The Fortunate Few

How fortunate are the anguished due to poverty because they will rule God’s kingdom!
How fortunate are the sorrowful, because God will cheer them up.
How fortunate are the lowly, because God will give them the earth.
How fortunate are those who desperately desire justice, because they will get just what they want.
How fortunate are those who act in compassion, for God will be compassionate to them.
How fortunate are those single-minded on God, for they will see Him.
How fortunate are the creators of peaceful communities, for God will make them rulers.
How fortunate are the sufferers for righteousness, because they will rule God’s kingdom!  

How fortunate you are when your enemies verbally abuse you and do and speak evil against you because you follow me. When that happens, you are like the prophets of the past who suffered for their message they received from God. Even as they are now rewarded by God, so will you be. So when you are persecuted for me, be happy about what you will receive— jump up and down in joy and praise God!  

You are essential for the world. But if you lose the basic qualities that make you important, you cannot regain them. You will be useless, cast out of God’s kingdom and trampled.   You are God’s glory and truth in the world. You are the kingdom of God to come, and you cannot be hidden. Nor should you be hidden— God’s glory should be displayed, not hidden. So display the true righteousness of God before everyone, so that people will see your acts of God and so glorify the Father.

(Paraphrase of Matthew 5: 3-16)

Basic Theology: Thoughts on The Good Samaritan

The Th- Word 
At some point or another, everyone has to deal with theology. It sounds scary (especially if you’ve heard of such words as dispensationalism and superlapsarian), but really it’s pretty simple— theology is just what we can say about God. Of course, Jesus then had a lot to say about theology. But whenever he wanted to get to the basics, to talk about what is most important to God and most important about our relationship with God, he gets back to these two commands: Love God and love your neighbor. That’s as basic as it gets.  

Just Do It 
But whenever any professor of theology or dogmatician tries to talk about theology, they do it on very different terms from Jesus. They always speak of “a doctrine statement” or a “confession of faith”. They emphasize what it is we believe about God. And that’s fine, as far as it goes. But whenever Jesus spoke about theology, he spoke about action and relationship. Either he is speaking about what God does for us or what we do for God. Even his most basic statement “God is spirit” is followed by a command, “And those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4: 24). According to Jesus, God isn’t just someone who sits in heaven— he’s a person who interacts with his people, “God with us.” And we aren’t to be people who observe God like we would a TV screen— we are to be active participants with our theology. If we just believe about God in our head, that isn’t enough— we’ve got to have faith in our hands and feet. And so Jesus talked about a faith that is enacted in obedience and an obedience that is informed by faith. Just like sex and conception, you can’t have one without the other.

Two Relationships of Theology 
So when Jesus tells us about theology, he says that in every aspect of it, there are two relationships. Theology, he says, isn’t something that happens in our head, it is a connection between (at least) two beings. First, there is the relationship between the human and God. And this relationship is defined by “love”, so whatever else you can say about this relationship, it is supposed to be positive, and not simply duty-based. Yes, we already know that there is obedience involved— after all, Jesus gave us commands— but the relationship behind these commands aren’t just that of slave to master. Rather, we are to have a positive relationship with God, one in which we both benefit from the process.

The second relationship is that between human and human. This is what is really odd. I mean, Jesus is speaking about theology— what we can say about God— and the very thing that Jesus puts in there is our relationship with other people. What do other people have to do with God? Well, two things. First of all, God is very concerned about people. I mean, He made them, and he gave them the earth to rule (Psalm 8). And he claims to love them all (John 3: 16). Also, in this command, God is trying to help us PUT God into every relationship. Jesus is saying, “in your relationship with your neighbor, God is commanding it to be beneficial.” Thus, the relationship between human and human becomes theological, because God is forcing himself into that relationship (Ah, I know people like that…)

But what we need to realize in this basic of theology, is that Jesus is putting God and other human beings in everything we do religiously, theologically and spiritually. We cannot have a spirituality without God, according to Jesus. And we cannot have a faith without other people. If we claim to be doing something for God and it does not benefit others, then we do not have Jesus’ faith. Even so, if we attempt to do something for others and do not include God, then we do not have Jesus’ faith. Jesus’ theology is completely balanced between these two relationships— all has to do with both God and other people. To exclude one is to exclude true spirituality.

What is love of neighbor?
Well, we’d like to say more about loving God, but our teaching here by Jesus doesn’t give us any more than that it is love and it is God and well, that’s all that’s said. But the rest of the passage does talk quite a bit more about the love of neighbor. What exactly does it say?


1. Love of Neighbor isn’t exclusive 
The professor wanted to exclude from the command everyone he didn’t like. Maybe he wanted to exclude heretics, or those who didn’t live in his country, or sinners or folks who did him wrong. But when Jesus asked his question, he made the professor answer that it was the Muslim— the heretic, the sinner, the foreigner, the persecutor— who was the neighbor. This means that if he was a neighbor, then EVERYONE is a neighbor, without exception. So the command involves every single human relationship we are in, without exception.

