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1 He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." 6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." 8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." 9 Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost." (Luke 19:1-10 NRSV)
May this be a tremendously blessed Tuesday for you, dear Friend! I pray the blessings of joy, health and peace be with you and yours.
Jesus enters the oldest city in the world, and the one we know from Old Testament days as the fortified city which lost its walls to the people of God as they marched around it and sounded trumpets as prescribed by God. And Jesus was about to encounter a man whose life had been walled up nice and tight. And what made the man even more significant was the meaning of his name, "Clean, pure" is what Zacchaeus means. His parents, upon being blessed by this child, gave him a name that they hoped would mark his life. As we will find out, the opposite meanings of the name marked the life of this man. He had grown up to be a chief tax collector and was a very rich man. As a Jew, he was guilty of interacting with those who had conquered Israel and whose money was now the currency of the day, both of which marked Zac's hands as unclean. And as was widely known, tax collectors skimmed money off the top at whatever rate they deemed right, usually making them very rich men. Not driven by purity now, was he? Yet, he was a human and had desires of seeing who this Jesus was, and finding out what He was about. And as happens usually to those who arrive a tad late to a parade, the best viewing spots were gone. Usually not a problem for tall people, but Zac was a short man. Yet Zac was a clever man and knew to climb a sycamore tree to have a good look at Jesus.
Zac's desire was to see Jesus, but gets a shock when Jesus calls this man by his proper name, and informs him that He would be staying at Zac's home. This sort of thing seldom happens. The "star" attraction of the day does not usually call people on the street by their name and inform them of their plans to stay the night! While this made Zac very happy, those around him, who knew him and his reputation, get riled up and begin to gripe, "This prophet/rabbi is going to the home of a terrible sinner! How dare he!" The reality should be that the clergy of the day would be known as those who associated with all people, not just their parishioners, but those whom nobody else wanted or could see. The true men of God for their day would be those whose daily life was all about being with all people especially those in most need. The presence and power of Jesus, and the comments of his neighbors brought about a change of heart in Zac. Zacchaeus undergoes a change of heart to the extent that He blurts out, "Look. half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." This is a moment of salvation. The man confesses his sin and offers to make right all the wrongs he has committed in his life. And not just a take out a check and pay something; this man was willing to give up half of ALL he owned and pay restitution of four times what he had defrauded people out of. The idea of repentance became the action of not only repentance but of love. The short man who was a giant of a sinner became a true giant of faith. He rid himself of all that he had sought while not a believer. He believed more in money and possessions, and acquired them in all the wrong ways, but came to faith in Christ Jesus and discovered a new life.
Dear friend, this message was for me, and I believe for you as well. We can so easily be mislead down the wrong paths, but when we hear the voice of Jesus calling us from death to life, we need to heed that call and come to life. The false life we need to leave behind and follow our Shepherd. I guarantee that He will lead us as David wrote, "He guides me along the right paths for His name's sake." And, we know that His "goodness and love will follow (us) all the days of (our) life." Amen.
PRAYER: Gracious Lord, smile down upon me as I renounce the things that seek to separate me from You. Grant to me the vision and courage to leave behind the things that serve no good purpose, and to seek You and Your paths. This I pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Get small in sin and big in faith! And tell someone!
Blessings of love, Pastor Eradio Valverde
