A Tremendous Heart, A Tremendous Price

1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.

2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.

3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.

4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.

5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.

6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.

7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.

8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.

10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Lk. 19:1-10

This Zacchaeus guy had to be joking… pay his (probably hundreds of) debtors four times the amount he owed them, and that after he had given half of his goods to the poor?! But, again, we know that the Lord Jesus Christ does not hang about with jokers (Psalms 1), so we are bound to pay careful attention to the words that Zacchaeus spoke here.

Secondly, scripture here says that Zacchaeus received Jesus “joyfully”. I haven’t read that he sang the “Joyfully! joyfully!” song. In fact it does not say that he sang any song at all. But there was a profound meaning to Zacchaeus’ joy; it was the joy of the man “… who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” (Mat. 13:46).

Zacchaeus had found the one thing that mattered to him, and he had no more need of the riches of this world.

Let us consider the deliberate progression of Zacchaeus’ words here. Notice he did not say, “Lord, I will settle accounts with all my debtors first, after which I will  give half my remaining goods to the poor.” No. Instead, he put himself in the most hazardous position possible, by dividing his gross earnings with the poor before he would settle accounts with those whom he had robbed along the way.

Zacchaeus put himself in a position where he would lose everything – and probably more. There was no easy way here. It was a difficult road he had chosen, one less well-travelled. Jesus called it the narrow way (Mat. 7:13). What a great price Zacchaeus would have to pay! But also, what a tremendous heart he had!

The road that Zacchaeus took has nothing to do with material goods. On the contrary, it has everything to do with our hearts. It could well be that you all you are required to do is humble yourself and ask for forgiveness from someone you have wronged; but your hard heart prevents you from doing so. You find yourself unable to pay the price.

What is so difficult for most of us to do, Zacchaeus did with incredible ease. It was the result of a humble, thirsty heart. A heart thirsty for righteousness.

Finally, let us consider something else in this scripture that is of equal significance, and which of necessity is tied in with Zacchaeus’ declaration. It is the words that Jesus spoke.

Notice that Jesus said, “This day is salvation come to this house” only after Zacchaeus had made his remarkable declaration. Many people think  that salvation is attained at the initial confession when they accept Jesus into their hearts. That might be so; but in this scripture, Jesus shows us that true salvation is experiential. Just as the Apostle Paul was taken up into the third heaven, there are varying degrees of salvation.

So it was that when Zacchaeus spoke the words that he did, only then did the Lord say, “This day is salvation come to this house”.

Jesus was not saying, the way we do, “This man just got saved”, after we have prayed for someone to receive Christ. On the contrary, Jesus was talking about a higher level of salvation (if we may put it that way), a perfection  in the Spirit.

Many believers think they can accept Jesus into their lives and continue living any old lives that they want. But true salvation, the Lord shows us, involves a transformation. That is why the Apostle Paul insists in Romans 12:1-2 that we must be transformed in order to be fully pleasing to God. The initial acceptance of Christ into our lives is commendable indeed, for in it we accept the redeeming work of Christ. But there is the perfecting part, for which God gives us the opportunity to lay down our lives, take up our cross and follow Christ.

And so it was that Zacchaeus, upon believing on the Lord, made this incredible declaration. On the road towards perfection, Zacchaeus paid a price, a tremendous price.

The Bible says,

“And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.”

And the Lord, who knows men’s hearts and who knew Zacchaeus meant what he said, replied,

““This day is salvation come to this house”

In concluding, we could well ask each one of us who reads this post, “Has salvation come to your house?”

[Below: A woman arranges fruits to sell at Marangu-Mtoni, on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro]

What You See…

44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Matthew 13:44-46

A brother and I were discussing this verse recently and he asked me whether I had ever seen a pearl. I told him no. He told me he had also never seen one.

To our amazement we found that neither of us had ever even heard of anyone who had seen a pearl, let alone own one.

From the scripture above, it appears that a pearl is something of incredibly great value. Jesus compared it with hidden treasure. He also said this pearl was something for which someone – in one instance an astute merchant man – was willing to go sell all that he had to come buy it.

You notice also that the men mentioned in these verses of scripture were seeking after something – something of value. And when they found it, they let go of everything they had, that they might gain this thing, which was the object of their heart’s desire.

I might never live to see a pearl in the natural. But I do know that I saw something the day I heard the gospel of the cross preached. There is no doubt about that. I found what my heart had been seeking for all my life long. In the revelation of the cross I found Truth.

When I heard the gospel of the cross, it shook me. I will be forever grateful to God for enabling me to see something of value in the cross. When I say “me” I mean my spirit, of course. Were I dependent on my mind, I would have run away from it, it shook me so bad. But I saw something. I can never explain what it was that made me to stay around after I had heard a gospel that brought the sword to my heart. But I am sure my spirit saw something, and that was why I stayed. And I am still right there.

One of Apostle Paul’s prayers for the churches was that their spiritual eyes might be opened. “What you see is what you get”, they say.

