Pastor Charles Thompson
didn’t know what had happened to him, but when he awoke that morning he found
himself in Jericho. He recognized it as
Jericho – but he couldn’t have explained to you how he knew. He just knew that it was, indeed, the ancient
city of Jericho. As you might expect, he
was quite perplexed by this. How could
he have gone to sleep the night before in his own bed and awakened here? How
was that even possible?
He was trying to figure it all out when he began to hear the shouts of people in the street. They were shouting for Jesus. Already overwhelmed at having woken up in first century Palestine, it never crossed his mind to wonder that he could now understand Aramaic perfectly. He could hear the people shouting in the street for Jesus. He wandered towards the sound. To be here, on the very street as Jesus passed by; Pastor Thompson couldn’t imagine a greater privilege. He thought back to all the various times he’d preached about this incident.
He was trying to figure it all out when he began to hear the shouts of people in the street. They were shouting for Jesus. Already overwhelmed at having woken up in first century Palestine, it never crossed his mind to wonder that he could now understand Aramaic perfectly. He could hear the people shouting in the street for Jesus. He wandered towards the sound. To be here, on the very street as Jesus passed by; Pastor Thompson couldn’t imagine a greater privilege. He thought back to all the various times he’d preached about this incident.
At the street he saw
the crowd. He saw Jesus, followed by his
disciples and friends. He scanned the
street for the sycamore trees he knew he’d find, and – yes... there he was: Zacchaeus, the wee little man. Well, he wasn’t “wee” exactly. Just
short. Short and pudgy. Pastor Thompson stifled a giggle as he
watched the diminutive tax collector scrambling up the branches of the tree. Eager to see this familiar scene play out in
real life, he pushed through the
crowd to stand as close as he could to the tree.
When Jesus reached the
spot, he stopped and looked up, just as the Pastor knew he would. “Zacchaeus, come
down immediately. I must stay at your
house today.” The tax man was
astonished, but he climbed down from his perch in the branches of the tree and
invited Jesus – and many members of the crowd, including Pastor Thompson, to join
with him for a meal at his home.
“Now we come to it,” thought the Pastor. “I have the opportunity to see how the Master spoke to sinners, how he called them to repentance. I can learn from this. When I see how Jesus was able to preach sin and forgiveness and how he was able to win so many for the kingdom, I’ll know better how preach with boldness, how to confront sin with the power of truth.” The Pastor followed with the crowd to Zacchaeus’ house, and was even invited to sit at the table.
“Now we come to it,” thought the Pastor. “I have the opportunity to see how the Master spoke to sinners, how he called them to repentance. I can learn from this. When I see how Jesus was able to preach sin and forgiveness and how he was able to win so many for the kingdom, I’ll know better how preach with boldness, how to confront sin with the power of truth.” The Pastor followed with the crowd to Zacchaeus’ house, and was even invited to sit at the table.
All through the meal he
watched and he listened. He watched
Jesus eat and drink. He listened as the
disciples told jokes (some of which were a tad off color) and he heard Jesus
laugh with Zacchaeus and the other dinner guests. But as the meal progressed Pastor Thompson grew
impatient. “When will the Master speak truth to sin? When will he preach and convict the sinner’s
heart and bring Zacchaeus to repentance?”
Just then Zacchaeus
stood and urged the room to silence. “Look,
Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions
to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay it back
four times the amount.” The room
erupted in cheers and shouts of joy. Jesus
smiled broadly and hugged the short little man and then said to the crowd, “Today
salvation has come to this house because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.”
Pastor Thompson, now past the point of all patience, sprung to his feet and exclaimed, “But Lord, excuse my interruption, but how can you say that salvation has come? You’ve not preached truth to his sin. You’ve not said anything to convict him. You’ve been the guest of this sinner, eaten his food and drunk his wine, but you’ve never spoken against his sin.”
And Jesus replied. “You are exactly right. I have not, but he knows that he is a son of Abraham, and that is enough.”
Pastor Thompson, now past the point of all patience, sprung to his feet and exclaimed, “But Lord, excuse my interruption, but how can you say that salvation has come? You’ve not preached truth to his sin. You’ve not said anything to convict him. You’ve been the guest of this sinner, eaten his food and drunk his wine, but you’ve never spoken against his sin.”
And Jesus replied. “You are exactly right. I have not, but he knows that he is a son of Abraham, and that is enough.”
No comments:
Post a Comment