Christ’s Nonexclusive Invitation to Friendship: The Testimony of Zacchaeus
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
Luke 19:5 (NIV)
One of the most powerful things that draws people in friendship and fellowship to Jesus is his heart to welcome, befriend and redeem people both past and present who were judged by others or themselves to be undeserving or unworthy sinners or lost causes because of the extent of their messy and broken lives. It can be tempting to judge or compare others either favourably or unfavourably on the scales of self-righteousness, but we are all in need of the welcoming gracious arms of Jesus as we have all fallen short of loving our God, others or ourselves. In Jesus all of us encounter the extension of the depth of God’s heart cry of love and forgiveness, restoration and homecoming welcome to the undeserved, broken and unrighteous. We see the result of what happened when a lonely, despised and desperate thief and tax collector Zacchaeus from Jericho, shared a meal with Jesus under his roof and what it can means for us and those we know:
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
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.”
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.”
Luke 19:1-10 (NIV).
The sheer love of Christ’s heart to reach out to and bring sinners home to God is born out in this story so powerfully. The fact that Jesus upon seeing Zacchaeus does not condemn him but instead invites himself to come to his house was not lost on this tax collector. The very fact that he had been seeking Jesus longingly to the extent that he climbs a tree suggests he is very aware of the broken, lost and perhaps empty state of his life and looking desperately for a way back. In Jesus he finds the hope he is seeking.
The power of repentance and restored fellowship lies in the heart of the one extending it as well as the heart of the one seeking it. It is not said in the gospel account what Jesus did or did not say to Zacchaeus during the meal they shared (verse 9 indicates that Jesus was at Zacchaeus’ house) but in encountering Jesus’ willingness to come under his roof knowing who he was must have melted the heart of Zacchaeus. It is this encounter with the merciful, healing heart of Christ that welcomed him rather than rejected or condemned him no doubt that causes Zacchaeus to stand up (possibly as they had both been reclining at the table after the meal (v8)) and turn from stealing. The story ends with a celebration of Zacchaeus’ repentant heart through Jesus’ affirmation of his restored and true identity as, “a son of Abraham” (v9).
In fellowshipping with Jesus, Zacchaeus was encountering the reality of the heart of Father God towards him and is extended towards us whether we already know Jesus or are approaching him for the first time. This overflowing merciful, loving heart of Father God is revealed by Jesus’ words in the final verse of the story:
“For the son of man came to seek and save the lost”
Luke 19:10 (NIV)
The tender mercy of Jesus in inviting us to come and break bread with Him, even in our most shameful moments where we feel keenly a sense of unworthiness, is what melts our hearts to Him. Our decision to allow him into the rooms of own hearts does not spark condemnation but grace and a love that draws us closer to him and leads us to walk in repentance because we finally recognise the love that is behind the one who calls us to come to Him that is not dependent on our condition. Thus, the following verse in Romans takes on a whole new reality when we recognise this:
God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance. Romans 2:4 (NIV)
Jesus and his death on the cross and resurrection points to the heartfelt love letter of God’s desire for reconciled fellowship and intimacy with us whatever state we may be in. What therefore is stopping you from coming to break bread with him today? He is knocking waiting for you to let him into your heart!
© Benjamin Trowbridge 2021
Abba's Dearly Beloved 