“Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.”
– Jesus to Zacchaeus (Luke 19:9)
Zacchaeus was indeed a “wee little man,” and not only physically. He was a small man spiritually, a crook that ripped off his neighbors and pocketed his profit at their expense. One day, Jesus informed Zacchaeus that he would be staying at his house. It was a visit that forever changed the undersized tax collector. After Zacchaeus hosted Jesus in his home, he proclaimed exuberantly that he would repair all he had broken in the world, restoring everything he had ever stolen. Then, Jesus exclaimed that salvation had come to Zacchaeus’ house!
Salvation came to Zacchaeus’ house because Jesus came to the house. Where Jesus is, there is salvation. Where salvation is, there is a renewal and restructuring of a person’s entire life. Zacchaeus’ encounter with Jesus led him to make restitution by paying back four times as much as he had stolen in his life. For Zacchaeus, repentance was not merely a feeling sorry for sin and a short, simple prayer. Repentance constituted a visible act that made amends and transformed evil into good.
When Jesus enters our lives, we cannot stay the same. Salvation cannot be reduced to our response to an altar call, or our filling out a decision card at church. True repentance reaches into our checkbooks and makes changes, shuffling our priorities. True repentance pushes us to our neighbor’s doorstep to ask for forgiveness for past faults. True repentance cancels debts, transforms our priorities, reforms our desires, modifies our dreams, and heals our hurt and the hurt of others.
It was only after Zacchaeus expressed his change of heart and yearning for restoration that Jesus exclaimed: “Salvation has come!” What sin is lurking in your life that needs to be dealt with? In what area have you not allowed God to fully have His way? What are you holding back? Make the necessary adjustments, and the fresh winds of restoration will sweep over your life. Then, Jesus can say: “Salvation has come to this house! Salvation has come!”
written by Trevin Wax. © 2007 Kingdom People Blog
