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About-Him.Com Devotional 06-04-2005
http://about-him.com/ My Thoughts on the Life of Christ, from His Baptism to His Ascension. 180: Visit to Zacchaeus - Luke. 19:1-10 Luke 19:1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. Zacchaeus was the chief of publicans in the region of Jericho. We could say he was tax commissioner, or head of the local tax bureau. The publicans were men who had contracted with the Roman government to collect taxes. They would extort as much as possible from the local citizens, pay Rome the actual tax and then pocket the rest. Naturally they were despised by the local Jews. 3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. However, there was something working in the heart of Zacchaeus. He knew that he needed something that money could not supply. He knew he was not right with God. He, like everybody else in town heard the news that Jesus the miracle worker, the healer, the water walker, the storm calmer, the raiser of the dead was coming his way. Perhaps he had heard that Jesus now had Matthew, a former tax collector on his staff, and that Jesus wasn’t too picky about whom He ate with. He was even known to have eaten with prostitutes. Maybe, just maybe there would be hope for himself, he may have thought. One problem: Zacchaeus was a very short man. To see Jesus, he would have to work his way to the front of a crowd of people who despised him. Solution: He climbed up into a sycomore tree which was actually a fig mulberry tree with broad leaves. Here he could hide and see the Master as he passed by. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus,make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. Fig leaves couldn’t hide Zacchaeus from the eyes of Jesus any better than they covered the nakedness of Adam and Eve in the garden. Jesus looked up and called this man by name and said, “Come down from there, I must eat at your house tonight.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. Zacchaeus had met the Master and was moved to show works or proof of repentance. “Lord, I’ll give half of my goods to the poor, and if I’ve cheated anybody, I will give him back four times as much.” Jesus declared that Zacchaeus had found salvation and that he was indeed a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Conclusion and Application: Zacchaeus was desperate and despair produces urgency. Like the woman who crawled on her knees to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, Zacchaeus determined that he was going to see Jesus and nothing would stop him. That type of urgency still brings results today. Jesus knew Zacchaeus by name just as He knew the names of everyone in the crowd He also knew what was in the hearts of men (John 2:24). Jesus passed up the whole crowd to focus on Zacchaeus. I wonder why? Was Zacchaeus the only honest hearts person in the crowd? Jesus told Zacchaeus to come down because “He must “ spend the night at his house. He didn’t say, “I would like to spend the night at your house.” He said, “I must spend the night at your house.” Zacchaeus met the Master and he would never be the same. He was moved by the Spirit, all the way down to his pocketbook. When that happens we know that something has probably taken place. Jesus was happy. He had come to seek and save the lost and had found a lost son of Abraham, hiding in a tree. In doing so, He passed by a large crowd of the curious and focused on the honest heart in need. He is still searching for the lost. Anybody, no matter how despicable they may be, will never be ignored.(Isaiah 43:3; Matthew 12:20; John 6:37). In About-Him
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The old pastor made it a practice to visit the parish school one day a week. He walked into
the fourth-grade class, where the children were studying the states, and asked them
how many states they could name.
They came up with about 40 names. He jokingly told them that in his day, students knew the names of all the states. One lad raised his hand and said, "Yes, but in those days there were only 13." Somebody Has Said
To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be
credible we must be truthful. - Edward R. Murrow
Keep Looking Up! Don and Marie Spooner About Him! Ministries Your thoughts and Inquiries Contact@about-him.com Subscribe to this devotional? Subscribe@about-him.com
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