Christ Abides with Zacchaeus ~ Parable of the Lost Sheep

Christ Abides with Zacchaeus 

Luke 19:10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Parable of the Lost Sheep

Matthew 18:11  For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

 

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Luke 19:1-10

Jesus Comes to Zacchaeus’ House

19 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. ² Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. ³ And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” ⁶ So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. ⁷ But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”

⁸ Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”
⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; ¹⁰ for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Jesus did not come to receive fortune or fame, or to be respected among men. He came to seek out the lost and to save them. Here is an excellent picture of a man who desired to see who Jesus was. Jesus looked, and saw this man, Zacchaeus, and made stay at his house. The crowds that were around Jesus obviously did not agree with this, even so much that they complained because he was a sinner. This is a perfect illustration of how some people are. For some reason, people think that God will only accept you if you are perfect, but that is not so. Jesus came to restore the broken, heal the sick, and save the lost.


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Matthew 18:11-14

¹¹ For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
¹² “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? ¹³ And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. ¹⁴ Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

This is how much Jesus really loves us. He does not want to see one of us go astray. No matter what, He is always searching us out looking for that one lost sheep that has gone astray. He does not wish to see one of us perish. A stray sheep will surely be devoured by the wolf, but a herd of sheep led by their Shepherd shall not perish. The Shepherd will guide us, and protect us. His rod and His staff shall comfort us.