Jesus Came to Find and Save the Lost

Verses: Luke 19 : 1 - 10

My thoughts about the verses:

It is amazing that people are still shocked at the people that come to find their salvation in Jesus. People expect Jesus is looking for the righteous to bring home.  People judge others and are shocked that Jesus will forgive people that have done in their eyes big sins.  Through their judgment they too are committing a sin yet, they seem to overlook that.  Instead their focus is on the fact that God would let, in their eyes, the lowest of the low to save.

See what people miss is that we have all done things that have separated us from the grace of God.  No one is perfect instead all have sinned.  Yet, we try to justify ourselves and say well  I haven't murdered anyone or stole from them.  Therefor I must not be as bad as others.  Yet, what God wants us to know that all need to trust the healing power of  Jesus to be saved.

You have to understand the history of tax collectors at the time of Jesus.  See tax collectors were those that were chosen by the Romans to collect the taxes from the people that they owed Caesar.  Yet, many of the tax collectors became common criminals.  For every time they collected from the emperor they collected a little more for themselves.  Many of the tax collectors were Jews themselves and they lived better than the average citizen.

Understanding that concept you can understand why the people were amazed and a little angry that Jesus would save this man.  They were despised and hated because they had hurt so many people by over taxing them so that they could prosper.  Yet, Zacchaeus came to Jesus because he wanted to see the Savior with his own eyes.  He was so short that he climbed a tree because he knew that he had to see him.  That Jesus would soon pass by and he had to behold him with his own eyes.

Jesus looks up in the tree and says come down Zacchaeus I am going to your house today.  At that moment Zacchaeus was convicted for all he had done.  He immediately said that he would give half of his money to the poor and then would right the wrongs that he had done to his fellow man.  It was this faith that led Jesus to say that he was saved.  He had searched for his answer and he had received it by seeing Jesus, confessing us his sins and asking for the forgiveness that could only come from the Savior.

People immediately judged him because he was this sinner.  Jesus then goes forward with the message that we need to learn.  Jesus came to Earth searching for the ones that were lost.  Jesus didn't come for those that did not need him to find salvation.  Once we are find we have the opportunity to turn our lives over to Jesus and be saved. We are no longer lost souls but free souls.

Here is what I want you to take away from this is that we all are lost before Jesus finds us.  We are souls that sin every day in one way or another.  It doesn't have to be a giant sin yet, we all do things that separate us from God.  Jesus therefor came for us.  He came so that we could go from being a lost soul to a living forgiven soul.  We are free because we have accepted the grace that comes from loving God.

Prayer:

Thank you God for loving us more than words can ever describe.  We thank you Jesus for coming to find us that were lost and needing forgiveness.  thank you Savior for going to the cross to spill your blood so that through that cleansing we could have eternal life of blessings.  We thank you Holy spirit for coming into our life and helping us be the children that serve God.

Questions:

Have you accepted Jesus into your life?  Are you willing to admit that you need Jesus to be free?  Have you ever judged others thinking that they did not deserve the grace of God.  What must you do today to spread the word of the living resurrection?