Daily Scripture: Luke 19: A rich tax collector
19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through town. 2 A man there named Zacchaeus, a ruler among tax collectors, was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but, being a short man, he couldn’t because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to that spot, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down at once. I must stay in your home today.” 6 So Zacchaeus came down at once, happy to welcome Jesus.
7 Everyone who saw this grumbled, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
8 Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I repay them four times as much.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this household because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 The Human One[a] came to seek and save the lost.”[Footnotes:
Luke 19:10 Or Son of Man]
Reflection Questions:Zacchaeus, another despised tax collector, climbed up in a tree to get a glimpse of Jesus. When Jesus stopped under the tree and called his name, no doubt many thought, "Now Zacchaeus is going to catch it." They grumbled when, instead, Jesus invited himself to eat at Zacchaeus' house, thinking he was approving Zacchaeus' bad actions (cf. v. 7). But Jesus' love, rather than harsh condemnation, redirected Zacchaeus' life.
- Zacchaeus, "a ruler among tax collectors, was rich." That didn't come from honest, hard work. Tax collectors paid Rome a secret, fixed amount—everything else they collected was theirs. They got rich by cheating people. What does it tell you about Jesus that he would risk his reputation to reach out to an unlovely, unloved man like Zacchaeus?
- Somehow, in Zacchaeus, the self-serving tax collector, Jesus saw the promise of generous, God-centered living. To the townspeople's amazement, he turned out to be right. Zacchaeus said, "I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I repay them four times as much." Do you know anyone who radically reoriented their life after meeting Jesus? What good qualities has Jesus drawn out or magnified in you?
Lord Jesus, thank you for coming "to seek and save the lost," including me. Help me to join you in doing that. Amen.
Our GPS Insights blog shares reflections each day from our pastors, staff and congregants.
Read today's reflection from Phil Antilla online. Phil serves as the program director for Young Adult and College Ministry. Before coming to Church of the Resurrection, Phil served as an associate pastor at a local church in Shawnee.www.cor.org/youngadultInsight from Phil Antilla
Phil Antilla serves as the program director for Young Adult and College Ministry. Before coming to Church of the Resurrection, Phil served as an associate pastor at a local church in Shawnee.www.cor.org/youngadults
One of my favorite things about the story of Zacchaeus can be found in the first few verses:
Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus.
We tend to focus on other elements of this story: how Jesus shared a meal with him, or how other people grumbled at Jesus for spending time with sinners, instead of the righteous.
But what I find fascinating about this story is the desire that Zacchaeus had.
He wanted to see.
Early on in the story we are told that Zacchaeus was both rich and a chief tax collector. Throughout Luke, tax collectors represent the image of one who is at the edge of society, someone despised by the majority of people, the sort of person that no one likes, and no one wants to be with.
But Zacchaeus is not just any tax collector; he is a chief tax collector. Lets just say that in the minds of the people of Jericho, he would have been seen as the chief sinner in their community. And yet, for some reason, he wanted to see Jesus.
In Luke 7:34 we are told that Jesus is a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Throughout the Bible, we are told that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He came to provide sight to the blind and heal the sick. Romans 5:6 tells us that Christ even died for the “ungodly”.
Should we then be all that surprised that Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus? He was the chief sinner in the community. No one liked him! And yet Jesus had become notorious for being a friend of the lowly, and the outcasts.
Why wouldn’t he want to see Jesus?
Unfortunately both then and today, many people hear about Christ but still cannot see. Perhaps they are afraid that the message about Jesus loving sinners is not actually true, or perhaps the “righteous” people in their community, like those who criticized Jesus for talking to Zacchaeus, have given them enough reasons to not believe in the Gospel.
Either way, Zacchaeus heard the message of Jesus and still found hope.
As The Church, Christ has commissioned us to continue doing his work. We are to share and embody the hope of Christ to those whom WE have rejected – to people like Zacchaeus.
To those who think that there is no hope for them, we have been called to share the “good news” – that the friends of Jesus are sinners.
So may you become the hands and feet of Jesus. May you share the message that Jesus came not for the righteous, but for the lost. And when you see someone low in stature, willing to climb a tree just to catch a glimpse of Jesus – make sure you extend to them the same love and grace that Jesus did to his friend Zacchaeus.
Church of the Resurrection
One of my favorite things about the story of Zacchaeus can be found in the first few verses:
Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus.
We tend to focus on other elements of this story: how Jesus shared a meal with him, or how other people grumbled at Jesus for spending time with sinners, instead of the righteous.
But what I find fascinating about this story is the desire that Zacchaeus had.
He wanted to see.
Early on in the story we are told that Zacchaeus was both rich and a chief tax collector. Throughout Luke, tax collectors represent the image of one who is at the edge of society, someone despised by the majority of people, the sort of person that no one likes, and no one wants to be with.
But Zacchaeus is not just any tax collector; he is a chief tax collector. Lets just say that in the minds of the people of Jericho, he would have been seen as the chief sinner in their community. And yet, for some reason, he wanted to see Jesus.
In Luke 7:34 we are told that Jesus is a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Throughout the Bible, we are told that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He came to provide sight to the blind and heal the sick. Romans 5:6 tells us that Christ even died for the “ungodly”.
Should we then be all that surprised that Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus? He was the chief sinner in the community. No one liked him! And yet Jesus had become notorious for being a friend of the lowly, and the outcasts.
Why wouldn’t he want to see Jesus?
Unfortunately both then and today, many people hear about Christ but still cannot see. Perhaps they are afraid that the message about Jesus loving sinners is not actually true, or perhaps the “righteous” people in their community, like those who criticized Jesus for talking to Zacchaeus, have given them enough reasons to not believe in the Gospel.
Either way, Zacchaeus heard the message of Jesus and still found hope.
As The Church, Christ has commissioned us to continue doing his work. We are to share and embody the hope of Christ to those whom WE have rejected – to people like Zacchaeus.
To those who think that there is no hope for them, we have been called to share the “good news” – that the friends of Jesus are sinners.
So may you become the hands and feet of Jesus. May you share the message that Jesus came not for the righteous, but for the lost. And when you see someone low in stature, willing to climb a tree just to catch a glimpse of Jesus – make sure you extend to them the same love and grace that Jesus did to his friend Zacchaeus.
Church of the Resurrection
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
____________________________
____________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment