Jesus Joyfully Accepts Our Offer, or Are We Accepting His?
Luke 19:5 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.”
Luke 19:6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.
Luke 19:7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
Luke 19:8 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.”
Luke 19:9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.
Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
The thing that hits me the hardest in this: “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
Here we are.
This is a fractal of the entire Gospel — the entire life of Christ. What Jesus did right here at Zaccheus’ house was exactly what He did to the world and to you and me. He is traveling from town to town. He is waiting to find someone that will climb that tree, that will go to the trouble, of welcoming Him into their house.
Even more, receive Him joyfully.
While the self-righteous look on in shock and confusion that such people could be saved, Jesus sits down and eats the sinners’ food. The food offering they bring him — seriously — isn’t worthy to even be touched by Him, but He enjoys it. He is delighted to be in their house and in their lives.
The only time He came close to complaining about a meal was at the home of a Pharisee.
But to be a guest at the home of Zaccheus. That’s what Jesus loves to do. Because being a guest means that there wasn’t any obligation for them to have you in. Jesus is welcomed, not allowed. He enters the household over the welcome mat, not the kicked-in door.
When it says in Revelation that He stands at the door and knocks, it’s another fractal of the Gospel. He’s not destroying the house around you and then walking in to talk to you as you sit stunned on the couch.
He knocks.
He looks for the invitation and always accepts it.
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ESV John 1:12
He is so glad to save you from your sin today. As glad as He was, maybe even more, than He was glad to eat with Zacchaeus that day.
–
You can get the Daily Bible Readings to your inbox via email every day by subscribing on our home page. Join the discussion online on Facebook or Twitter.