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Luke Nineteen:
1 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus
who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.
How does a chief tax collector get rich? By extortion and kickbacks from the other collectors and cheating citizens when the opportunity presented itself. To say that the people reviled the publicans and considered them "sinners" is to understate the comprehension of the matter. Publicans were Jews who cooperated with Rome to exact levies on the people. They were considered traitors.
3 And he sought to see who Jesus was,
but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.
4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him,
for He was going to pass that way.
Zacchaeus did not know who was passing by, and was only attracted
by the crowds. He was not seeking Jesus.
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.
The One whom everyone was gathering to see called him out by name!
His joy at this point is rooted in the pride of being singled out.
7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying,
“He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”
Oh how quickly his joy is threatened! The crowd who he thought
would envy him are publicly calling him out for who he is and does.
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.”
First of all, there was no IF, he was well aware of his criminality
and being exposed, he could have wilted away, instead he did what?
Gave away wealth that was not his in the first place?
No, He repented, and acted consistent with Torah reparations.
I did a thread on this before, I think two people read it. Reparations...
Don't hear about that too much.
Acts 26:
19 Therefore, King Agrippa,
I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,
20 but declared first to those in Damascus
and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea,
and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent,
turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.
Did Zach do this? You bet he did! Fascinating how so many Christians fail to see this necessity. "Don't wanna try to save myself". How about do what is right in the eyes of God according to His Word.
Therefore, it is clear that Zach met the standard to hear:
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.”
This was not about rich men giving away
money in order to be saved. Really???
This is about sinners declaring their
repentance in concrete and public terms,
and demonstrating that change of heart
by taking action.
1 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus
who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.
How does a chief tax collector get rich? By extortion and kickbacks from the other collectors and cheating citizens when the opportunity presented itself. To say that the people reviled the publicans and considered them "sinners" is to understate the comprehension of the matter. Publicans were Jews who cooperated with Rome to exact levies on the people. They were considered traitors.
3 And he sought to see who Jesus was,
but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.
4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him,
for He was going to pass that way.
Zacchaeus did not know who was passing by, and was only attracted
by the crowds. He was not seeking Jesus.
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.
The One whom everyone was gathering to see called him out by name!
His joy at this point is rooted in the pride of being singled out.
7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying,
“He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”
Oh how quickly his joy is threatened! The crowd who he thought
would envy him are publicly calling him out for who he is and does.
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.”
First of all, there was no IF, he was well aware of his criminality
and being exposed, he could have wilted away, instead he did what?
Gave away wealth that was not his in the first place?
No, He repented, and acted consistent with Torah reparations.
I did a thread on this before, I think two people read it. Reparations...
Don't hear about that too much.
Acts 26:
19 Therefore, King Agrippa,
I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,
20 but declared first to those in Damascus
and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea,
and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent,
turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.
Did Zach do this? You bet he did! Fascinating how so many Christians fail to see this necessity. "Don't wanna try to save myself". How about do what is right in the eyes of God according to His Word.
Therefore, it is clear that Zach met the standard to hear:
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.”
This was not about rich men giving away
money in order to be saved. Really???
This is about sinners declaring their
repentance in concrete and public terms,
and demonstrating that change of heart
by taking action.
