"And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zaccheus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zaccheus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zaccheus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Zaccheus was a chief publican, a position comparable to that of a high official today. As John the Baptist denounced in his time (Luke 3:12-13), he was probably one of those publicans demanding from their fellow citizens beyond what had been ordered to them. Regardless, he had earned a sad reputation as a “sinner” because of the harm he had caused to many. It was in this context that one day he heard about the Lord Jesus Christ, and in particular that he was passing through the city. The publican then knew that he had a unique opportunity to meet the person who could help him radically change his trajectory, to abandon this life, which had certainly provided him with material wealth, but at the cost of a spiritual impoverishment, a complete drying up of one's soul. He therefore resolved to meet Christ. Zaccheus took the lead on the path along which Christ was going to pass, and climbed a sycamore tree in order to be able to see him when he arrived at his level. Because being small, it would have been difficult for him even to see the Lord who was surrounded by the crowd. He did everything in his power to even see the Salvation of God!
Blessed be the Lord Jesus Christ, who in his heart knew the inner turmoil through which this sinner passed ready for repentance, this plant ready for harvest. So the Lord offered him to stay in his house that day. Zaccheus would never have hoped for better!
Without paying attention to the crowd murmuring against the Lord who had entered his house, Zaccheus, having received the Lord into his house and into his heart, manifested before the Lord all the signs of repentance: he shared up to half of all his goods to the poor (he henceforth loved his neighbor as himself), he returned by quadrupling everything he owed to his fellow men (according to what the law required in his time: Exodus 22:1). So this man who once had as his central objective in life, the accumulation of wealth, now had his sole goal, to be pleasing to Christ, to be pleasing to God the Father!
And The Lord Jesus declared: "This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." There is no greater accomplishment than being declared saved by the Messiah himself.
One clarification, however, before concluding. If the Lord before his sacrifice on the cross focused during his earthly stay on the people of Israel according to the flesh, it is because it was only after the advent of the Holy Spirit in his final dispensation , that he would establish Communion with all the inhabitants of the earth. This is also why, during his rapture, he instructed his disciples to first wait until they were thus clothed before spreading the good news to everyone (Acts 1:4-5,8)!
My dear brother, my dear sister, these biblical stories are not told to us with the aim of satisfying our curiosity or arousing pleasant emotions in us, but rather so that drawing instruction from the lives of our predecessors in faith, we follow the path they traced for us!
Yes, whatever your life, your quest would have been up to this day (money, sex, power, glory, etc.), whatever harm you have caused to others in this quest, if from today, like Zaccheus you want to completely change your life, then the Lord Jesus Christ is ready and wants to live with you from now on, in your heart.
You could be inspired by this prayer, to address God from the bottom of your heart
"Lord God Almighty, I thank You for speaking to me today through this article; you who see in my heart, you know the many sins that I have committed against you and against my fellow men, I would particularly like to cite... (cite those that come to mind). For each of these sins, I implore your forgiveness; and also beg you to give those to whom I have wronged the strength and good will to forgive me. Grant me also the Grace to meet them to implore their forgiveness and if possible make restitution according to how You lead me by Your Holy Spirit (restitution of the Truth after a lie or an act of falsehood, restitution of ill-gotten wealth or stolen, in kind or by its monetary value, etc.). For these multiple crimes, I ask your forgiveness and beg you to lead me in the words and or acts of restitution that are necessary, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ! From today, I would like to follow you without any compromise, whatever the instructions of Your Holy Spirit. I beg You from now on to make me your child, but also a disciple of Christ, by walking in His footsteps and with the assistance of His indispensable Holy Spirit!"
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