30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
LUKE 19 1-10 SEEKING TO SAVE THE LOST 02 God desires mercy and not sacrifice
📖 Luke 19:1-10
16Nov2020 - *God desires mercy and not sacrifice* - _Luke 19:1-10_ - SEEKING TO SAVE THE LOST 2 – Bible reading: _Matthew 9:11-13_
_Luke 19:1 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho._
The Lord passed through Jericho. He was reaching people that they should not perish but have everlasting life. The Lord was also seeking for one man, Zacchaeus.
This is the heart of God that we need to internalise. On one side to be able to see the harvest at large and to also see the one person, whom God has chosen.
_Luke 19:2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich._
Zacchaeus was a rich, chief tax collector. Tax collectors were hated by the people in biblical times and were regarded as sinners. They were Jews who worked for the Romans, so this made them traitors. People resented paying taxes to the foreigners, who ruled over them. The tax collectors, considered as traitors by the Jewish public, were taking taxes from the Jewish people and paying the money to the foreigners. This made the tax collectors doubly disgraceful in the eyes of the Jews.
The tax collectors, over time, became very rich and were a law to themselves. They were like the local mafia. They wielded much power and they would have a minor army of muscle men to bully people to pay. The tax collectors would often collect more than what was expected to be collected from the people. For all of these and for many more reasons, the tax collectors were seen as sinners.
The common people saw the tax collectors as evil people and so they found it difficult to comprehend as to why Jesus would go to stay in a tax collector’s house. _Luke 19:7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner."_
The religious people were on the opposite camp of the tax collector. They were patriotic to Israel. They made sure that they did everything according to the law. They saw themselves as the good people of society. In their mind, Jesus, claiming to be the Messiah, should associate Himself with them, and not with anybody else.
Tax collectors considered themselves as despicable and they stayed away from the public and religious life of the Jewish community.
Why then was Jesus reaching out to such a person like Zacchaeus, the rich tax collector? This friends is where we see the crux of the gospel message.
Jesus loved Zacchaeus and wanted him to come into the habitat of God and not perish. Man should not perish; this is the Lord’s concern.
In reaching Zacchaeus the Lord was opening the door for those, whom society had thrown out, to come into the habitation of God. The Lord is wanting us, as His church, to carry on ourselves the same heart of God to seek and save the lost.
We understand the basis for a man’s restoration in this conversation between the religious leaders and Jesus.
_Matthew 9:11-13 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" (12) When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. (13) But go and learn what this means: 'I DESIRE MERCY AND NOT SACRIFICE.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."_
The basis by which a man can be restored into the fullness of God is by trusting in the mercy of God. Every person, whether a Pharisee or a tax collector, can come to God only on the basis of seeking God’s mercy by faith in Him.
It was very difficult for the Pharisees to seek the mercy of God by faith. They saw themselves as those, who were doing their very best to keep all the requirements that the law prescribed. They expected Jesus to acknowledge how good they were before God but here was Jesus searching out for a man like Zacchaeus, for there was hope for Zacchaeus. It was not too hard for Zacchaeus to seek the mercy of God by faith.
_Luke 18:13-14 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' (14) I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."_
*Thought to ponder*
```May we always be at the place of seeking God’s mercy, for we are righteous before God, by the covering of the blood of Jesus and not on any merit of our own. Let us also seek out those who are open to receive the mercy and pardon of God```