HEIGHT ADVANTAGE

Zaccheaus was a renowned tax collector, a wealthy man, a man of substance and means. He was despised by his fellow Jews because of his collaboration with Rome to collect taxes and even more for surcharging them on their taxes. But because of his position of influence, his fellow citizens would not call him out. They murmured their complaints against him in silence.

When Zaccheaus heard that Jesus was passing by, he lay down his crowns, titles, position, power, wealth, status quo, what he thought of himself, and what others thought of him. He was willing to be undignified just to have a glimpse of Jesus the Messiah- Jesus Christ. Because he could not find a front-row ground to stand and see Jesus, he climbed up a tree. (Luke 19:1-9 ) Imagine seeing a government official in our present-day on top of a tree trying to catch a glimpse of an important person passing by. It seems unorthodox in every sense of the word. Faith has a position; to be able to take up the view and see God and Zacchaeus was willing to get off his high horse (position and status) so as to see Jesus

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At that moment in time, it did not matter who saw him. His mind was set on seeing Jesus. Our Lord Jesus presents Himself to us in His word. Through the word of life, He calls us to “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Psalm 34:8 The tree that we have to climb is the tree of taking His word to read so that we may encounter God and the power available to bring us to salvation.

The tree that we have to climb is overcoming busyness– not having time to read God’s word but having time to do everything else in life; procrastination– I will do it tomorrow; substitution– I would rather be watching a movie rather than read the word; laziness– feeling sleepy any time you open the Bible; and a host of other excuses. This is all in an effort to commune with the Lord Jesus in His word, so that like Zaccheaus, salvation may come to our homes.

Faith is seen in our actions, there is a step we need to take; Dust off our bibles and spend some time reading so as to commune with God in His word. Zaccheaus had to change his position from standing on the ground (doing the normal things ) to climbing a tree (finding time to commune with God) thereby overcoming the status quo and every high and lofty thought of self and position. In the same manner so do we, in order to fight against every type of distraction, laziness, excuses, and disruption to seek Christ- just a glimpse of Christ.

After Jesus calls Zaccheaus and asks him to get down from the tree. Jesus invites himself to Zacchaeus’s house. At this, Zaccheaus is excited amidst murmurs and grumbles from his fellow Jews. The Jews questioned whether there was no more honorable man that Jesus could visit instead of Zaccheaus- the corrupt and unfair collaborator of the Roman rulers. As you embark on the journey of knowing God through His word there will be competing voices- like friends who will say you no longer have time for them and other things that will try to compete for your attention all this with an attempt to distract your pursuit. The reminder here is to fix your eyes on Jesus, and the world will become strangely dim in the light of his wonder and grace.

Jesus begins to walk with Zaccheaus, and he (Zaccheaus) repents. His thirst for acquisition, and things seem to fall away. Zaccheaus now cares about doing what is right and wants to bring about justice. Without any prompting by Jesus, Zaccheaus says that he will bring restitution to those he had taxed unfairly and is even willing to pay extra for the injustice he had meted on his fellow citizens. The reality is that an encounter with Jesus Christ, brings about a change in our hearts and lives and this change is outward and very visible. Just like Zaccheaus, the change brought about a shift in the whole community as he worked on restoring the things he had taken from his fellow Jews.

An encounter with Jesus Christ, brings about a change in our hearts and lives and this change is outward and very visible.

Faith is the substance of the unseen being made visible. Zaccheaus is changed by the encounter with Christ, his faith in Jesus brings salvation which causes him to do what is just. As disciples of Christ, we are called to a life of obedience. Obedience is doing what the word of God calls us to do. The Word says that if we are His disciples, His friends we should obey Him. (John 14:15; John 15:14 ) And as we walk with Christ in obedience, He ushers us to a place where being right with God matters more than what our peers and friends think, or what the status quo dictates.

Thus let us get off the place of comfort, dust our bibles, and get a devotional and a notebook. Jot down the lessons learned, prayers and requests, and challenges that need overcoming, and walk-in obedience to the Word of Life and we will see the salvation of God in every area of our lives. “Salvation has come to this home today- this man has shown today to be a son of Abraham” and Jesus concludes “I the son of man has come to seek and save those who are lost like him (Zaccheaus). Luke 19:9 Please note Jesus does not say please change and then come to Him, rather He calls us to Himself and transforms us.

May we have the courage to approach the throne of grace and find mercy for our souls in our very time of need, that the much-needed salvation may be found in us. (Hebrews 4:16)