Wednesday, October 10, 2018


The Encounter
by Elizabeth Cole

“…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.”

He’s rich, with a great degree of control in his world. His unethical business practices are known and, as a result, it’s safe to say that he’s deeply loathed. I imagine his size doesn’t get in the way of his aggressive approach to life, other than when there’s a parade in town…like this particular day.

In past years, I’ve been more focused on the fact that, in the New Testament story, Zacchaeus went to such lengths as climbing a tree to see Jesus. It’s not a bad application…seek Jesus, He promises He’ll be found…but it doesn’t take into account the last sentence of the narrative: “I came to seek and to save those who are lost.” Recently, in conversation with a colleague, a richer, more gospel-saturated picture emerges: Jesus seeks Zacchaeus. He sees Him; He knows him by name; He calls him to a personal encounter…and everything changes.

Our Savior not only calls out Zacchaeus from the limbs of a sycamore, He calls him out of a false life and worldview. He calls Him into a relationship with the God in whose image He and his victims were created. He calls Him into a whole new gospel perspective of himself and others. And both his convictions and actions change ever-so-dramatically.

Scripture records Zacchaeus’s response upon welcoming the Lord Jesus into his home that day, “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.’”

 “Christ is our model of compassion and conviction. He loved Zacchaeus enough to sup with him, knowing the social stigma attached to his occupation. Zacchaeus adopted a new worldview in response to his encounter with Jesus. This worldview taught that exploiting citizens and perpetuating a system that hurt the poor was no longer an option.”1   And so Zacchaeus acted accordingly.

Oh, that our lives would be ever-increasingly as gospel-informed as Zacchaeus’. That the unimaginable truth of God’s lovingkindness toward us would play out in our worldview, in our grace toward others, and in our ordinary living.

He sees you. He knows you by name. He gifts you with His grace and forgiveness. He calls you to a gospel-saturated life…you are His. And that changes everything.

GOING DEEPER:
1.    How does Jesus’ gospel affect your worldview and life values?
2.    Thank Jesus for seeing you, calling you by name, and claiming you as His own. 

FURTHER READING:

 Elizabeth is a wife with three grown daughters and two sons-in-law, and is the Director of Connecting at Oakwood Church.

1 Sho Baraka, Christianity Today weekly newsletter, 9/16/16