Being "Thirsty" is a good thing.

Calling All Zaccheuses .

Zaccheus Converted
(Luke 19:5-10 NASB)

     5     When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus,
     hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house."
    6     And he hurried and came down and received Him ?1?gladly.
    7     When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, "He has gone ?1?to
    be the guest of a man who is a sinner."
    8     Zaccheus stopped and said to ?a?the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my
    possessions I ?1?will give to the poor, and if I have ?b?defrauded anyone of
    anything, I ?1?will give back ?c?four times as much."
    9     And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because
    he, too, is ?a?a son of Abraham.
    10     "For ?a?the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was
    lost."

[1]

We have to learn by contact with Jesus Christ is this, that if the whole human
race-everybody, good, bad and indifferent-is lost, we must have the boundless
confidence of Jesus Christ Himself about us, that is, we must know that He can
save anybody and everybody. There is a great deal of importance to be attached
to this point. Just reflect in your mind and think of some lives you know that are
frozen; there is no conviction of sin; they are dishonourable, and they know it; they
are abnormal, off the main track altogether, but they are not a bit troubled about it;
talk to them about their wrong doing and they are totally indifferent to you. You
have to learn how to introduce the atmosphere of the Lord Jesus Christ around
those souls. As soon as you do, something happens. Look what happened to
Zacchaeus-?"?And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the
half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have wrongfully exacted aught of any
man, I restore fourfold?"? (rv). Who had been talking to him about his doings?
Not a soul. Jesus had never said a word about his evil doings. What awakened
him? What suddenly made him know where he was? The presence of Jesus![2]

Luke 19:3-4  What a scene: Zacchaeus, a wealthy Roman official, first
ran-something dignified men never did-then scrambled up a tree in order to
catch a glimpse of this One passing by. The foundation of faith is childlike curiosity
and simplicity. Jesus said that we must enter the kingdom as a little child (Luke
18:17), as one who doesn't have all the answers but simply believes. Zacchaeus
models this beautifully.[3]

Luke 19:5  Although Zacchaeus may have thought he was seeking Jesus, in reality
it was Jesus who found him. The same is true of us (Romans 3:11).[4]

19:6 Zacchaeus did as he was told, and received the Lord joyfully. We can almost
certainly date his conversion from this time.

19:7 The Savior's critics all complained against Him because He went to be a
guest with a man who was a known sinner. They overlooked the fact that, coming
into a world like ours, He was limited exclusively to such homes!

19:8 Salvation had brought a radical change in the life of the tax gatherer. He
informed the Savior that he now intended to give half his goods to the poor. (Up to
this time, he had been gouging as much as possible from the poor.) He also
planned to make fourfold restitution for any money he had gained dishonestly. This
was more than the law demanded (Ex. 22:4, 7; Lev. 6:5; Num. 5:7). It showed
that Zacchaeus was now controlled by love whereas formerly he was mastered by
greed.

[5]

[Luke 19:8].

Something had happened to this man! He admitted that he had been robbing the
poor and promised to give half of his goods to the poor and to restore fourfold to
those whom he had falsely taxed. He was acting according to the Mosaic Law
(see Exod. 22). Something had happened inside Zacchaeus, and he was a new
man.

We are not given an account of the conversation between Zacchaeus and our
Lord. For some reason the Holy Spirit did not give us an account of what
transpired between these two men. However, when our Lord talked to men He
usually spoke of two things: (1) man's need and (2) God's ability to meet that
need. He did not have to tell Zacchaeus that he was a sinner. Zacchaeus knew he
was a sinner, and so did everyone else. The Lord told him there was a remedy for
sin. He said, "I am going to Jerusalem to die on the cross so that there will be a
mercy seat for you, Zacchaeus."

[6]

[Luke 19:9].

Zacchaeus was shut out from the mercy seat in the temple when he became a
publican. That mercy seat pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ and to His blood that
He shed for us on the cross. The Lord wanted this hated man to know that He
was going to Jerusalem to die, and His death would provide for him a mercy seat.
This publican made a decision for Christ and became a new man.

[7]

[Luke 19:10].

Note that Zacchaeus did not come to the door and say, "I want to give my
testimony: Jesus saves and keeps and satisfies." Rather he said, "Half my goods I
will give to the poor, and I will make right the things that have been wrong." By
this I know he has been converted. And, friend, this is the only way the world will
know that you are converted. They do not know it by testimony; they know it only
by what they see in your life.If it were not for his changed life, I would never know
that this old publican got converted.

The experience of Zacchaeus is a good illustration of what James says: "Yea, a
man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy
works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works" (James 2:18). Zacchaeus
showed his faith by his works. He did not talk about his faith; he demonstrated it.
The world is not listening for something today; it is looking for something.
Zacchaeus had what the world is looking for. Jesus had dinner with him and his life
changed.

[8]

"Zacchaeus is an example of radical repentance, not of practical wisdom, and it is
assumed that his response will leave him pretty much in the same financial state
required of the rich ruler."424  [9]

Jesus is still entering and passing through your town wherever it is, and He wants
to have dinner with those who do not know Him. He wants to talk about your soul
and salvation. What about it? Has He passed through your home? Has He
knocked on your heart's door? Have you let Him in?

[10]

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1 Lit rejoicing
1 Or to find lodging
a Luke 7:13
1 Lit am giving
b Luke 3:14
c Ex 22:1; Lev 6:5; Num 5:7; 2 Sam 12:6
a Luke 3:8; 13:16; Rom 4:16; Gal 3:7
a Matt 18:11

[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Lk 19:5). LaHabra, CA:
The Lockman Foundation.

[2]Chambers, O. (1996, c1937). Workmen of God : The cure for souls. Hants
UK: Marshall, Morgan & Scott.

[3]Courson, J. (2003). Jon Courson's Application Commentary (391). Nashville,
TN: Thomas Nelson.

[4]Courson, J. (2003). Jon Courson's Application Commentary (392). Nashville,
TN: Thomas Nelson.

[5]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary :
Old and New Testaments (Lk 19:6). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[6]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the Thru
the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (4:333). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[7]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the Thru
the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (4:333). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[8]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the Thru
the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (4:333). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

424 424. Tannehill, The Narrative . . ., 1:124. Cf. 7:36-50; Matt. 26:6-13.

[9]Tom Constable. (2003; 2003). Tom Constable's Expository Notes on the
Bible (Lk 19:8). Galaxie Software.

[10]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the Thru
the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (4:333). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

--
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"The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield
to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he
cannot bear scorn."   ~ Squash a Liver! ~
Born once, die twice. Born twice, die once.
Respond by Email.

LORD willing.

Please continue to pray for our dear friends and neighbors (especially
Randy aka Pulpitfire and Pastor Dave aka BibleBeliever) who have been
convicted by the Holy Spirit:

http://HeartMDPhD.com/Convicts

Sadly, they both are as blind as ex-pastor Dan Barker:

http://HeartMDPhD.com/HolySpirit/blind.asp

Andrew <><
--
Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
http://EmoryCardiology.com