Thursday, April 18

THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2019

 

“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 19:9,10)

 

 

Upon Jesus’s entering Jericho, a tax collector Zacchaeus became quite intrigued.  Given his stature, he couldn’t see over the crowd.  His curiosity compelled him to climb a sycamore-fig tree “since Jesus was coming that way.”

 

Perhaps equally curiously, Jesus tells Zacchaeus that He would be visiting this chief tax collector’s house.  While Zacchaeus “welcomed him gladly,” the people questioned the prudence of this move and muttered about Jesus’s going to the house of a “sinner.”  Nonetheless, Jesus’s presence further compels Zacchaeus towards repentance, as he promises to pay back “four times” the amount by which he had created the people.  Jesus brings restoration for Zacchaeus’s heart and reconciliation with others.

 

We may also highlight Jesus’s missional commitment in vv. 9,10, which provides the focus and summary of Jesus’s ministry.  Please notice that, while the verse pertains to all people, the “saving” is ultimately personally restorative.  Reading the verse again, we find great joy in realizing that, like for Zacchaeus, “salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.”  Our identity has changed because Jesus has come into our hearts and homes, changing us from the lost to the joyfully found.

 

 

Lord God, thank You for making the transformation from lost to found possible by the finished work of Christ on the Cross.  Give us curiosity to seek after Jesus, just as Zacchaeus did.  Reaffirm our identity as Your beloved children, and strengthen us to follow Your Son on the mission of seeking and saving that which is lost.  In Jesus’s mighty Name, amen.

 

 

 

________________________________________________________________________

596 Glenbrook Road, Unit 13 | "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection

Stamford, CT  06906-1423    |  and the life.  He who believes in me will

(C) 203.820.1741            |     live, even though he dies; and whoever

(H) 203.355.9374            |   lives and believes in me will never die.

(E) swe@edwa.info           | Do you believe this?'"    -- John 11:25,26