Zacchaeus

Read Luke 19:1-10, “And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. 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 anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

You may not realize this but Zacchaeus was not only a tax collector but he was also a Jew, a son of Abraham.  The other Jews would have considered him a trader and a thief because he chose to work for the Romans who the Jews considered their enemies.  But Jesus responded quite differently, Jesus responded out of compassion and love for this little man.  When Zacchaeus had an encounter with Jesus his whole life was transformed.  

Isn’t that what it says about a person who has a life changing encounter with Jesus?  Read 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Without this encounter with Jesus, Zacchaeus would have never changed inwardly.  You can change the outside cosmetically or change the type of clothes you wear, but he would have been the same person on the inside, taking advantage of his fellow Jews and getting richer and richer and being hated by his brethren more and more each day.  Man can have all kinds of spiritual experiences but there is but one Savior and His name is Jesus and without a spiritual experience with Him, in a personal way, one cannot be born again, and without being born-again one cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus said this to a Pharisee named Nicodemus in John 3:3-8, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

Now read 9-15 in that same chapter “Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

This is very good news for those without the Savior!  Jesus loved them so much that He was willing to suffer and be crucified on a cross and die and even be buried for all mankind in this world because He loved us so much.  But the good news doesn’t stop there, when Jesus was buried the power of death or the grave could not hold him and Satan and all the powers of hell couldn’t hold Him, Jesus broke the powers of death and rose again.  It says this in 1 Corinthians 15:55, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”  

Now read John 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Just like when Zacchaeus repented and was transformed and salvation came to his home, you can repent and believe on the Lord Jesus also and salvation can be your portion too.  Repent means to turn away from your sins and seek to do good with the Lord’s help.  If you would truly like this transformation to take place in your life pray and tell the Lord, then ask Him to be your Lord and Savior and to transform your life!! Taste and see if the Lord is good.  Something to think about and may you have a super day and may the good Lord bless you and yours!!