" Jesus had one simple focus: seeking and saving the lost."
Let’ s think about the who for a second. Zacchaeus was not a quality guy. He was a tax collector, and tax collectors were untrustworthy, greedy sellouts— or at least that was their stereotype. As my coauthor, Kat Armstrong, noted in her Bible study Sinners, tax collectors collected taxes for the Roman government. And since tax collectors earned their living by demanding more from the people being taxed than the Romans required, corruption was widespread in the industry. Many tax collectors overtaxed people to take their slice of the pie.
" Jesus had one simple focus: seeking and saving the lost."
The when is important to help us understand the context of what Jesus was saying about who he came to seek and save. During this moment in history, the Jews were suffering under Roman oppression. Roman taxes made life for the lower socioeconomic class unbearable— almost not survivable. The money the tax collectors extorted went into the silk-lined pockets of the Roman emperor as well as to the tax collectors themselves. To the Jews, tax collectors were robbers of what was due to God so they equated tax collection with treason against God himself.
Jesus initiated a conversation with one of the most-hated men in Jericho, during a time in history when Zacchaeus was a known enemy of God’ s people, participating in the corruption and harm caused by the oppressors. And Jesus purposed this moment in his ministry to make his mission statement public.
Now let’ s consider what words Jesus used to define his mission:
The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost( Luke 19:10).
It doesn’ t get clearer than that, does it? I’ m convinced Jesus intended the who, when, and what of this shocking conversation with Zacchaeus to show us not only what he was called to do but also how he was going to go about fulfilling his mission.
He was simple. Many other people lived in Jericho, but Jesus sought out Zacchaeus. Because Jesus’ mission was focused on seeking and saving the lost, he was focused on seeking and saving Zacchaeus. When Jesus said“ lost,” he meant the worst of the worst –– even the despised. There’ s nothing complicated about it. It’ s so simple we might be tempted to miss the point altogether.
All that to say, in Jesus’ time“ tax collectors were hated, judged, and considered traitors.” 1 That’ s why Jesus’ conversation with Zacchaeus, a tax collector, is so surprising.
He was steadfast. Jesus could have preached a long sermon or told a parable to illustrate his declaration, but instead, he invited himself into Zacchaeus’ s home,
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