Called to Repent

March 24, 2019 Background Scripture: Luke 19:1 – 10 Lesson Passage: Luke 19:1 – 10 As I study the four accounts of the gospel, it seems as though people often observed Jesus doing what they did not expect. Today’s lesson is a narrative that records an event that occurred when Jesus was passing near the town of Jericho. According to the context of the passage, there was a crowd walking with Jesus. The crowd was large enough that even a blind man noticed it and asked what it meant. He was told that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by and there was a large crowd of people in tow. As Jesus passed through Jericho, the crowd continued with him. A curious man was there who wanted to see who Jesus was. The problem with his desire was the crowd was apparently too large for him to fight his way through and standing back was not an option because he was a dwarf. Growing up, we only used the word midget to refer to people who were dwarfs. The man was named Zaccheus. Zaccheus’ other challenge was that he was a tax collector and therefore despised or hated by his fellow Jews. In other words, it might have been unsafe for him to get too close to the crowd. Zaccheus decided to anticipate Jesus’ route, run ahead of the crowd, and climb into a tree so he could see over the crowd. Zaccheus appears to have been very industrious at improvising so he could accomplish what he desired in spite of his challenges. Zaccheus’ plan worked just as he had planned. But, then came the surprise when Jesus arrived at the place where Zaccheus was located in the tree. As I stated at the start, it seems as though Jesus was often observed doing the unexpected. Jesus stopped and addressed Zaccheus, and the surprise: Jesus invited himself to Zaccheus’ house! I don’t know if there is another place in scripture where it states that Jesus invited himself to someone’s house. Jesus requested Zaccheus to climb down so he could spend the day at his house. This sent a shockwave through the crowd. How could Jesus allow himself to be in the company of such a crook. Was Jesus aware that Zaccheus was one of the hated tax collectors? And how did Jesus know Zaccheus’ name? There was a crowd following Jesus and yet he focused on a despised person who would not have been welcomed in the crowd. This turn of events was unexpected by the crowd and Zaccheus. While in the presence of Jesus, the Bible states that Zaccheus stood up, presumably from the table, and confessed his sins and offered to give half of his goods to the poor and restore fourfold to anyone he had defrauded. Jesus declared that Zaccheus’ statement of repentance had allowed him to be restored to the family of God—salvation had come to Zaccheus’ house. Then, Jesus declared that his mission was to seek and save the lost. Jesus’ earthly ministry was about restoration of the lost sheep of the house of Israel. This would, in turn, lead to Israel leading the evangelistic effort into all of the world. This is the purpose of the Great Commission in the Gospel of Matthew. It is a worldwide call to repentance. Robert C. Hudson February 14, 2019