I tend to sympathize with Zacchaeus. He was interested in Jesus, but he had trouble seeing him in the crowd. He was resourceful, so he climbed a tree to see him. But he didn’t really want to be seen himself.
But Jesus pointed him out. Jesus made it clear that he wanted to talk to him and spend time with him, even go to his house. Zacchaeus must have been mortified. I know I would be. I, like Zacchaeus, am curious about things but like to stay in the background.
But Jesus brings Zacchaeus to the forefront. Why? We find out in Luke 19:10 when Jesus says:
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
Bible scholars call that verse the heart of the Gospel of Luke. Located toward the middle of the Gospel, it is the hub on which the wheel of Christ’s mission spins. Everything before and after this verse is driven by this goal.
The Son of Man came to seek … He looks out for us. He searches for us.
… and to save … He is here to deliver us from sin, death and the devil.
… the lost. He knows we are lost in our waywardness and need to be found by him in order to gain eternal life.
Have you had a “Zacchaeus moment”? A time when it became clear that Jesus came for you personally and that he wanted a relationship with you?
For me, I think of a time when I was holding the processional cross in church as a young boy and I physically was lifting high the cross of Christ who came to save me and I started weeping.
Maybe for you it was just a feeling you had or it may have been an event. But in any case, there comes a time when Jesus finds you and your world is never the same again. Marvel at that moment with me today.
