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Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.” Luke 19:9

Listen to the lesson as you read along:

(Running Time 1 minutes 59 seconds)

(Right click here and “save as’ to download MP3 audio – 1 minutes 59 seconds)

You may remember this passage from a song in church.  I have heard it quite a few times myself, but I want us to get past the song and into the meat of what really happened in this story.

To summarize, Jesus was coming through town and a tax collector named Zacchaeus wanted to see Him. Zacchaeus was short and could not see over the crowd, so he climbed up a tree to get a good view.

Jesus stopped and looked at him.  He called Zacchaeus by name and told him that He was coming to eat at his house.  Zacchaeus came down and welcomed Jesus.

Let’s break this down.  Zacchaeus was a tax collector.  Tax collectors were known to rip people off to line their own pockets.  They were shrewd businessmen who were considered sinners by profession.

Here we have a business man who was hated in his community.  He wanted to be close to Jesus, but he had some limitations.  He took action to overcome those limitations and got a great view of the Jesus.

Jesus blessed this man by asking to eat with him.  Rarely do teachers, or Rabbi’s, eat with sinners, lest they become unclean.  Everyone muttered.

We don’t know the conversation, but because of the presence of Jesus, Zacchaeus wanted to make his business right.  He wanted to be honorable and offered to pay back any money he had cheated. He paid back four times, which was a customary recompense.

Zacchaeus overcame his limitations and his reputation.  He took action to get as close to Jesus as he could and because of that encounter, he lined his up his business to be in line with Jesus’ teachings.

I don’t know if you have ever thought about Zacchaeus being a business owner.  If we look at it in that context we see a man reaching out to Jesus.  Jesus comes into his house and because of that one encounter his life and his business is changed forever.

How often do you reach out to Jesus and push past your limitations?  Have you allowed Jesus into your house and into your business so deeply that your actions are changed?  If not, call out to Jesus and let Him into your business partner and your house.  Make your business a kingdom business and hear Jesus’ words:

“Today salvation has come to this house.” Luke 19:9a

 

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