Luke 19:9-10

“Jesus said to him,” Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

⚡ I am sure, all of us are familiar with the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19. Still let us once again go through that incident in the context of the Bible reading.
⚡ Luke 19: 1 – 3 tells us five things about Zacchaeus. He lived in Jericho, he was a chief tax collector, he was wealthy, he was short, and he wanted to see Jesus.
⚡ We too can be prevented from seeing Jesus. Pride can blind us from seeing Him as the Wonderful- counselor. Anxiety keep us
from knowing Him as the Prince of Peace.(Isaiah:9:6) Hunger for status can prevent us from seeing Him as the true satisfaction- the Bread of Life (John 6:48)
⚡ Jesus was traveling through Jericho. Zacchaeus wanted to get a look at Him. Because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. So he climbed up on a Sycamore tree to see Jesus. But Jesus saw him already. When He came to that place, He looked up and
said to Zacchaeus,” Hurry down, Zacchaeus, because I must stay in your house today.”
⚡And when he met Jesus, his life was changed forever. In the New Testament, tax collectors were considered to be ” sinners” (V:7) and were largely disliked by the society because many of them gained their wealth by cheating others. Here, Zacchaeus’ offer to give half his possessions to the poor and repay those he had cheated four times what he had taken, demonstrated his heart had truly changed.
⚡Upon meeting Jesus, a rich young man went away sad because he had many possessions he didn’t want to give up (Luke 18:18-25),
but Zacchaeus the tax collector gave away much of what he had spent his life acquiring.(Luke 19:8) The difference is embracing the heart of Christ. So He in turn honoured Zacchaeus in front of the crowd by calling him a “son of Abraham” declaring salvation over him and his household (V:9). Moreover, Zacchaeus’ house became the place where Jesus gave His mission statement:
“The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost“. (Luke 19: 10)
⚡ Do we look for Zacchaeus? He is every- where, needing Jesus. In what ways can we share Christ’s love with people who need the Saviour?

Dr. Thomas David.🎯

All because of Jesus

“They cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as He went, they spread their clothes in the way” (Lk 19:35,36).

What an honour the donkey got when Jesus sat on it! Wherever the donkey went it got a red carpet welcome-people spread their clothes and branches of trees on its way; it did not walk on ordinary ground.

If the donkey had suddenly for one moment thought, “All these people are honouring me because of my greatness,” and thrown Jesus off its back, guess what would have happened! The very people who put their clothes and branches before it would have stoned it!

Precious child of God, you are blessed with all kinds of material and spiritual blessings all because Jesus is sitting on you. If you forget Jesus, everything will change. Oh dear donkey, don’t ever forget that one day you were bound, that one day you were useless, that one day you were wild, that one day you were hopeless and love-less. All the blessings you have now, all the blessings you had in the past, and all the blessings you are going to enjoy in the future, are all because of Jesus. Let Jesus take all the glory for your life.

Finally, Jesus took the donkey to Jerusalem, the holy city of God. The poor donkey would have never expected to go to Jerusalem. Beloved one, after Jesus comes into our lives He does not leave us halfway and go away. He wants to take us to New Jerusalem and Zion. “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

The donkey could have asked, “Jesus, what goodness did You find in me to choose to sit upon me and take me to the holy city of God?” Child of God, you do not deserve to go to New Jerusalem. Jesus Who loved the donkey, loves you very much. The same Jesus Who took that donkey to the city of God will certainly, by the mercy of God, take you to New Jerusalem and Zion.

• Morning Manna

Stay Blessed 😊
Ravi