Face to Face with My Salvation

I accepted Christ as my Savior when I was a preteen. Growing up in the church the message was clear on what I needed to do to have him live in my heart. I knew that I was a sinner and that the only way to have a relationship with Him was to ask Him to ask for forgiveness and ask Him to come into my heart. What I didn’t know at the time was what it meant to come face to face with my Salvation.

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. Luke 19:1-4 (ESV)

Hearing this story played out in a children’s may make this story feel very familiar to us. I pray you are able to get a new perspective on Jesus and His visit with Zaccheaus as we further our study.

A Divine Appointment

Jesus was passing through Jericho. As we have just learned on our journey with Jesus He had just healed blind Bartimaeus. He was on His way to Jerusalem for the final time. Jesus, however, never misses an appointment. This one was with an unexpected man of wee stature, who was waiting in the branches of a Sycamore tree.

Jericho was a center for trade at this time. It was a bustling city. A man by the name of Zaccheus was a chief tax collector. A tax collector was considered a defiled man because of His great deal of unlawful behavior.

A chief tax collector would have been at the top of the chain. He would have gotten part of the taxes collected from the other collectors. It was a trickle up system. The top got a piece of all the action. Everyone had to pay taxes but what they had to pay was determined in part by how much the tax collectors could “shake” out of them.

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.” Luke 19:5 (ESV)

Jesus Calls us by Name

As Jesus was walking by He looked up in the tree. It was no surprise that the man He was passing through to meet was perched in the branches along His very route. Not only does Jesus notice Him, He calls Him by name.

You may think of Zacchaeus as having a lot of wealth and associate that with popularity. This, however, was not the case. Tax collectors acquired wealth but not friendships. They were hated outcasts. Often times they did many horrific things to get the taxes from people. They were considered to be traders to their people.

Although Zaccheaus was a hated man, I wonder how many times he heard His name. Zacchaeus was Jewish, we know from his name, which coincidentally means pure. This meeting with Jesus is about to change everything to make his name suit him.

Jesus called Zaccheus to come down from that place for He must go to his house. To come down from that tree meant He had to come face to face with Jesus.

Zacchaeus had to hear about Jesus. We see from verse two that he had to see Jesus. He had to see who this man was that was able to change the condition of a man’s life. I would imagine that loneliness has to be one of the hardest places to be. Not just hours or days, but years. Not just from having someone but from having anyone.

Could this Jesus, who had called Him by name change his place in this world.

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.”Luke 19:6-7 (ESV)

Met with Great Joy

Jesus was met by Zacchaeus with great joy.

I don’t want to like Zacchaeus. I want to, like everyone else, think he got just what he deserved. What did he have to complain about? He had all that money could buy and a plethora more.

Yet, when Jesus called him out of the tree, it is as if for the first time in a long time, he found joy. Not because the man that had this huge following was coming to his house. He recognizes that Jesus was coming to his house.

This was the day that the Lord had made, he noticed and was joyfully going to live in it. Share on XHe was not going to let the cry of the naysayers get in the way of his opportunity to be restored to live life.

I am excited for him. Being released from the guilt of our sin and the power that it has over us, is something to celebrate.

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.”Luke 19:8 (ESV)

Repent and Turn From Your Ways

Zaccheus was face to face that day for the first time with his real salvation and immediately it changed him. We don’t see any indication of the conversation between them. What we see is when Jesus comes to your house He comes to clean it out.

Zacchaeus stands, shows signs of repentance and is ready to make it right. According to Jewish law, they were to give restitution for their wrongdoing by offering a guilt offering.

If you have sinned in any of these ways, you are guilty. You must give back whatever you stole, or the money you took by extortion, or the security deposit, or the lost property you found, or anything obtained by swearing falsely. You must make restitution by paying the full price plus an additional 20 percent to the person you have harmed. On the same day you must present a guilt offering. Leviticus 6:4-5 (NLT)

Zacchaeus was going beyond that. Jesus had impacted him so much that he was going to give half of his possessions to the poor and pay back anyone he had defrauded fourfold. This was beyond the law. This was the power of Jesus.

That is not just a sign of a new man. That is a sign of a free man. His possessions and all the things he had acquired had to have laid on him heavy. So heavy he desperately needed to unload the burden of it.

And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. Luke 19:9 (ESV)

Salvation Has Come

This day, in Zacchaeus’ house, salvation had arrived. I love thinking of Jesus posture in this verse. The joy that must have been on His face. The straight back, as He proudly calls him His son.

Today, in this house. Jesus was not just talking about Himself coming to the physical house of Zacchaeus. He was saying, Salvation has come and taken up residence in Zacchaeus. Salvation came for His appointment to meet a man who needed a new a new heart. A man who needed a new life. Zacchaeus recognized his need, repented, and turned his heart to Jesus.

Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make Our home with him. John 14:23 (BSB)

Our heart, heaven’s home. What a glorious day!

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 (ESV) Share on X

Seek and Save the Lost

This sums up what the old testament revealed and the new testament declares. Christ came with a mission.

Jesus’ mission was not just to be a good man. It wasn’t to be a teacher. It wasn’t to be a prophet or a healer or a friend. I believe we see all of these things because Jesus just couldn’t help Himself. He couldn’t stop being who He was.

But Jesus had a higher mission. There are times throughout His ministry that we see Jesus walk away from healing. We see Him walk away from the masses of people trying to get a quick fix. The ones that could only see Jesus for who they wanted Him to be.

Jesus reveals to us in this verse His mission. The Son of Man came to Seek and Save the Lost.

He sought out this day a man that was despised by all. Jesus wanted to show that the sinners, the lost, were the ones that needed found.

Coming Face to Face with Salvation

Coming face to face with Salvation means that we not only see the need for Jesus, but we repent. We turn from our own ways and follow Him.

I got the first part of my salvation right when I was young but it wasn’t until I was much older, that I realized that meeting my Salvation face to face meant turning from my ways and following Jesus wholeheartedly.  It means believing that what He has for me when I trust Him, is for my best. It means I get a personal relationship with the Living God.

Knowing that He who lives in me is greater than he who lives in the world, I can walk with confidence that today Salvation has come to this house. Share on X

What are some ways to know Salvation has come to Your House?

• God will seek you out. He will make a divine appointment. (Make sure you don’t miss it!)
• He will call you by name.
• Meet Him with great joy because He has come with open arms.
• Repent. Surrender your old ways. Turn away from them and Follow Jesus.
• Ask Jesus to take up residence and He will come and make your heart new.
• Saved. That is a word that we all want to hear. Saved from what. Not having Christ is our lives means that we are going to spend eternity away from Him in Hell. It is a message that most don’t want to hear but I love you enough to be honest.  I don’t the day to come when you stand before Jesus and say, “No one ever told me.” The gift of salvation is available. It is a free gift that was made available to us through Jesus’ death on the cross. The next step is in your hands.

Personal Reflections:

1. Have you asked Jesus Christ to be your personal Lord and Savior? If so, I would love to hear your story. Encourage us in the comments below. If not, I would love to further this conversation with you. Please email me at youresewtrendy@gmail.com
2. Do you meet Jesus with great joy?
3. If Salvation has come to your house, what do you do to live your life, knowing you are the Holy Temple of the Living God? Does that affect the decisions you make? How you treat people? How you treat yourself?
4. Are there any housekeeping items that you need to take care of today?
5. If you have been sought by Christ and called by name, what do you do to continue to seek Him?

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