Luke 19:5, “And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zachaeus, make haste, and come down, for to day I must abide at thy house.”
We all should have a greater longing for the abiding presence of Jesus Christ our Lord in our lives. I know that many may say, ‘”I thought we were in Jesus, and He in us in our eternal salvation.” And this is true dear child of God, but there is a context taught throughout scripture concerning obedient children of God abiding with Jesus Christ in temporal fellowship.
In the verse previously cited, it is Zachaeus who is in conversation with the Lord. In this chapter of scripture, Zachaeus, who is already a born again child of God, learns what is required for him to have the fellowship of his Savior Who is already abiding with him by regeneration. Zachaeus learns that:
(1) Diligence is required for fellowship (Luke 19:3-4). Zachaeus, who has already proven his diligence in his career as a publican (chief), and has already shown diligence in worldly riches (“he was rich”), now shows forth an effort of faith to “see Jesus”. He was willing to overcome the “press”, his disadvantage of stature, and the rough climb of the sycamore tree, just to see Jesus. Oh dear child of God, if each one of us would show forth the same, how much more fellowship could we enjoy with our Lord in this present world (Heb 11:6).
(2) Humility is needed to be close to Jesus (Luke 19:5). When Zachaeus had climbed the tree, it required Jesus to “look up” to him. Jesus did not say stay there and I will come to you. He said “make haste, and come down;…” How many of us could enjoy being closer to Jesus if we would remember the words of Peter, who says that we should be “clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).
(3) Making time in our life for Jesus is important. In verse 6 of Luke 19 we read, “he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.” So many times, while living in this busy world, we don’t seem to have any free time. But, Oh dear child of grace, we need to make time for Jesus if we are to have fellowship with Him. I pray that we all would be willing to set the things of the world aside to spend time with our Savior. Let us be found “redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Eph 5:16).
(4) A daily self examination will help you find ways to repent and confess those sins that separate you from fellowship with your God (Luke 19:8). How important it is for us to examine ourselves daily by the standard of truth, the Word of God, and make changes, by repentance and confession of wrong doings, to help us to be closer to God (2 Cor 13:5).
(5) Jesus confesses those that confess Him (Matt 10:32-33, Luke 19:9, “he also is a son of Abraham”). In this verse of scripture Zahaeus is Abraham’s son in at least three contexts. (1) By being born a Jew, (2) By being a born again child of God (Gal 3:29, Rom 2:28-29), and (3) By being a man who shows his faith (James 2:23). Zachaeus, whose name means ‘the pure or justified one’, shows forth his faith in Christ by his effort to see Jesus, and learns that he will have the most Wonderful Guest abiding with him in his house that day. The Guest was Salvation in the Person of Jesus Christ his Lord. Amen!