He had come to seek and save the lost, as most certainly Zacchaeus was. Zacchaeus came to understand the glory of God that day and his need of salvation. The evidence that he was convicted of his sin and of his need of a Savior is found in his repentance. Upon being saved he immediately made the decision to restore all that he had wrongfully taken, and beyond that, half of what he had gained from that pursuit.
This is our story also, we who have been blessed with new spiritual life. We at some point came to understand that we were lost, separated from Holy God and on our way to receiving our just reward, our eternal separation from Him. We were convicted in our inner person of the need of salvation (forgiveness of our sin) and that Jesus was and is the means of that salvation.
If you and I are part of these blessed ones we need to remember that the proof of our salvation is not found in words alone, but in how we live our lives.
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Transforming Power; The Work of God on Behalf of Man