Life Power and Dead Behavior

Jesus travelled all over to preach God’s kingdom and one time came to Jericho. There was a very rich man named Zacchaeus who was supervisor over all the tax collectors in town (Tax collectors were generally thought to be crooks serving the Romans fattening their own pockets with tax money). As Jesus was passing by he tried to get a glimpse of Him. But because he was very short and Jesus was thronged by a huge crowd he couldn’t see Him over the crowd. So he climbed up a big tree to try to see Jesus.

Zacchaeus had never seen Jesus before. But when Jesus noticed him He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come on down, I am going to stay at your place tonight.” Overjoyed, he scrambled out of the tree and led Jesus away to his home. Zacchaeus must have been astounded by the fact that Jesus could call out his name even though they had never met before. But many in the crowd were not impressed, and they said, “Look at this! Of all the people to have dinner with, He’s going to eat in the house of a crook!” (Luke 19:7 TPT)

In calling out Zacchaeus’ name Jesus demonstrated supernatural power – a word of knowledge. Imagine how you would react if you were Zacchaeus. Anyone who has his name called out by a stranger would stop to think. I believe this has a huge impact on Zacchaeus that finally led to his salvation (Read Here). The power brought life to Zacchaeus and his household.

But that’s not all to the story. I am amazed by the reaction of the religious crowd. Here they were witnessing God’s supernatural power on display, yet all they could think of was Jesus shouldn’t associate Himself with a sinner. They were very concerned about right and wrong, and that’s what they lived by. It didn’t matter to them that life has been served. They couldn’t care less if God has come on the scene. They just wanted to live by their principles and to look good.

That is how those who want to live by the Law live. In trying to fulfill God’s Law by their own effort, they found themselves estranged from God. It was like this in the Garden of Eden: Adam and Eve chose knowledge of right and wrong instead of life; they wanted to live independent from God. It was like this at Mt Sinai: Israel chose a set of laws instead of the presence of God. They didn’t want to go near God but instead asked Moses to get them a set of rules to live by. To me this is a big joke.

Paul told the Romans that he was not ashamed of the Gospel, and he said the Gospel is the power unto salvation for those who believe (Rom 1:16, NKJV). Let us not be offended by the power of the Gospel. It will surely bring life to many. It is Jesus’ method.

Scripture Link : BibleGateway.com