We All Need Salvation: Zacchaeus ~ a tax collector (Luke 19:1-10)
In those days it was reckoned tax collectors were deceitful men because many would cheat in their business dealings. They could overcharge taxes from people in any way they wanted, so it is no wonder they were well-to-do people, but sinful.
Zacchaeus, I am sure, had heard about Jesus and he was very anxious to see who he was, but he had a problem - he was a short man and the crowd following Jesus was so large. To solve his problem he had to find out the exact way Jesus was going to pass at a particular time which he did. He then decided to climb a sycamore tree which was along the way. Jesus and those following him reached the place and, to the surprise of everyone, Jesus called Zacchaeus to come down immediately. I must stay at your house today , he said. Straightway Zacchaeus came down and welcomed Jesus gladly.
But the peoples reaction was a different one. They did not like to see Jesus with a sinner. However, Zacchaeus was so happy to have a rare visitor in his house. To show his gratitude he offered half of his possessions to the poor and also promised to repay anyone he had cheated four times the amount. Following that, Jesus told him that salvation was in his house. In Luke 19:10 we are told the reason Jesus had come to the world - to seek and save what was lost.
Generally man is lost. In Romans 3:23 we read, For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God . Also in Isaiah 59:2, But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.Man is born a sinner and it is in this sense that all men are lost. Therefore all men need salvation; without it they remain alienated from their Creator.
The fact is that God is a holy God, He cannot be where there is sin. But despite that, God loves. In John 3:16 we read, For God so loved the world (men), that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Therefore to have eternal life a man has to associate himself with Jesus. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). With our nature, death is before us, but God gave us hope of life eternal through Jesus. Should we lose this great opportunity because of our laziness? It is up to each one of us to check our personal relationship with Jesus.
Our fellow friend Zacchaeus obtained his hope by:
(1) Realising he was a sinner
(2) Knowing the person who could help him
(3) Having faith
We are no better than Zacchaeus: we all need salvation to enter Gods eternal kingdom which is soon to come when Jesus will be king. But first of all we must associate ourselves with the promised seed of Abraham and David which is by baptism into Jesus, the seed. When we are dipped in water we die to sin, and when brought out of water we live by faith in Jesus.
Bro Sylvester Tembo (Mzuzu, Malawi)
