"Jesus Passed By My Way"
The first ten verses of Luke 19 record the story of a man named Zacchaeus. Verse 1 tells us, “And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.” Jesus went to Jericho because He knew Zacchaeus would be there and Jesus had a plan for Zacchaeus' life.
“For the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) Verse ten tells us the whole reason Jesus not only passed through Jericho for Zaccheus that day, but also the reason He came to earth. Note three things with me in this verse…
- The Provision… “For the Son of man is come”
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,” (John 3:16) Jesus was sent to us by God. All through the Old Testament we read of animal sacrifices for a sin offering because the Bible tells us the wages of sin is death. But God, knowing we would never be able to live successfully under the law, chose to send us His only begotten Son to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sin. He provided His perfect, sinless son for us.
- The Obligation… “to seek”
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” The only way we have access to God is through Jesus today. Because of that, Jesus actively seeks out those who are lost and speaks to their hearts to show them their need for a Savior. However, being saved is a choice that we will make on our own. Jesus seeks to save us, but we must accept His invitation for salvation.
- The Restoration… “and to save that which was lost.”
Restoration- a return of something to a former, original, normal, or unimpaired condition. When God created man, He created him for fellowship. He longed to walk and talk with him in the cool of the day. Man sinned, and that sin broke the communication between God and man. God sacrificed an animal and made coats of skin for Adam and Eve so fellowship could be restored. Unfortunately, sin didn’t end in the garden that day, for we continue to sin daily. When God sent Jesus to earth, His sole purpose was to restore us to righteousness so He could continue in fellowship with us. That righteousness is not something we could achieve on our own, it is the righteousness of Christ, and it came through His death on Calvary. Notice what Jesus does after Zacchaeus is saved. “For to day I must abide at thy house.” Jesus “restored” the fellowship and went home with Zaccheus that day.
I’m thankful for the day God passed by my way and sought to save me. I’m thankful that, when I accepted him as my Savior, he covered my sins and restored me through the righteousness of Christ. And I’m thankful I can fellowship with him daily.