| Zacchaeus' House May 24, 2006 |
Luke 19:5-10 NKJV 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” 8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” While Jesus was on his way to Jericho, he noticed a man name Zacchaeus, but Jesus did not notice this man for the same reasons that everyone else did. Everyone else noticed that Zacchaeus was rich, short, honest and giving. And Zacchaeus must have also been well-known because he did not appear surprised that Jesus knew his name. Also the crowd seemed to be aware of his occupation as a tax collector. However, it wasn't any of these reasons that drew Jesus to him. It wasn't even the fact that he was perched up in a tree. Jesus looked into his heart and noticed that Zacchaeus was seeking after Him which made Him want to know Zacchaeus better. One of the first things that Zacchaeus told Jesus about himself is that he was generous. But his generosity wasn't enough to get him into heaven. It didn't matter how many people, Zacchaeus had given to or how much money he had, he still had to let Jesus into his house in order to be saved. Likewise, our good works can not get us into heaven. We can only get there by allowing Jesus Christ to enter into our house (heart), and then we will be saved. Jesus is standing there patiently knocking on our doors, and He is saying, "Please, hurry and come down, for today, I must stay at your house. Will you let Me in?" I hope you enjoyed reading the word of God in a new light. Have a Happy Wednesday! God Bless, Min. Tommy & Sis. Shatika Gray |