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Jesus and Zacchaeus - Grace for the Unlikely
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” — Luke 19:10 (ESV)
Zacchaeus was wealthy, powerful, and widely disliked. As a chief tax collector, he had become rich within a system known for exploitation.
He was probably not the person most people expected Jesus to choose for dinner.
But Jesus stopped beneath his tree and called him by name.
Grace Sees the Person Others Reject
The crowd saw Zacchaeus’s reputation. Jesus saw a man who needed salvation.
That is grace.
Jesus did not approve of Zacchaeus’s sin. In fact, encountering Jesus changed the way Zacchaeus viewed his money and the people he had wronged. Grace welcomed him, and that grace produced repentance.
Sometimes Christians are tempted to decide who is likely to respond to God. We may assume someone is too immoral, too hostile, too wealthy, too broken, or too far gone.
Zacchaeus reminds us that Jesus specializes in unlikely stories.
He also reminds us that genuine encounters with Christ change us. Grace is not permission to remain exactly as we were. It is the love of God meeting us where we are and leading us somewhere new.
No past disqualifies someone from being invited to Jesus.
That includes yours.
A Prayer for Today
Lord Jesus, thank You that Your grace reaches unlikely people. Keep me from judging who is worthy of hearing the Gospel. Change the parts of my own life that need repentance, and help me extend to others the grace You have shown me. Amen.
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