Good morning. Among His disciples and the people of His physical time on earth Jesus was known for saying and doing the unexpected. When it came to matters of religious tradition, Jesus blew the doors off of much of what was considered sacred and beyond speculation. Jesus provided and applied God’s truth in many areas that people thought were off limits.
This was very true when Jesus reached out to a person who would have been thought of as beyond redemption, so hateful that his going to hell was a foregone conclusion. Jesus, however, often did what was considered unthinkable.
There was a wee little man, quite small in stature but very large in reputation. His name was Zaccheus, and he was a “chief tax collector”. Being a tax collector was as low as a person could go, and to be known as their “chief” would have made Zaccheus a person despised. When he heard that Jesus would be passing by, he climbed a tree for a better look. What were his reasons? We are not specifically told. We are told that Jesus looked up into the tree branches, saw him, and spoke to him: “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” Luke 19:5 Jesus had just invited Himself to be a dinner guest of the most hated sinner in the area.
The result was that Zaccheus immediately turned his life around. He who was regarded as the worst of the worst when it came to sinners very quickly became a devoted follower of Jesus Christ. For Jesus, this was just one more example of Him fulfilling His mission. We read in Luke 19:9-10 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Please notice that it says that Jesus came to save “that which was lost.” It doesn’t say “he who was lost”, and it doesn’t say “those who are lost”, although that would certainly apply.
The bystanders, even several of His disciples, were confused by Jesus’ actions. To see Jesus sitting at a dinner table surrounded by sinners would have been horrifying…nasty…EEEEEEEW! Jesus came to save Zaccheus, but when we read that He came to save “that which was lost”, I believe that those words include more. I believe that Jesus came to save compassion. Jesus came to save forgiveness. Jesus came to save humility. Jesus came to save our humanity.
You are a Christian, and that is a wonderful truth. But that truth does not preclude the reality that you too have things in your life from which you need salvation. Know this: Jesus came to save you, and Jesus came to save every aspect of your life. Jesus came to you to save in you that which has been lost.
Praise God, and whatever it is that needs saving, give it to Jesus.
Vern