Skip to main content

God and "wee little people"

I love the story of Jesus' encounter with the tax collector, Zacchaeus.
Luke 19:1-10 (ESV)
1  He entered Jericho and was passing through.
2  And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.
3  And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.
4  So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.
5  And 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.”
6  So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.
7  And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
8  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.”
9  And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.
10  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”




I usually think of Danny DeVito when  I think of Zacchaeus.  Children sing the song of this - a "wee little man was he..."  But as funny as the image of Danny DeVito is, and as cute as the song is, Zacchaeus was a hated man.  His fellow Jews put him the class of traitor, swindler; someone who has sold his soul to the devil.

It's hard to imagine what was happening inside of Zacchaeus that day...why did he feel so compelled to see Jesus?  The desperation and urgency of his actions are not easily understood from the text.  
Had he heard about Jesus?  Probably
Was it just curiosity?
Was it fascination?
Was it personal need?
We don't know from the text...all we do know is that he HAD to see Jesus...just see him...not necessarily talk to him, or touch him...just see Him.

The text surprises us at the next point...Jesus stops, looks up and says...let's have lunch Zacchaeus!
The crowd around Jesus was shocked....Zacchaeus was overwhelmed...and instantaneously convicted of his sinful actions - "I'll give away half my goods" (gives us an idea of what he had done to get them to begin with); and restore fourfold what's stolen... (which is what the law demanded).
What's the old saying - "A ?????? and his money are soon parted?"
But this is no fool, this is a man who sees Jesus, talks to him, and is invited to be with him, and that is enough to know that money just doesn't count.

NOW we get to the issue at hand - something happened inside of Zacchaeus.
He GOT it because something happened to him that changed him from the inside out and not the outside in.
Something has to happen to our insides to make us want Jesus more than anything else.

God comes to "wee little people" and he says "come, follow me", and many of them say "yes".  It's not the past that defines us, it's the present and the future.
We come to him not out of duty, or the need to perform, or to show others how sincere we are, or good we are; because we know that all of that counts for nothing.

We come to him because where else would we go?
Zacchaeus knew he hadn't been a good man...but Jesus was good, and that was what he went towards... that's what we must go towards.

Peace

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Wednesday, Day 25: Christmas Eve - God Loves Us (So We Can Relax)

For Kids: There’s a lot of things we have to do each day. Get up from our sleep, Get dressed, Eat Breakfast, Get ready for School, Listen to the teacher, play with friends, eat our lunch, and after it’s all done, go back home. There’s time to play, Then we eat our supper… And eventually we have to get ready for bed and go to sleep! And then we do it all over again the next day. Sometimes there’s a vacation - like right now - and we get more time to play, to have fun and not have to do work at school. Our parents are good at helping us know what time it is and what we need to do next – even when we don’t want to move on to the next thing.  God is also good at helping us know what time it is, and what is next.  He doesn’t shout at us, or yell, or even scream…he does it peacefully, quietly.  He wants us to understand that he does it, most of all, for us. Christmas can be quite busy and there’s lots of things going on at once…but l...

Joy to the World - Help is On the Way

It’s the first day of Advent– while you prepare for Worship this morning at church take a minute to ask God to direct you through this season that you might be prepared to “receive your King”. In the first week of Advent we celebrate the PROMISE of His Coming. His promise is based on our need. We were made in his image, but there is emptiness in our soul that is the result of the Fallen nature of sin. But why did Jesus come? What in his coming announces God's heart? His desire for us to know and experience? 10 BUT THE ANGEL SAID TO THEM, "DO NOT BE AFRAID; FOR BEHOLD, I BRING YOU GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY WHICH WILL BE FOR ALL THE PEOPLE; 11 FOR TODAY IN THE CITY OF DAVID THERE HAS BEEN BORN FOR YOU A SAVIOR, WHO IS CHRIST THE LORD. GREAT JOY! Did you know that God is Joyful? 1 CHRONICLES 16:23-27 (NASB) 23 SING TO THE LORD, ALL THE EARTH; PROCLAIM GOOD TIDINGS OF HIS SALVATION FROM DAY TO DAY. 24 TELL OF HIS GLORY AMONG THE NATIONS, HIS WONDERFUL DEEDS AMONG ALL THE PEOPLES....

Wondering Out Under the Stars

A Reading: Colossians 1:9-20 (NIV) 9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether th...