Who is seeking whom?

Who is seeking whom?

Scripture Lessons

Isaiah 1:10-18

Psalm 130:1-8

2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

Luke 19:1-10

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I was recently reflecting on a childhood memory. We had a man in our church growing up who was in his late thirties, but his brain development was that of a 7-year-old. His name was Eric. My mother taught a Sunday school class for two such men in our church. One day Eric came and visited with us. We had a pet rabbit at the time (Jack) and Jack was given free reign of the basement. Well, Eric was downstairs in the basement and he was excited by the rabbit and they began to chase each other around the basement. We had a pool table and they were running circles around it. I couldn’t tell who was chasing whom. It was quite a site to behold.

Sometimes we get confused when it comes to our relationship with God as to who is seeking whom. If you have your theological categories straight, as taught by Scripture, then you know that the natural man has a limited free will. There are some decisions within the natural man’s ability to make, to turn right or left. However, when it comes to faith, the natural man is bound to sin and unable to come to God. Remember what Jesus said to Simon Peter upon his confession of Jesus as the Christ, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 16:17. Also consider 1 Corinthians 2:14, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” The natural man is at enmity with God. So how could he seek Him?

We have an interesting narrative in our gospel lesson this morning and it raises this question: who is seeking whom? Zacchaeus is a chief tax collector. This word is a hapax legomenon which means that it only occurs once in Scripture, here in Luke 19. Luke is emphasizing that Zacchaeus is a chief tax collector, or in other words the foremost sinner. “He was seeking to see who Jesus was.” He was curious, he had undoubtedly heard reports of healings and wanted to see who this Jesus was. His curiosity was clearly powerful since it motivated him to do something quite out of the ordinary, to climb a tree and get a better view.

Was he seeking Jesus? He wanted to see him, but there is no evidence that he understood who Jesus was or that he was seeking salvation. Then, as though a rich man, a chief tax collector, climbing a tree was not odd enough, Jesus called him down. “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” Jesus better watch out or we might get the impression that he cares about all people, even miserable sinners like this chief tax collector.

The oddness of this entire situation did not escape the attention of the people. They grumbled over it. Although the text does not say that Jesus shared a meal with Zacchaeus, it is evident from the context. Jesus abode with this sinner in his home and shared a meal. Zacchaeus came down from the tree just as Jesus came down from heaven so that Jesus might be near to him and abide with him. God is not a far and distant god. In Christ, He comes near to you.

Zacchaeus received the love and forgiveness that comes through Christ. In response, he vowed to make restitution for his past misdeeds. He vowed to give to the poor and restore fourfold what he had stolen. This was not done as a condition of salvation, but in response to the saving work of Christ. Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.” He’s not talking about lineage. Zacchaeus is a true son of Abraham, which means he is a son of Abraham by faith.

Now the narrative reaches a high point and indeed this is the high point of all Scripture. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Good news for those of us who see our imperfection and recognize our sin before God. Jesus comes to seek and to save you. Zacchaeus climbed a tree thinking that he could thereby see who Jesus was. But Jesus is the one who ascended a tree, that is the tree of the cross, where He shed His blood for your sins. In this you see who God is. “No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.” John 1:18. In Christ Jesus, God is made known to you. And since God abides within you through Christ, salvation has come to you.

How about you? Do you want Jesus to come and abide with you today. Good news! Through the Word you hear today, Christ abides in you. In your Baptism, God the Holy Spirit has come to you and taken up His home within you. And as you come to this table to receive the very body and blood of Christ in the bread and wine, Christ comes to you.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.