October 26
October 26
God’s grace is never too weak to rescue someone from the powerful hold of sin.
The following story might be so familiar to us that we forget how scandalous it would have been to its original hearers:
When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And 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 the lost.” (Luke 19:5–10)
Zacchaeus, a rich tax collector who was short in stature, heard that Jesus was coming. Because of the crowd, Zacchaeus climbed up a tree to make sure he could see him. Jesus saw Zacchaeus in the tree and told him to come down because he wanted to stay in his house. The fact that Jesus was willing to stay in this man’s house scandalized the self-righteous crowd, who could not believe that Jesus would go into the house of a “sinner.” To the crowd, tax collectors were a symbol of the oppression of the Roman government. Men like Zacchaeus would collect an exorbitant tax that broke the economic backs of the Jews. And, like Zacchaeus, many of them would get rich doing so. Tax collectors were viewed as disloyal oppressors, and so they were considered to be sinners beyond redemption.
We aren’t told how or when, but we find evidence in the text that Zacchaeus had already been touched by God’s grace. First, he was excited about seeing Jesus, and he received him joyfully when Jesus asked to stay at his house. Most tax collectors would have had no time for Jesus, and perhaps would have mocked his claims. Also, Zacchaeus’s lifestyle showed signs of transformation. He would gladly give half of his riches to the poor and pay back fourfold the people he had defrauded. Clearly, transforming grace had been operating in Zacchaeus, and Jesus announced to Zacchaeus that salvation was already operating in his life.
It seems as though Jesus spoke his last words here not only to Zacchaeus, but to the grumbling crowd as well: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Of course he would enter the house of this man who seemed so unworthy. This is what Jesus came to do: to seek out lost ones and draw them to himself.
I am convinced that this story is in the Bible to remind us that no one—no matter how seemingly unworthy someone might seem to us—is beyond the reach of the grace of Jesus. Sin levels the playing field. Everyone stands before God unworthy. None of us is more acceptable than anyone else. Grace is why God enters our house and proclaims salvation. God is for sinners; his salvation is for the lost.