The Joy of Sinners in Jesus : Luke 19:6-7 : What Jesus Did! : HEARTLIGHT®

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The Joy of Sinners in Jesus - Luke 19:6-7

Then Zacchaeus came down quickly. He was happy to have Jesus in his house. All the people saw this. They began to complain, "Look at the kind of man Jesus stays with. Zacchaeus is a sinner!" (ERV) Full Text

Key Thought

I'm not sure how those of us who are religious today would react to the actions of Jesus with sinners if he were physically among us today. I do know, however, that many who regard themselves as sinners are still excited to know they are actually welcomed by Jesus into his grace. Those of us who have been in Christ a long time need to be re-awakened to the hunger that many people have for the Lord. Let's help them find him by looking for those seeking to find him. Then, let's welcome them as Jesus did.

Today's Prayer

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Father, open my eyes to see those around me who are seeking after your Son. Please give me the wisdom to know when to speak, what to say, and how to act so that I can be helpful in their search to come to know Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.

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Today's Verses in Context

Jesus was going through the city of Jericho. In Jericho there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a wealthy, very important tax collector. He wanted to see who Jesus was. There were many other people that wanted to see Jesus too. Zacchaeus was too short to see above the people. So he ran to a place where he knew Jesus would come. Then Zacchaeus climbed a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus. When Jesus came to that place, Jesus looked up and saw Zacchaeus in the tree. Jesus said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry! Come down! I must stay at your house today." Then Zacchaeus came down quickly. He was happy to have Jesus in his house. All the people saw this. They began to complain, "Look at the kind of man Jesus stays with. Zacchaeus is a sinner!" Zacchaeus said to the Lord (Jesus), "I want to do good. I will give half of my money to the poor. If I have cheated any person, I will pay that person back four times more!" Jesus said, "Today is the day for this family to be saved from sin. Yes, even this tax collector is one of God's chosen people ! The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them."

— Luke 19:1-10 (ERV)

Comments on "The Joy of Sinners in Jesus":

If you are always trying to do good, then no person can really hurt you. But you may suffer for doing right. If that happens, then you are blessed (happy). "Don't be afraid of those people {that make you suffer}; don't be worried." But you should keep the Lord Christ holy in your hearts. Always be ready to answer every person who asks you to explain about the hope you have. But answer those people in a gentle way with respect. Always be able to feel that you are doing right. When you do that, the people who say bad things about you will be made ashamed. They say these bad things about the good way you live in Christ. They will be made ashamed for the bad things they said about you.
1 Peter 3:13-16 (ERV)

Many tax collectors and bad people came to listen to Jesus. Then the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to complain, "Look! This man (Jesus) welcomes bad people and even eats with them!" Then Jesus told them this story: "Suppose one of you has 100 sheep, but he loses one of them. Then he will leave the other 99 sheep alone and go out and look for the lost sheep. The man will continue to search for the lost sheep until he finds it. And when he finds the sheep, the man is very happy. The man carries the sheep to his home. He goes to his friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Be happy with me because I found my lost sheep!' In the same way, I tell you, heaven is a happy place when one sinner changes his heart. There is more joy for that one sinner than there is for 99 good people that don't need to change their hearts.
Luke 15:1-7 (ERV)

My brothers and sisters, one of you may wander away from the truth. And another person may help him come back to the truth. Remember this: Any person who brings a sinner back from the wrong way will save that sinner from death (hell). By doing this, that person will cause many sins to be forgiven.
James 5:19-20 (ERV)

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