Luke 19: 1-10

 Luke 19: 1-10

When does God have to do something? We have two stories of people who get Jesus's attention as he passes through Jericho. The first was the blind man and now Zacchaeus. This Zacchaeus was a chief toll collector. Jericho was perhaps the most beautiful city in the region.  It was possibly the wealthiest as well. It was the access to Jerusalem for pilgrims and the river crossing of the Jordan. Jericho had a forest of palm trees and balsam trees, the land was fertile and the city as a whole was wealthy. It was considered the jewel of this region. Zacchaeus, a Greek name derived from the Hebrew word that means “pure”, was working for the Romans. We picture him sitting at a tollbooth, he didn't. He was the chief tax collector. The people at the toll booths worked for him. He may have been the richest man in Jericho and apart from the Roman rulers and the priest he could have been the richest man in Israel. Tax collectors had a well earned reputation for corruption and evil. This guy was a bad guy.

Jesus said “I must stay at your house”. Let that sink in. The God of all creation and the absolutely Holy One said, “I MUST stay at your house”.  God HAD to do something. This likely wasn't a pastoral call, a quick visit with a cup of coffee or a light meal. Most likely Jesus was going over for the night. He is accepting hospitality with all the associated cultural bonds of loyalty and friendship.  He was accepting this from a really bad man. Compelled by Zacchaeus’ spiritual hunger and need, God ‘had to  respond’ and go with him. What does God have to do? Compelled by his own nature God has to respond to those who would hear Him.

As modern-day disciples we tend to have a list, never written, never spoken, of people we would not associate with and with whom we certainly would not initiate the relationship. You don't get the idea that Jesus went to that house to preach Hellfire and repentance sermons at Zacchaeus. You don't get the idea that Jesus had to hammer this guy for his evil.  His presence and obvious love for the man was all that was needed to start the process.

Would I be willing to spend the night or weekend with a gangster, a pimp, a porn producer, a homosexual activist, etc? What does God have to do? He is compelled by love to seek and save that which was lost. If I am to be a disciple I must do the same.

“Lord, give me the heart and the opportunity to love really bad people, people like Zaccheaus , people like me. AMEN