Luke 19:8

New International Version (NIV)

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

For Meditation

Zacchaeus received more than he bargained for. He just wanted a sneak peek at Jesus from the shade of the Sycamore tree, but he found himself hosting the Messiah (Lk. 19:1-6). The All-knowing and merciful God that Jesus is, He knew the despised chief tax collector’s greatest need. He surprised the short man when He stopped, called Zacchaeus by name and invited himself to his house. But the people sneered: “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner” (7).

1. Who said discipleship is cheap? Who said it’s not costly to honor the name of our Savior?
2. What do you do when people interrogate the love of God through Jesus? What do you do when they misunderstand His mercy and grace for the sinner?
3. Why has life become that superficial? Does anybody care to discern the struggles of others in spite of the obvious? Do you see how the people only saw Zacchaeus’ sinfulness and not his need for a Savior (7)? But how could they, when they did not know their own need for Jesus?
4. Are you not glad that Jesus looks beyond the charade of our lives and sees our inner struggles and real needs? Aren’t you glad that He sees, not as the world does, but with the eye of mercy and a willing heart to dispense grace to meet our deepest needs?
5. How then do we respond to this grace? Do we have ready answers for the self-styled prosecutors of God’s love in Jesus, as Zacchaeus so readily did, regardless of its cost (8)? What could be worthier than eternal?

I pray you can assess your discipleship in light of Zacchaeus’ response to God’s grace; for such is the kind of disciples Jesus seeks (Jn. 4:23-24).

So: May you find courage to give up everything in defense of the Gospel, regardless of its cost or personal delight; and may you find joy in defending the honor of Jesus before an accusing world (Lk. 19:7-8).

Shalom

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