Zacchaeus and Joyful Obedience

And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luk 19:2-10 ESV)

 

A name can tell a lot about a person. Zacchaeus’ name means “pure” according to Strong’s and is the Greek form of the Hebrew, Zakkai. How befitting is his name after his encounter with Jesus. He was a “chief tax collector”, that is a “superintendent of customs and tribute,”[1] as well as a rich man, due, not only to the richness of the city[2], but also probably because of his unrighteous handling of the revenues.

 

Yet we instantly see a change in Zacchaeus. We see determination and excitement at the prospect of seeing this “prophet from Nazareth”[3], as he, “ran on ahead.” Due to his stature, he climbs a tree in order to see Jesus, which would have, due to etiquette and social status, been undignified.

 

Now whether Jesus and Zacchaeus had ever met before, Luke does not tell us, but I believe it is safe to assume they had not. So when Zacchaeus hears Jesus call out to him by name, he “[hurries] down and receives [Jesus] joyfully.” One wonders, at that moment, if Zacchaeus spoke in his heart the same words of Nathanael:

 

“Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (Joh 1:49 ESV)

 

As we have already noted, there is no indication that Zacchaeus had ever met Jesus before now. Had he heard any of Jesus’ teaching? How much had he learned from others? Luke, who I believe is given to detail, does not tell us. However, he does tell us that:

 

Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”(Luk 19:8 ESV)

 

Why did Zacchaeus make such a statement? Being a “son of Abraham,” he would have known the Law and the Prophets, thus knowing that his riches were gained unrighteously and that restoration would have been required. He knew this beforehand, before his encounter with Jesus. Something was different now. Something was compelling him to do the right thing. Something had made joy to be found within him. It was the fact that he now stood in the presence of the Lamb of God. Jesus did not have to tell Zacchaeus what to do. He did not have to tell him how to feel. Zacchaeus did not respond with constrained obedience, but joyful obedience.

 

I hope you see the point. When we come to know our Saviour we should act towards him as we did/do with our new found love/spouse. They do not have to tell us to do things to show our love, we naturally just do them because we love them. We should feel the same way about obedience.

 

Jesus told Zacchaeus “I must stay at your house,” and Zacchaeus responded not only joyfully, but obediently. Jesus tells us:

 

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (Joh 14:23 ESV)

 

Jesus is saying to us “I must stay at your house today.” Will you “receive him joyfully?” And because of His presence, not constraint, relish His glory and holiness, and be obedient?

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[1] Fausset

[2] “The palm groves of Jericho and its balsam gardens (now no longer existing) were so valuable that Antony gave them as a source of revenue to Cleopatra, and Herod the Great redeemed them for his benefit.” Fausset

[3] Matthew 21:11

Scot McKnight, Calvinism, and Hebrews

Scot McKnight has written a few posts on his dealings with Calvinism and has done a series of post on the warning passages in Hebrews.

Here are the links to the posts.

Calvinism: My History 1

Calvinism: My History 2

Calvinism: My History 3

Calvinism: My History 4

Calvinism: My History 5

Calvinism: My History 6

Calvinism: My History 7

Remember that sometimes the gems are in the comments.

Electronic or Bound

Was reading Weekly Meanderings on Jesus Creed and came across this article. What are your thoughts?

5 reasons to use your bound bible & not your smartphone in church

Fifteen Lies Pornography Tells Men

In case you haven’t already read these excellent articles, check out Edwin Crozier’s articles.

Five Lies Pornography Tells Men

Five More Lies Pornography Tells Men

A Final Five More Lies Pornography Tells Men

Evangelicals Converting to Catholicism

There is an article from Christianity Today about “Evangelical conversions to Catholicism.” Mark Galli, who is the senior managing editor of Christianity Today, writes an insightful article that covers issues of conversion, parts of the ecclesiology of the church, the leading of the Holy Spirit, among other items of interest. The article begins with a question that was posed by the author.

On a recent trip to Durham, North Carolina, I was asked, “What do you make of all the evangelicals converting to Roman Catholicism?” What immediately came to mind was two recent and well-known conversions of evangelical scholars: Christian Smith, sociologist at Notre Dame, and Francis Beckwith, who at one time was president of the Evangelical Theological Society. Other well-known conversions to Catholicism in my generation—by men whose writings have been important in my intellectual growth—include the late Richard John Neuhaus and Robert Wilken (not from evangelicalism as such, but from Lutheranism).

This is an issue that has been occuring for awhile now, as I understand it. Also, it does seem odd with all the scandals that have been going on within the Roman Catholic church. Then you have the disturbing history. Yet, there does seem to be a move going on. And not just from the people in the pews, but some scholars as well.

Mark states one issue for the conversions as being,

…longing for authority. One of the most frustrating things about being Protestant, and especially evangelical, is that there is really no place to turn when you are ready to end a conversation on a controversial point. There is no authority figure or institution that can silence heterodoxy.

