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.” 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 ESV)
If Jesus would have said nothing, nothing would have happened. If Jesus had waved and said "hi", nothing would have happened. But Jesus came and gave an invitation - the privilege to be His host. There was a lot of change. Obviously, Zacchaeus changed dramatically: confessing his sin, making restitution, becoming a giving man. And many others changed: they became more hardened in their self-righteous comparison to others and rejection of the Messiah. They changed for the worse. As we read God's Word, Jesus has been here. Which way are you changing?
No comments:
Post a Comment