The Evidence // Luke 19:1-10

Zaccheus Converted
1He (A)entered Jericho and was passing through.
2And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich.

3Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature.

4So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a (B)sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way.

5When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house."

6And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly.

7When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner."

8Zaccheus stopped and said to (C)the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have (D)defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back (E)four times as much."

9And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is (F)a son of Abraham.

10"For (G)the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Cross references:
Luke 19:1 : Luke 18:35
Luke 19:4 : 1 Kin 10:27; 1 Chr 27:28; 2 Chr 1:15; 9:27; Ps 78:47; Is 9:10; Luke 17:6
Luke 19:8 : Luke 7:13
Luke 19:8 : Luke 3:14
Luke 19:8 : Ex 22:1; Lev 6:5; Num 5:7; 2 Sam 12:6
Luke 19:9 : Luke 3:8; 13:16; Rom 4:16; Gal 3:7
Luke 19:10 : Matt 18:11

Words, phrases that stuck out:

*** 7When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.": Our ways are not God's ways. Likewise, our criteria is not (usually) God's criteria. Here is an example of that, and before I start thinking these are horrible, judgemental folks, I have to realize there are many times I approach others the same way. Just last week, I was leading a discussion of junior high students on how the Church is to be different in how we treat each other as friends than any other group out there. Yet, I asked, "Do we?" I'm not sure we do. I know there have been teens that come in our group for the first time who have a reputation at school, and some in our group don't think they are worthy to be there. "What is that guy/girl doing here?", has been muttered to me more than once. While I hope there is gladness at the opportunity to minister to that person...my guess is the real answer is usually more like, "I don't want them here. They are scum." And I don't want to just rip on the kids here...I know I can be that way, too, if not very careful and if I am too quick to forget a passage like this one.

*** 8Zaccheus stopped and said to (C)the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have (D)defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back (E)four times as much."

9And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house...: Is this proclamation how Zaccheus was saved? No. Is it evidence that he has come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior? I think so. I know it is a dicey proposition that, if not taken with great care, can delve into judging "who is 'in' and who is 'out'", but what Zacc just proclaimed here is evidence that he has been changed on the inside by Christ. It is "fruit", if you will. And i need to ask myself very often, "Am I bearing any fruit due to my being saved by Jesus? Am I compelled (without much thought) to do selfless acts of love for him? Is there an impact being made for the Lord?" Those are tough to ask oneself at times, because we may not like the answer. The hardest (but maybe one of the most necessary) questions I often ask teens are the ones that may result in some of them realizing they don't truly know Jesus...by asking them to look for fruit in their lives (evidence of a changed heart), to ask if they still let sin/selfishness drive their decisions/attitudes/actions, or asking if there is anything "different" about their core being...but it must be done...

*** 10"For (G)the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Myself and surely others often ask, "Why did Jesus come?" There are many reasons, but I think so much of his purpose is summed up in verse 10 here. Not just to be a "nice example". Not to overthrow the Romans (literally). And not just to do some cool supernatural, miraculous stuff "just because". He came to seek out and save. Oh sure, lots of cool things were done by Jesus, but I think the goal was seeking and saving, and those "things" were often a tool to that end. I think we need to pay attention to that. I know my own personal ministry journey has come around to a point where I think "service" and "gospel" need to go hand-in-hand. I'm not sure we need to go out blaring the message of Christ to those with great need without being willing to serve their needs selflessly as well...and on the flip side, I am coming to realize that while serving others is "nice", that the message and motivation of the Gospel needs to permeate that serving. I'm not saying we only serve those IF they will here a "gospel presentation" first...but the truth of Jesus must permeate what we do (and why). I know I've been on many service opportunities through ministries where there is little "broadcast" as to what we represent, but I am starting to think that we need to broadcast Christ better...not necessarily in a preachy way, but in a "this is real to ME and why I am doing this"-way...

Questions for me today:

How do I treat "sinners" in my midst?

Is there evidence of Jesus saving me IN me (and flowing out of me)?

As I represent and minister in the name of Jesus...what "name" of Jesus is what I serve under? Meeting needs? Saving souls? Being nice?