He climbed up, but hurried down

Luke 19:4 “…he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree…” The Bible says that “Zacchaeus was trying to see who Jesus was…”(Luke 19:3a), which indicates that he had never seen Jesus before, but had probably heard about him. But Zacchaues had a problem. “…On account of the crowd he could not see Him, because he was short in stature.”(Luke 19:3b) Zacchaeus thought he could solve this particular problem by running ahead of Jesus and climbing up a sycamore tree that was on the way that Jesus was going to pass through. “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 down and was happy to welcome Him.” (Luke 19:5,6) Isn’t it typical of us to keep thinking to ourselves that we have Jesus in hearts, Jesus in our homes, Jesus in our ministries, chiefly because we chose to invite him in. I wonder how we would have ever opened the door and invited him in, if He had not taken the first step to knock? Yes it is true that Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus home – but do you think he would have had that privilege, if Jesus had never bothered to stop by the tree, look up at him and say, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must…” Wait a minute… I must??? Did Jesus say, “I must…” Zaccheaus didn’t even know who Jesus was; he hadn’t even seen Him before! I would have thought that when you meet someone you haven’t met before and you wanted to stay over at their place for the day, you would ask “Could I please stay at your house today?” or “Would you mind if I stayed over at your place today?” On the contrary, what we read here is not a polite request from Jesus to Zacchaeus, but rather a compelling proposal – “I MUST stay at your house today.” Oh the love of a Holy King who thought of stopping by my sycamore tree and compelled me to have Him come home - home to a sinner like me!! Calvary was not a polite request to mankind to be saved, but a demonstration of how far the love of God would go to compel us to have Him come home to us. “…Rarely will anyone die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…for while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son” (Romans 5:7,8,10a) Notice that in order for Zacchaeus to welcome Jesus home, he had to first hurry down the tree. Would he have been able to take Jesus home if he had refused to come down that tree? Absolutely not! Entering into fellowship with Christ is possible only when we LEAVE OUR GROUND and REACH HIS GROUND – i.e. THE BLOOD. Beware of assuming that Christ came home because you took the effort to climb up the tree. Rather it was because you took the effort and hurried down the tree that made it possible for you to take Him home. Which tree do you tend to climb? The tree of a rich Christian family heritage that makes you think it gives you easier access into fellowship with Christ? “Hurry down”; it is the blood that makes it possible. Or maybe the tree of a disciplined Bible study routine that you follow? “Hurry down” it is the blood that makes it possible. Or maybe the tree of a successful and useful ministry u have? “Hurry down”; it is the blood that makes it possible. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2: 13) “…We have been justified by His blood…” (Romans 5:9). Hurry! Climb down your tree and enter into communion with Him, on basis of the blood and NOTHING else. Lastly, “…the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” So it was not because Zacchaeus climbed up the tree that he had an encounter with Christ; it was because Jesus came seeking for him there. Even if Zacchaeus had not been on top of a tree, but behind a bush or even lost in the crowd – the Son of Man would have sought him out. “Those whom he foreknew he also predestined…those whom he predestined, he called; those whom he called, he also justified; and those whom he justified, he glorified” (Romans 8:29,30) Are you trying to seek Jesus, but at the same time you feel “short” and can’t seem to find Him? Do not fear – the Son of Man will “seek you out” wherever you are. God knows exactly where you are today. He knows your shortcomings, your fears, your desires, your failures, your worries –He knows everything. Believe in Him. Will you climb down that tree today and receive justification based on the blood that paid your penalty? Will you accept His Lordship over your life and receive His salvation? Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts… He climbed up, but he hurried down and called Him Lord.

I cannot do it

Mark 5: 4 “…he had often been restrained with shackles and chains but the chains he wrenched….shackles he broke…” In this passage of scripture, we read about a demon possessed man whom “no one could restrain”. This conclusion is arrived at because “he has often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke to pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him.” (Luke 5:4) Although we may not be demon possessed and living among the tombs ourselves, there are many aspects about the spiritual walk we can learn through him. We see the problem being tackled here by two different approaches: i.e. the approach used by the people around him and the approached used by Jesus. The approach used by the people around him was to put restrictions on him viz. the chains, the shackles etc., to control his behaviour. Sooner or later they arrived at the conclusion that “no one could restrain him”. Similarly in our walk with the Lord we try our level best to resort to “restrictions” to live a life free of sin. Sooner than later, we realize that no matter how many times we decide and we resolve and no matter how hard we try, we do not have the power to live a life free of sin. “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate”. (Romans 7:15). The Apostle Paul in his struggle against sin came to this conclusion one day: “For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it” (Romans 7:18). The truth is, we cannot do what is right by resorting to “fix” our external actions because the problem is not external, but internal; i.e. the heart. “...it is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come…” (John 7:20, 21). Hence, Jesus approached the issue from another angle; i.e. he dealt with the heart. In other words what chains and shackles did not achieve, the Word of the Lord by the Spirit of God did! Jesus became like us (human) in every aspect and he lived a life without sin – not by the application of external “restriction” or law, but by the Spirit of God. In fact, Jesus came to fulfill the law. He then went on the cross to crucify and kill this flesh in which “nothing good dwells”. And because God chose us and destined us in Christ (Ephesians 1:4, 5), we were also crucified with Him! (Romans 6:6) Jesus then rose again from the dead because death could not hold Him in its power (Acts 2:24). And after Jesus was glorified, God poured out His same Spirit on us, so that we may live as His witnesses. “…it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2: 20). So how can we live a righteous life? – Only by faith in Christ. Beware of implementing “restrictions” on ourselves to overcome sin and then blaming God for its failure. “…the righteous shall live by faith” (Romans1:17). So then remember, “I can will what is right, but I cannot do it”.