In the last devotion, we started looking at when Zacchaeus found salvation in a sycamore tree. This daily devotional looks at evidence that salvation has come and why that was Jesus’ mission.
Nuggets
- Salvation elicits a positive change in us.
- Jesus, as the Author of salvation, bestows it on us when we make a profession of faith.
- Jesus had one overall purpose in His mission — bring salvation to the lost.
Devotions in the Luke’s Diagnosis and Prescription series
Devotions in the Salvation Comes to Zacchaeus series
Jesus came to Jericho and found Zacchaeus in a tree. Instead of ignoring him, Jesus wanted to go to Zacchaeus’ home.
We pick up the story when Zacchaeus hit the ground. Let’s dig in.
Let's Put It into Context
Nuggets from the previous devotion:
• We should be excited about seeking Jesus.
• Christ will always meet us when we come to Him for salvation.
Evidence of Salvation
“But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.’” (Lk. 19: 8 CSB)
Salvation elicits a positive change in us.
It is easy to consider Luke 19: 8 as verification that Zacchaeus was a greedy thief. Well, he was a tax collector. Isn’t that how they are typically stereotyped?
Person of Interest
Boyd wanted us to expand our thinking. He questioned whether this could be a sign of Zacchaeus’ innate generosity.
True, Zacchaeus could have made a 180° turn upon conversion. Or he may have been struggling to break out of the stereotype prior to conversion.
Many think that the promise to rectify any instance of extortion as further proof there was extortion. I’m not sure I buy that.
If Zacchaeus had extorted in the past, would he have said, “… And if I have extorted anything from anyone …” (Lk. 19: 8 CSB)? Wouldn’t he have known?
Evidence that Zacchaeus had been an extortionist would have been “Since I have extorted from people.” It wouldn’t have been wishy-washy.
Proof of Zacchaeus’ generosity is that he doubled the amount of restitution. Restitution in the repayment for injuries or wrong done.
Zacchaeus was only required to give restitution of a fifth of the value. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites: “Any man or woman who wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the Lord is guilty and must confess the sin they have committed. They must make full restitution for the wrong they have done, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the person they have wronged”’” (Num. 5: 5-7 NIV).
It just seems a little odd that someone not following the law would suddenly go so far the other way.
This says two things to me. We don’t want to be stereotypical. We want to see each person for who they are.
We don’t want to be judgmental. It is in God’s pay grade to judge. It is in our pay grade to love.
I think we are best served to just see Zacchaeus’ response as a sincere confession of faith. He felt the Jesus’ love and wanted to show it to others.
God expects to see a change in us upon conversion. No, it isn’t a flip of the switch, and we magically become a totally new person who does things we never did before and don’t do things we shouldn’t now.
The bulk of the change comes as we navigate the Sanctification Road.
- Sanctification is the transformation of mind, body, and soul, which begins with regeneration, gradually changes our nature through the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and ends with perfected state of spiritual wholeness or completeness.
- Regeneration is being changed from spiritually dead to spiritually alive and the internal requickening in us that God brings about through the work of the Holy Spirit to give us new character.
- Spiritual death is the separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin. The spiritually alive are those who have ABCDed, so they are no longer separated from God.
- The perfected state indicates the combination of the spiritual graces which, when all are present, form spiritual wholeness or completeness.
- Spiritual graces are worldly morals that have been submitted to God to further His kingdom instead of enhancing this world.
Glossary
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
But God does expect to see some change immediately.
- If we are stealing from others, God does expect us to stop.
- If we are greedy, God does expect us to stop.
- If we are judging others, God does expect us to stop.
- If we are stereotyping others, God expects us to stop.
We are expected to begin serving God. Service is an act based on belief in God that comes from a response of worship by acknowledging His power through our submission.
The translations of this verse is interesting. Some translate it as will give (NLT, CSB, and HCSB), am giving (NASB), and I give (NIV, ESV, KJV, NKJV).
Smith noted that will give shows a delay in serving God. I give, according to Smith, indicates “…that his will is his deed …”
Resource
Zacchaeus would have to determine the motivations behind the I am giving. If he had been giving in the past, is he now giving to further God’s kingdom. Has he kicked his worldly morals up to spiritual graces?
Why is restitution so important? Kolloch wrote, “Restitution is a duty so indispensable, that without it there is no salvation.”
Resource
Restitution is important to salvation, according to Kolloch, because it shows that we are loving God and loving our neighbors. That is how we achieve perfection.
Salvation Has Come
“‘Today salvation has come to this house,’ Jesus told him, ‘because he too is a son of Abraham” (Lk. 19: 9 CSB)
Jesus, as the Author of salvation, bestows it on us when we make a profession of faith.