Then he makes a very insightful statement in the next paragraph. Basically that the evangelical world has become tired and lazy.

So, we understand the pull of the Catholic magisterium. We’d love to be able to say, “The church believes X,” and then back it up with a papal encyclical. We want “evangelical” to have clear and firm boundaries, so that when someone says they believe something outside of those boundaries, we can tell them definitively and assuredly that they are no longer evangelicals. We’re tired of arguing, of having to prove our point through the careful examination of Scripture and patient deliberation. Frankly, we’ve given up depending on prayer to change hearts and minds. We want to be able to say, “The church teaches …” or “The Holy Father says …” or “All biblical scholars believe …” in a way that separates the sheep from the goats.

We then are taken on a quick journey through church history and the issues that were faced and how conclusions were drawn.

Paul and Peter and John used their authority as apostles to try to settle disputes, though they mostly argued from Scripture or the teachings of Jesus. But even after they spoke or wrote, the church had to go through a period of discernment to determine what the Holy Spirit was, in fact, teaching the church.

Mark brings to mind that we need to listen to one another and discuss the issues, looking to the historic and scholarly sources, and most importantly, mining the Scriptures to see what the Holy Spirit has revealed.

He then closes beautifully.

We don’t need a magisterium. We already have a Lord, who told us that not even the gates of Hades (whose landlord loves to sows confusion in the church!) will prevail against the church.

In short, we don’t need premature closure as much as we need persevering confidence that the Spirit will lead us into all the truth we need, when we need it.

Now, I would personally tweak the last statement he made to read, “In short, we don’t need premature closure as much as we need persevering confidence that the Spirit has led us into all the truth we need.”

I believe we will do another post on some other thoughts I have gathered while reading this article. I hope you have some insights also.

I was notified of this article by Scot McKnight at Jesus Creed. To read the comments there click here.

Use Your Five Senses While Drinking Coffee

Coffee is extremely complex chemically and physically, each green bean containing around 500 aromatic and flavor components. And that’s just for starters. Roasting increases that count three-fold, the heat creating entirely new components while also intensifying the elements present prior to roasting. Length and temperature of the roast ultimately determine how fully the raw bean is transformed. Wine, considered among the most complex and nuanced beverages, has but 300-400 components. In tech terms, coffee is data rich, bursting with sensory information that taste alone can’t process.

Read the rest of the article here.

I was given a heads up about this article from Scot McKnight at Jesus Creed.

Repentance and Joy

Oh, the wonders and joys of parenting! The lessons that the Father teaches us through our children. The examples of His love towards us and responses we should have towards Him are enumerable. We learn about grace, in that we love our children and show them “favor” even when that “favor” is not merited. Yet, at the same time we learn why He disciplines us, and why we need it. He teaches us about His patience and long-suffering, His kindness and compassion. We experience the pain, in a small way, that He feels when we are ill, both physically and spiritually, and the all encompassing urge to do whatever it takes to remedy the illness.

We also learn about repentance and the joy that it brings. The other day, which in my mind can stretch from yesterday to a year ago, Isaac and I were playing, and he did something that he already knew was wrong. Now, it wasn’t anything that deserved strict discipline, but I would have had to of talked to him about what he did wrong. Yet, instantly, he said he was sorry and grabbed my neck. Now it wasn’t out of fear, because I believe he knew that all I was going to do was say, “That’s not nice, we don’t do that.” However, he knew what he did wrong and immediately tried to remedy the situation. You know what kind of joy that brought to me. You know how I did not hold back any love or compassion.

We act, respond, and think so differently when it comes to our heavenly Father, don’t we? We act like our ancestors, Adam and Eve, and hide. We tend to run from Him. Sometimes it is out of shame, sometimes out of fear, and sometimes both. We understand that He is El Elyon[1], El Shaddai[2], YHWH Ts’vaot[3]. Yet, we forget that He is also, Abba[4].

He is our Father and as such has feelings towards us as earthly fathers have towards their children.

“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,…” (Exo 34:6b-7a ESV)

“with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” (Isa 54:8b ESV)

Why do we feel this way? Do we not know His character and love?

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. (Joh 3:16 HCSB)

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom 8:1 ESV)

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” (1Jn 4:18 ESV)

He calls us to repent and return to Him.[5] He is the Father of the prodigal, who looking and waiting, runs to embrace the repentant.[6]

“Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luk 15:10 ESV)

I emphasize “before”, because the Saviour is telling us that the Father has joy before the angels over your repentance. We are told that we are to be as children. Will you be as one today, and run to your Father’s waiting arms?

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[1] God Most High

[2] God Almighty

[3] LORD of Hosts

[4] Vine’s “Abba is the word framed by the lips of infants” cf. Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6

[5] cf. Acts 3:19, 17:30, James 4:18-20, 1John 1:9

[6] Luke 15:11-32