There is an inviting spirit here today. This is exactly what Jesus wants. Today he wants to go home with you.
Luke 19: 5And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house. 9And Jesus said unto him, this day is salvation come to this house, for so much as he also is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
The story of Zacchaeus is one of the first stories I learned at home, at Bible class in school, and in Sunday school. It’s sort of a humorous story. Zacchaeus was so short he had to climb a sycamore tree to see Jesus. No one else noticed him do it, but with all the people around that day, Jesus looked in that tree and called Zacchaeus by name. Jesus knows us all. To see Jesus, we must rise above all our false ideas of who or what he is. We have to rise above the junk, above whatever hinders, and then get low enough to get to Jesus. Zacchaeus did just that. He climbed over the hindrances to his stature, and Jesus called him down to him.
This is not just a children’s story. The experience illustrates to us the vital importance of how much we need Jesus and how much Jesus needs to go home with us. Many others had asked Jesus to go home with them, but for the first time, Jesus invited himself home with someone else. It can be awkward if someone invites himself home with you or just drops in. This is exactly what Jesus did. It’s what he wants to do with you today. He desired to go home with Zacchaeus and abide with him. He wants to go home with you. He wants to be the Savior of your soul and Lord of your house.
You may have come here with no thought of taking Jesus home with you or giving him a greater part of yourself, but that’s what Jesus intends and desires. He is doing you a favor. Don’t say “no, Lord.” Jesus needed to go home with Zacchaeus, and Zacchaeus needed for it to happen too. We should all be seeking Jesus in these dangerous times. It’s not a safe time physically; it’s not a safe time spiritually. We’re taught and influenced by wicked things. People may not invite Jesus to go with them much anymore, but he still wants to come. Many want an “external faith” that allows them to see Jesus at church or when it’s beneficial to them but do not want him to abide with them. Our top prerogative should be for Jesus to live with us and be part of our lives.
Zacchaeus had riches, but he needed something far more valuable. We might need a few things in this life, but we need Jesus more than we need even our health. Jesus knows how much we need him. As a Jewish tax collector, Zacchaeus was more hated than the Romans were. Many would have thought he deserved to go to hell. Jesus still sought him out. He told him to come down from the tree, and he did. This little short man looked up to Jesus and took him home with him. Verse 6 says Zacchaeus received him joyfully. Because of his response, Jesus said “this day is salvation come to this house.” Zacchaeus’ life was never the same. He made a change. In the mist of all this, Jesus turned and looked at the crowd and said “for the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Jesus is seeking you out. He’s knocking on the door of your heart. Will you, like Zacchaeus, receive him joyfully? Will you take him home with you today?
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 