I once heard of an ‘apostle of money’. In other words, this ‘apostle’ sees money, and he preaches money. No doubt his followers also see money.

Today there are ‘apostles’ for every commodity, on earth and in heaven.

But the revelation of the cross causes you to focus on the all-important aspect of the gospel – the crucifixion of the flesh.

A lack of this revelation leads to a gratification of the flesh. There are many Christians today gratifying the flesh “in the Name of Jesus”.

The Apostle Paul knew where to find the life: it was in identifying his life with the sufferings and death of Christ. Have you ever wondered why Paul would want to “know” nothing among the Corinthians “save Jesus Christ, and him crucified”? (1 Cor. 2:2) There is much food for thought there.

Ever since my heart grasped the revelation of the cross, my focus has been drastically changed. I desire only one thing: to know Him and His sufferings and death that “if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11). It is the life of Christ that I seek after. I am not perfect, which makes me wonder how long it took these gentlemen to “sell all they had”. Certainly not as long as I am taking; but I am assured in my heart that as long as my eyes stay focused on that pearl – the cross and the grace to be found therein – I will one day find myself in God’s perfect will.

[Below: God’s Kingdom is way deep down in a man’s heart]

The Pearl.

The Bible tells the story of Jacob, and how he wrestled with an angel of God throughout the night.

“And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him” Gen. 32:25

Jacob had been running from the Lord all these years, but here he comes face to face with God, and he has to make a decision: he can continue running, or he can allow God to touch his life and change him.

I believe something must have made Jacob to stop and make the decision he made that night. Jacob was tired of running, all right. But more than that, something profound happened to him that night. I believe that deep down in his spirit Jacob received a new understanding from the Lord; a new revelation. He must have seen something that made him want to receive a new blessing from God.

In the materialistic age we live one might well wonder why Jacob, who was so rich materially, would want another blessing from the Lord…!

But, perhaps, it was a different blessing that he now desired, born out of this new understanding that he had from God. A blessing not of material things, but a blessing, probably, of character, a spiritual blessing. Suddenly, most likely, Jacob saw in his spirit far into the future, and the blessing that Jesus would bring into the world through His death on the Cross. And, all of a sudden, Jacob”s priorities were turned upside down. Now it was not Rachel or Joseph who mattered most to him. Nor was it his vast wealth. Now he wanted to get hold of that far, far away blessing – distant indeed, but exceedingly rich. It did not matter to him that he would die long before that blessing would materialize. Somehow, he knew, he would inherit it one day, and it was worth waiting for. It was an eternal treasure – and immeasurably, incomparably bright and clear and true.

It was a spiritual blessing that Jacob saw, and he wanted it infinitely more than all his earthly possessions.

And he was willing to pay the price that he realized he needed to pay in the spirit. I am sure that at that particular time he did not see anything good in the flesh. He did not see cars or houses or the good things that we have today. Rather, I believe he saw the sufferings of Christ. And he was ready to identify with them. He was willing to pay the ultimate  price – he told the angel, “Name your price, but I am not letting you go till you bless me!” He wanted that vision more than anything else in his life.

What God did in order to change Jacob’s character was to dislocate his thigh – probably so he would not have the strength to run again.

The true gospel of Jesus Christ puts us ‘out of joint’. It breaks our strength. It breaks our pride. We grovel and scramble on our knees to get at that spiritual treasure, for only that brokenness can bring the reality of that treasure into our lives. All our pride, our reliance is gone. After Jacob’s thigh was put ‘out of joint’ he had no more pride left in him. Probably he had a certain way of walking before, but he would no longer walk that way. Henceforth he would walk with a limp, for the Bible says his sinew “shrank”.

Humbling, indeed.

In the new covenant we are no longer going to wrestle with an angel, but through Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross we understand how we, too, will need to identify our lives with His suffering and death in order to partake of that same blessing that Jacob partook of. That treasure is the life of Christ in us.

The Apostle Paul, more than any other man, received that revelation – and also knew that brokenness in his flesh. I believe he also, just like Jacob, wanted to do some running. He says that he prayed three times to God to remove the thorn in his flesh. But God told him, “My grace is sufficient, for my strength is perfected in your weakness.”

If Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Lord the whole night; and if Paul prayed three times for God to intervene on his behalf, then we can be sure that it is not an easy journey to becoming spiritual men and women. But this is the road we have been called to take, and we must gladly persevere in it.

Paul says: “Most gladly therefore will I glory in infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Cor. 12:9

That is not an easy road to take, by any standards. But the reward is priceless. In fact, to put a better perspective to it, the reward is not something that can be explained in human terms; it is too profoundly rich for that. It can only be understood in our spirits.

It all depends, however, on whether we have seen that priceless pearl in our spirit, and are willing to pay the price. The price, as we said, is dying with Christ.

What a challenge to us today, that Jacob, so far down the line in time, could see the very thing that we live with, walk with and sleep with today… What is that thing? Oh! I bet you and I hardly know it well enough… if we knew it we would not be the men and women we are today…

May the Lord reveal it to us like He revealed it to Jacob!