Luke: 19:1-7
It’s tax season! For some of us, that’s exciting as we eagerly wait for our return. For others, it’s dreadful as we owe a chunk of money. It comes every year and it’s unavoidable. Not a single one of us would enjoy owing MORE taxes than we were supposed to. In the book of Luke 19, we see that Zacchaeus was labeled both a chief tax collector and wealthy. Tax collectors were hated and despised because they often took more money than they needed to from people. Hence, why they were wealthy.
I find verse 3 very interesting because even though Zacchaeus was a man doing evil, he still had a desire to see Jesus. So much so, that he climbed up into a sycamore tree just to see him! The story continues with Jesus specifically finding Zacchaeus in that tree, calling him down and telling him that He is staying at his house! Again, Zacchaeus being a man who stole from people, humbly and gladly welcomed Jesus into his home. This section of Scripture ends with people gossiping about Jesus being the guest of a sinner. Which, when we really think about it, is ironic. Every single person was a sinner! None of them were better than Zacchaeus.
Even though Zacchaeus was a man who did wrong and stole from other people, Jesus still chose to stay with him. Even though he was someone who was publicly known and despised for his wrongdoing and sin, Jesus still chose him. Jesus accepted him, even though he was the worst of the worst.
For many, before they surrender their life to Jesus, or even come to church, they think that they are “too bad” to be forgiven or “too far gone.” They deem themselves unlovable or unable to be accepted, by both Jesus and other Christians. But we see in this story of Zacchaeus that Jesus sat with sinners. Jesus knew how ugly his heart was. But that was the reason that Jesus came down to earth to begin with!
As Christians, we have to be reminded of this when we look around at our mission-field. We may see people close to us, or even strangers, who are stuck in some deep and dark sin. We often turn a cold shoulder to them and are quick to judge them. But we first have to remember that we are no better than them; that we also once lived that way. We then have to remember that we are still not perfect. We still struggle with sin, even if it looks different. Finally, if Jesus was able to accept people even though… so are we.
I find verse 3 very interesting because even though Zacchaeus was a man doing evil, he still had a desire to see Jesus. So much so, that he climbed up into a sycamore tree just to see him! The story continues with Jesus specifically finding Zacchaeus in that tree, calling him down and telling him that He is staying at his house! Again, Zacchaeus being a man who stole from people, humbly and gladly welcomed Jesus into his home. This section of Scripture ends with people gossiping about Jesus being the guest of a sinner. Which, when we really think about it, is ironic. Every single person was a sinner! None of them were better than Zacchaeus.
Even though Zacchaeus was a man who did wrong and stole from other people, Jesus still chose to stay with him. Even though he was someone who was publicly known and despised for his wrongdoing and sin, Jesus still chose him. Jesus accepted him, even though he was the worst of the worst.
For many, before they surrender their life to Jesus, or even come to church, they think that they are “too bad” to be forgiven or “too far gone.” They deem themselves unlovable or unable to be accepted, by both Jesus and other Christians. But we see in this story of Zacchaeus that Jesus sat with sinners. Jesus knew how ugly his heart was. But that was the reason that Jesus came down to earth to begin with!
As Christians, we have to be reminded of this when we look around at our mission-field. We may see people close to us, or even strangers, who are stuck in some deep and dark sin. We often turn a cold shoulder to them and are quick to judge them. But we first have to remember that we are no better than them; that we also once lived that way. We then have to remember that we are still not perfect. We still struggle with sin, even if it looks different. Finally, if Jesus was able to accept people even though… so are we.
Posted in Devotional