Verse of the Day 4/23

Through the Bible - 2 Samuel 6-8, Luke 20:1-26

 

Good morning,

For today's verse we'll go to Luke chapter 19 where we read of Zachaeus,  Many of us will remember singing of this "wee little man" as a child.  The story brings us again to the contrast between the sinners and the Pharisees.  We recently read of the parable of the prayer of the Pharisee and the sinner.  Earlier the Pharisees, when confronted by John the Baptist claimed that they were children of God based on their being descendants of Abraham, to which John responded that God could raise descendants from "these very stones".

 

The Pharisees were always concerned about rituals, procedures and dignity.  They wouldn't be caught running in public (contrast the father in the prodigal son parable) let alone be caught climbing a tree in public. 

Zachaeus was concerned about seeing Jesus not his dignity.

 

The Pharisees didn't think that they needed to repent of anything.  Zachaeus shows that he is willing to in thought and in deed as we see in today's verses.

Luke 19:8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, "I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!"

 

9 Jesus responded, "Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost."   NLT

John MacArthur writes, "Zachaeus judged his own crime severely; acknowledging that he was as guilty as the lowest common robber.  Since most of his wealth had probably been acquired fraudulently, this was a costly commitment.  On top of that he gave half of his goods to the poor.  But Zachaeus had just found incomprehensible spiritual riches and did not mind the loss of material wealth.  He stands in stark contrast to the rich young ruler in 18:18-24" and to the Pharisees, as Jesus says in verse 9, he showed himself to be a "true son of Abraham."

Read through the passage.  See how Luke brings together many of the themes from the parables.  The passage ends with the key to this passage and the key attitude of the heart.

 

Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost."

The passages from the last few days reminded me how Jesus met people out in the highways and byways of life, and blessed, healed and inspired them to be a blessing.  Read the first few lines to the hymn Make Me a Blessing.

May we relate to and exemplify the words.

 

Out in the highways and byways of life,
many are weary and sad;
are weary and sad
Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife
making the sorrowing glad.

Refrain:
Make me a blessing,
Make me a blessing,
Out of my life
out of my life
May Jesus shine;
Make me a blessing, O savior, I pray,
I pray Thee, my Savior,
Make me a blessing to someone today.

 

In Christ,
Mike
mikevw@bellsouth.net
http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV
Luke 19:1-11

 

Zacchaeus

 

19 Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way — he was a short man and couldn't see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by.

 

When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home."

 

Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him. Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, "What business does he have getting cozy with this crook?"

 

Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically, "Master, I give away half my income to the poor — and if I'm caught cheating, I pay four times the damages."

 

Jesus said, "Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost."    - The Message