He Received Him Joyfully – Luke 19:1-10

C.S. Lewis writes about his conversion in his autobiographical book, Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life.  He had no desire to become a Christian, indeed fought against it with great energy, but felt compelled by truth and joy to enter “kicking and screaming” into the kingdom.  The longing for joy led him to Jesus, much, we may assume, as it did for Zacchaeus.

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”  (Luke 19:1-10 ESV)

Did anyone grumble when you came to know Jesus?  Did they wonder why He would show such favor to someone so undeserving?  Praise God that Jesus came to seek and save the lost.

Four things stand out about this event:

• Zacchaeus unexpectedly was drawn to Jesus, an acknowledgement that, despite his wealth, his life was missing something necessary for true meaning.
• The Holy Spirit alerted Jesus to this supernaturally so that, in a sense, he knew Zacchaeus before he even met him and offered him salvation and relationship.
• Joy became a major factor in Zacchaeus’ conversion.
• Salvation resulted in a desire to do right.  Zacchaeus’ change of heart upon acceptance and forgiveness by Jesus moved him to offer restitution for anyone he had defrauded.  This was the evidence that he was truly redeemed.