Friday, October 30, 2009

LITN XIX, Verses 1 - 10
























1. Jesus entered Jericho, although He was just passing through to Jerusalem where His earthly destiny would soon be fulfilled.

2. There was a man who lived in the city by the name of Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector. Zacchaeus was infamous for having built his fortune through the exploitation of the people in that area. He had illegally overtaxed them for years, had stolen from them, and had used the system to oppress and abuse them.

3. He had heard some of the buzz about Jesus, and wanted to see Him for himself as He passed by, but because he was short in stature, he couldn't see over the curious crowd.

4. So he, being the innovator that he was, ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see Him up close, since the route that Jesus was taking would lead Him that way.

5. When Jesus reached the spot where the tree stood, He looked up at Zacchaeus, and, without asking anyone who he was, called him by name, saying, "Zacchaeus, come down from there immediately! I must stay at your house today!"

6. So Zacchaeus jumped down from the tree at once, and welcomed him, excitedly.

7. All the people in the crowd heard and saw them make this connection, and, scandalized by it, began to gossip and complain about it. They said to one another, "Can you believe this? He has publicly embraced a known criminal, and has publicly invited Himself to the man's house!"

8. But later, after Jesus had graced his home with His presence and unconditional friendship, Zacchaeus stood up and said, "Lord! Your goodness to me has caused me to have a change of heart! Here and now I pledge to give half of my possessions to the poor...and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay him or her back four times the amount!"

9. Jesus said to him, "That's beautiful, my friend. And I announce that today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.

10. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost in man's self-perception in relationship to God and the world around him."

8 comments:

River said...

These verses just goes to prove anyone can change for the better.
We should not judge anyone because they may be looking for an example of a and not a judgemental christian.
Peace to all.

word ver- hears
He who has ears hears

Erik said...

Well, I have always enjoyed how Jesus hung out with Zacchaeus for pizza and hops drink. A good friend has confirmed they enjoyed pizza and this hops brew, she has it on good authority.

So, JC hangin with Z. Not the vision most people had. Whats up ? Well, no judgment here, just JC seeing it square. .. in the eyes that is, what gives fully give soully. Works, perks, savor the favor.

Those who are open to receive find reprieve. Close up and hole up, its OK to be blind on the way. In the end, we are all friends. Go Z and JC.

Erik said...

Fall fest - excellent. I will be elsewhere, know it will shake the Kids in the Now building, All Saints Eve moves the foundation in Rockdale county, as elsewhere.

You know it's true. ... Amen.

True that sweety. ....

Son of Zadok said...

8 -But later, after Jesus had graced his home with His presence and unconditional friendship, Zacchaeus stood up and said, "Lord! Your goodness to me has caused me to have a change of heart! Here and now I pledge to give half of my possessions to the poor...and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay him or her back four times the amount!"

My God, can you just imagine what it would have been like to sit down and just chill with Jesus? I mean the places Jesus must have taken them with His stories and unvealings. For Zach to have such a fresh vision of love that he set to begin to pour out that much of himself for others.

That's Jesus. He just gets in deep and takes it all, burns it up, then just ignites you with something so fresh that it propels you out in motion with great joy.

Jesus is the AWESOME!

Let's talk and chill with Jesus in Christ..

Anonymous said...

8. But later, after Jesus had graced his home with His presence and unconditional friendship, Zacchaeus stood up and said, "Lord! Your goodness to me has caused me to have a change of heart! Here and now I pledge to give half of my possessions to the poor...and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay him or her back four times the amount!"

9. Jesus said to him, "That's beautiful, my friend. And I announce that today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.


Now I truly understand the meaning of verse in 2 Corinthians 7:10 after finishing reading these two verses here.

2 Cor. 7:10 – Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

Thank you,
Bishop

Anonymous said...

The goodness of the Lord leads to repentance.

Izumi/JOY said...

Let me lift you up

'Cause I'm going to

Sycamore-Fig

A place you'll dig

And one small sprig who touched the branch

Sycamore-Fig, forever

No-one, he thought, was in this tree

I mean it must be way too high

That is, you know you must tune in, and it's all good

That is, I think we really should

V.1 - I like that Jesus passed through Jericho, "a place of fragrance" (re: illustration), en route to Jerusalem - "possession of peace".

v.4 & 5 - I like the divine exchange. In the pic, it looks like the prominent figure touches the garment hem, and knocks on the heart of the despised; causes him to blossom.

I like what appears to be the Star of David in Zacchaeus' chest, and how his head and Jesus' head are the same shape, while all the others look like candy corn. I like reading that the name Zacchaeus means, "pure", "clean" and "just".

I appreciate how the rich tax collector climbed up, and onto a tree that grows best in sandy soil. One source notes that only the poorest, by hard labor, cultivated its fruits, and interestingly cites Amos 7:14.

V.5 - I like how it means more than I realized, when I first read Jesus' announcement to Zacchaeus' home. (forehead slap - Of course! Their connection would infuriate the crowd.) v-1 says, He was en route to His destiny.

"Boles" (Hebrew) translates to "gatherer", "piercer", referring to a practice of piercing figs to hasten ripening. (iron nails/prongs were used to make incisions/marks in the tree/fruit)

Lemme tell you how He showed it to me: A chief man, Zach, in a sychamore tree... he was a tax man... yeah, he was a tax man...

Anonymous said...

I ran across these words this morning and wanted to share...

In the oft quoted words of author and lecturer Marianne Williamson, from A Return to Love:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.”

And in the words of Gregg Braden:

“Find something to be happy about every day, and every hour if possible, moment to moment, even if only for a few minutes. This is the easiest and best protection we can have.”