Luke 19:1-5 - He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, 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 in 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."

Throughout the entire land of Judea in our Savior's day, no city had a more unsavory reputation than thief-infested Jericho. Within that ill-tempered city, no group of men were more bitterly detested than the local publicans, or tax-collectors, often greedy, dishonest, cruel, and always representative of the rich foreign oppressors, the Roman Empire. And among these despised officials, Zaccheus felt the brunt of the people's hatred. Yet it is to this shunned man in this disgraced city that our blessed Lord speaks words of extraordinary grace: "I must stay at your house today."

This blessing had come to Zaccheus as a complete surprise. Here in Jericho we meet the Christ for all mankind, the Christ for every age, for every home, for every family, and one of His greatest promises is spoken to an outcast in and outcast community. What a wealth of promise in this picture of the chief tax-collector on a limb overhanging the road of Jesus' approach!

"Hurry and come down!" How electrifying these words from the Savior. How incredible the thought that God's own Son should cross the threshold and enter the house that others had shunned. Although Jesus' face was set toward Jerusalem and the agonies of Gethsemane and Calvary, still He stops on His journey for this soul to be saved, this household to be rescued. "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" (Luke 19:9-10).

When Christ abides in your home, as He did in the days of Zaccheus, His love comes with a power like no other power in the world. The blessed home influence of Christ is not restricted to the households of ancient history. The divine light which came into the darkness of Zaccheus' home is the same light that can dispel any gloom overshadowing your home, too.

With Christ at the helm of your home, you have the Good Shepherd who died for you, the One who hates sin but loves the sinner, the One who is the perfect ransom-offering for all people for all ages. By the spilling of His holy blood on the cross, we can be free from guilt and the punishment our sin demands. And by faith we can know with certainty the blessed reassurance of God's watchful care in this life and the home we will share with Him in the next.

WE PRAY: Lord Jesus, come into our homes and make them radiant with Your love. Amen.

From "The Abiding Christ in Your Home!" a sermon excerpt from Rev. Dr. Walter A. Maier, the first Speaker of The Lutheran Hour

Reflection Questions:

1. How do you feel when visitors arrive unexpectedly at your home? Is it a good or a bad thing?

2. What do you think drew Jesus' attention to Zaccheus, besides the fact he was sitting in a tree?

3. Can you think of a time when God drew near to you, and you were very grateful that He did?

Today's Bible Readings: Judges 4-6    Luke 13:1-22

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