God's Mission
Luke 19:1-10
Zacchaeus the Tax Collector
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Pondering Point
The Bible story with Zacchaeus is selected for our “face of God” theme because of his great desire to catch a glimpse of Jesus. As the children’s song relates it, “he climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see.” Keep in mind that this is a full-grown man of significant wealth climbing this tree. He was a man on a mission.
Little did Zacchaeus know that while his mission was to take Jesus in with his eyes, Jesus had a mission to take Zacchaeus in heart, soul, mind, and strength. By the time Jesus finished eating with Zacchaeus, this wealthy tax collector was putting into action what Jesus called the greatest command: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no commandment greater than these (Mark 12:30-31). As a result, we hear Jesus say, “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 the lost.” Whereas the face-to-face experience Moses had with God changed his outward demeanor (Exodus 33:11, 34:29-35), time with Jesus creates a change in Zacchaeus from within. In both cases, it is evident they had been in the presence of God. This begs a question: Do you spend time with God and is it evident to others? Let pray on that.
Prayer
Father God, I know that spending time with You is good for me. I know that it is good for others that I spend time with you. Show me how to make time with you a continual priority – and let this time with You be evident in the way I live my life. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.