Let’s look at the last part of the verse first.
Remember, the Pharisees thought they were good to go because they were sons of Abraham. “They answered him, ‘Abraham is our father’” (Jn. 8: 39 ESV).
Zacchaeus had been excommunicated from the church because he was a tax collector. The Pharisees would have not considered Zacchaeus a son of Abraham anymore.
In Jesus’ mind, Zacchaeus’ occupation did not excommunicate him from being a son of Abraham. Jesus cared about that Zacchaeus made a profession of faith.
Jesus will give salvation to anyone who makes a genuine profession of faith. He does not marginalize us. He accepts all who are truly seeking Him.
That brings us to the beginning of the verse.
We need to answer the call of salvation. We need to do it today. We aren’t promised tomorrow.
When salvation comes, today is the new beginning. We now have peace and hope.
Glossary
There was only one sermon that I found discussing this verse. The Congressional Pulpit contended that, sometimes, the person who has committed the most offensive sins is the first to be saved.
There was one nugget in the sermon — that may or may not be on topic. The Congressional Pulpit wrote, “Beware of pride, self-righteousness, assumed morality, ostentation, carnal wisdom, and deep-rooted prejudice. These are the offensive things that make him pass by your door.”
Resource
I read these as obstacles to a genuine confession. We can be proud of our worldly wisdom, which at times, makes us show off. It can also make us think we are better than others, causing us to judge them.
Then there is assumed morality. This doesn’t mean that we are not good enough or virtuous enough for God.
In my opinion, this means we think that morality is the foundation of salvation. It isn’t.
Grace is the foundation of salvation. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2: 8-9 ESV).
It is not a result of anything we do — works. It is the result of believing in the grace of God.
I almost changed that to believing in God, but it isn’t just that. We can believe there is a God, and not be His child because we haven’t made a profession of faith. We haven’t submitted to Him.
Salvation is all about what God has done for us and our acceptance of His sovereignty.
Jesus’ Mission Was All about Salvation
“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost” (Lk. 19: 10 CSB)
Jesus had one overall purpose in His mission — bring salvation to the lost.
Jesus didn’t come to be a social savior. He didn’t come to tap into everyone’s feelings, so they could be comfortable with who they were.
Jesus came to find those who were spiritually dead and save them.
Let’s break this verse down.
Jesus came. He had been in Heaven with God. God asked Him to be the Sacrifice, so that the penalty for our sins would be paid.
We are told that Jesus, “who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death — even to death on a cross” (Phil. 2: 6-8 CSB).
Did you catch that? “Instead he emptied himself …” (Phil. 2: 7 CSB). He voluntarily came and suffered.
The reason Jesus came was to seek for us. He didn’t stay home and make people come to Him.
For three years, Jesus went all around the countryside, looking for people. He found them and taught them the gospel message. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (Jn. 3: 16 ESV).
We were lost and needed to be found. Jesus had the cure for our lostness. He needed to find us.
Morris reminded us of the lost sheep. Jesus went looking there. Also mentioned by Morris was the prodigal son.
Resource
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
To read a devotion in the Parable of the Prodigal Son series, click the appropriate button below.
Jesus seeks us to bring us back home — into the fold. He does this because we are lost.
Worldview people may not feel that they are lost, but they are lost. Talmage gave us a list of what mankind lost after the original sin.
According to Talmage, we lost holiness. Holiness is more than a character trait; it is purity, dedication, and commitment that lead to being set apart. Purity means possessing God’s moral character, having eliminated the stain of sin. That made us lose our happiness.
Because we lost our holiness, we lost Heaven. No unpure thing will be allowed into Heaven. As long as we are lost, we are unpure.
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Glossary
Making the Connections
Restitution is important in salvation. Norton wrote, “Shame is not enough; remorse is not enough; confession is not enough; there must also be restitution.”
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How Do We Apply This?
- We need salvation if we haven’t ABCDed already.
- We need to climb our trees to know Him better.
- We need to determine if we need to make restitution to a neighbor.
- If we do need to make restitution — whether in kind or in value — we should do it voluntarily, kindly, promptly, and completely.
- If we cannot make restitution in kind or in value, we need to make restitution to their satisfaction.
- We need to make restitution for sustained losses.
- Our actions should show our love for God.
Resource
We all need salvation. We all need to find our tree so Jesus can meet us there.
Father God. We need our relationship with You restored. Lord, we will find where You are calling us to in order to meet You there. We admit that we are sinners, believe Jesus is our Lord and Savior, and confess You as Sovereign God. Help us to live for You. Amen.
What do you think?
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