Read Today's Passage
The familiar story of Jesus and Zacchaeus. I could tell this story in my sleep, I have heard it that many times. But if I were to gloss over it I would miss a couple of key elements. Jesus chose to go to Zacchaeus' house because Zacchaeus was a repentant sinner. Not because he was a righteous man. The religious crowd has it so wrong that Jesus came (comes) for we who already know Him. He came to seek and to save the lost, not to make the already knowledgeable more so. Plus, just a thought to ponder, was Zacchaeus short, or was Jesus? The text can be read either way. Could Zacchaeus not see Jesus because he himself was short and could not see over the crowd, or was Jesus too short to be seen over the heads of those listening to Him? Not a salvation issue at all, but one more reason to really pay attention to the text.
And can I just say that I love that the Pharisees could do nothing about Jesus because the crowd loved listening to Him? I love that aspect that the people of God controlled (for a time, anyway) what the leaders could do. Their obedience to God kept the pride of the selfish humans from getting in the way for a while.
So what do you think?
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2 comments:
do you think if Jesus came today and entered a church he would be allowed to just start preaching? We would want to see some credentials, get some history, see what denomination he was associated with. probably we would want some verification of the miracles done. Would we be called prudent or skeptical?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Ficus_sycomorus.jpg/240px-Ficus_sycomorus.jpg
We don't think Jesus was short because the sycamore tree isn't that tall (20 m max) so it wouldn't help to see Jesus if He is in a big crowd. Zac was short.
Based on Brett's comments, Jesus wouldn't be preaching in a church. We think/hope that he would be still seeking the lost, not those who know him. If he did preach in a church...Someone would probably try and stop His message because they don't believe He is the King, just like the parisees and enemies in the passage. BUT there will be true servants, subjects, and people who are growing and spreading the word who will not stop praising him.
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