4/18/14

4/18/14

When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. "Zacchaeus!" he said. "Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today." Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the people were displeased. "He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner," they grumbled. Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, "I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!" Jesus responded, "Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost." (Luke 19:5-10 NLT)

http://youtu.be/-9ipEE52i6o

Those of us who grew up going to Sunday school learned this song 🎶"Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he..."🎶 (for those who don't know it, I have attached a YouTube clip)

As I read this so very familiar passage today, I was struck by the heart of Jesus. The heart of Jesus did not lie with the popular, or even just the poor. Zacchaeus was immensely rich from cheating people. And he was so very much despised. But something happened that day. Zacchaeus sought out a savior. Now, we don't know Zacchaeus' motivation to try to be able to see Jesus, but we do know the result. The result was a severely damaged and corrupt heart became washed clean because of an encounter with his Savior. Zacchaeus is a prime example of how Jesus can transform hearts. The heart of Jesus lies in the transformation of the hearts of men. Jesus is about making things right, and whatever happened when Jesus ate a meal with Zacchaeus, his heart was transformed, and he made it right with those he stole from, those he cheated. Zacchaeus was lost, and now he was found. This is the heart of Jesus, and it applies to you, and to me. Today we remember and reflect on what Jesus did for us. We remember the nails, the thorns, the beating, and the death. We remember that it is our sin that caused Him to die that death. His death was because we were lost, and Jesus "came to seek and to save those who are lost."

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