Luke 19:10 summarizes Jesus’ mission statement. Jesus said to Zacchaeus, the crooked tax collector, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Zacchaeus was the “chief tax collector” (Luke 19:2) in Jericho which was located along a major trading route so there was much to tax. Tax collectors were Jews who worked for the Roman Empire. Taxation was heavy and the Jews opposed these taxes because they supported a secular government and its pagan gods, but they were forced to pay. The collectors were very unpopular in Israel because they chose to work for the Romans. They were considered traitors. In addition they gouged their fellow Jews and made themselves rich by doing so. No wonder, therefore, the people “grumbled” (19:7) when Jesus went home with Zacchaeus. But despite being a cheat and a turncoat, Jesus loved him and in response Zacchaeus became a follower of Christ. Zacchaeus then proved his conversation by making restitution to those he cheated by paying them back fourfold what he stole which is far beyond the requirement of the law (Leviticus 6:5, Numbers 5:7). He also gave half his goods to the poor (Luke19:8). His outward action demonstrated his inward change.
Among many, here are a couple huge lessons in this story:
1. Jesus loves those in every society who are considered to be untouchable because of their political views, their immoral behavior or lifestyle. We as disciples of Jesus should not give in to social pressure to avoid these people. Jesus loves them, seeks them and wants to save them.
2. When Jesus said Zacchaeus was a “son of Abraham” (Luke 19:9) and yet he was lost, shock waves must have gone through the crowd! They were shocked in at least two ways because:
*they would not have wanted to acknowledge that Zacchaeus was a fellow son of Abraham and
*they would not have wanted to admit that sons of Abraham could be lost.
The truth is people are not justified with God by a good heritage or condemned by a bad one. It is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone, by which we are made right with God (Romans 5:1-2). Jesus still loves to bring the lost into His kingdom, regardless of their reputation, name, religious or political background or previous way of life. Through faith in Him, the lost can be found and forgiven.
The question for us modern day disciples of Jesus Christ is: Is His mission statement ours?