Read Leviticus 4, Song of Songs 7, and Luke 19.
This devotional is about Luke 19.
It is exciting to meet someone who wants what you have to offer! I’ve never held a sales position, but I’m sure that cold-calling salespeople are elated when they meet someone who is ready, even eager to buy.
It is the same way in Christian ministry. Most people are not excited to hear the gospel, much less trust in Christ, so when you meet someone who is, it feels good.
In the previous chapter, Luke 18, Jesus met the most enthusiastic prospect you could ever hope for—the rich young ruler (vv. 18ff). But that man went away unsaved because he loved his wealth more than he loved Jesus (vv. 22-23). He needed God’s transforming grace to do the impossible (vv. 26-27).
Here in chapter 19, Jesus met Zacchaeus who had some similarities to the rich young ruler.
- Both were eager to see Jesus (18:18 & 19:3-4).
- Both were rich (18:18 & 19:2).
But there were differences, too. The rich young man in Luke 18 was a ruler, so he respected in his culture and made his money is culturally-acceptable ways. Zacchaeus, on the other hand, was a “chief tax-collector” (v. 2), and was, therefore, despised as a sinner (v. 7) and not even worthy to be considered a legitimate son of Abraham (v. 9c).
Yet, Jesus challenged the sincerity of the rich young man in Luke 18 but went home to eat with Zacchaeus here in Luke 19. Instead of ordering him to give away his possessions, as he did with the rich young ruler in Luke 18, Zacchaeus volunteered to give much of his wealth away and reimburse—four times over— anyone he had cheated (19:8).
When the rich young ruler refused to follow Jesus, Jesus said it was hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God (18:23). Indeed, Jesus said it was impossible apart from a supernatural act of God (18:25-27). But when Zacchaeus pledged to give up his wealth and follow Jesus, Jesus said, “Today, salvation has come to this house” (v. 9). Zacchaeus was saved not because he earned his salvation by pledging to give away his money. Instead, his desire to give it away and make restitution was evidence of Zacchaeus’s salvation. What Jesus said was impossible in Luke 18:23-27 happened by the saving grace of God in the life of Zacchaeus.
We Christians sometimes try to figure out who might be a good and likely candidate for salvation. We look at our very moral neighbors and family members and think, “He’s such a good person in so many ways, why won’t he just come to Jesus and become fully one of us? Imagine what God could do with someone like him!” But our thoughts should be instead, “…the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10), so I’ll talk to anyone who will listen about the saving grace of Jesus.
Look for someone who is lost today. No matter how moral, successful, respectable, and even religious he may be, he is lost without Jesus. No matter how sinful, untrustworthy, deceitful, and irreligious he may be, he is lost without Jesus. But Jesus came to save the lost, so be the messenger of Jesus in the life of anyone who will listen.