 2. Love of Neighbor is demanded 
Secondly, in Jesus’ story, he gave examples of two “good Christians” who didn’t follow the love of one’s neighbor. Thus, in Jesus’ story, although these people had a certain kind of faith, it wasn’t the kind that God was looking for. Their faith was practical and very pious, but it was wrong-headed. Because they thought that the love of God excluded them from the love of neighbor, then they were okay was NOT okay for God. God demands that the people who love Him also love those around them.

 
3. Love of Neighbor is compassion 
The word that most defines the love of one’s neighbor is “compassion”. The Greek word for this is “splachna” which literally means “the feeling in your guts.” In other words, love is the gut-wrenching feeling you get when you see someone who is in need. To love someone is to recognize their need and to have compassion for it. No matter how evil they are, no matter how wrong-headed, compassion prevails in our attitude towards another.  

4. Love of Neighbor is practical benefit 
Lastly, when Jesus spoke about loving one’s neighbor, he was saying that the love was practical. The Muslim didn’t just pray a positive prayer for the man lying on the road. He didn’t just think good thoughts. Rather, he went out of his way to help him out in whatever way he could. He sacrificed his plans, his money and his vehicle to assist the stranger in need. Love doesn’t just stay in the heart (or the guts), but it gets out the pocketbook and gets dirty. Without being of practical benefit, it isn’t really love.

 To have right faith is to present a benefit to everyone you meet

Kimes, Steven (2012-04-04). Long Live the Riff Raff: Jesus' Social Revolution (Kindle Location 175).  . Kindle Edition. 

The Good Muslim

A Bible professor approached Jesus, wishing to test his teaching.

He asked, “Teacher, what should I do to obtain God’s life that never ends?”

Jesus said, “What does it say in the Bible? How do you understand it?”

The professor answered, “You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and all your mind. And you will love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus, impressed, replied, “This is correct. Live this out, and eternal life is yours.”

But knowing he had not lived this out— and had no intention to— but wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “But, really, who is my neighbor? Certainly there are people I shouldn't love?  What about Muslims?”  

Jesus sighed and responded, “There was a man traveling from Washington D.C. to New York and some terrorists kidnapped him, stripped his clothes off and beat him half to death, leaving by the side of the road, helpless. Now it so happened that a Mennonite pastor passed by, and he saw him. But, thinking he was a homeless bum, he ignored him and went on his way. Then a Baptist worship leader drove by the same spot, but since he was in a hurry to make it on time to his worship service, he also ignored him and made it to the service on time. Then a Muslim drove by and saw the man laying on the side of the road. Compassion welled up in his heart and he stopped, got out his first aid kit, covered his wounds, put him in his car (getting blood all over the new seats) and drove him to the hospital. There he told the doctor, “If he doesn’t have any insurance, here’s my credit card number— just take it from my account.’  

"Now,” Jesus concluded, “Which of these was the neighbor to man attacked by terrorists?”

The professor said, “The M- the one who had compassion on him.”

Jesus smiled and looked him in the eye, “Now you do the same as that Muslim.”

Paraphrase of Luke 10: 25-37

 Long Live the Riff Raff: Jesus' Social Revolution (Kindle Locations 99-113).  . Kindle Edition. 

Jesus' Prayer Life

I consider the practices Jesus had of prayer to be a solid example of prayer.  Jesus told us to imitate him in all things, and certainly prayer is no exception.  Some Christians may have other practices of prayer, which is fine, but this seems to be a good one.

Daily Prayer
Jesus was a good Jew, and like all good Jews he prayed multiple times a day.  In the ancient world, Jews prayed two times a day (morning and evening prayers), or in some times and places (like first century Jerusalem), three times a day (morning, noon and evening).  These regular prayers consisted of:

1. The Shema
"The Lord is our Lord, the Lord is one.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your strength." (Based on Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

2. Some version of the Eighteen Benedictions
Jesus later replaced the 18 Benedictions with the related, but more compact, gospel-oriented Lord's Prayer:

"Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'"
 (Luke 11:2-4)

3. Daily requests
Probably done during a main time of prayer, either the evening or noon prayer.

These prayers could be done by oneself or with others in a synagogue.

Regular Practices
1. Brief prayer
Jesus taught that prayer did not need to be long, especially since long prayers often call attention to oneself.  (Matt. 6:7-8)

2. Direct prayers
Jesus taught not to elongate or to have unnecessarily repetitious prayer.  Of course, the Lord's Prayer is a repeated prayer, but Jesus isn't speaking against liturgy, here, but against repeating the same words over and over.  "God already knows," Jesus says, "saying it once is sufficient to make the request." (Matt 6:7-8)

3. Secret prayer
Jesus commanded prayer in secret.  This did not mean that all prayer should be private, as the Lord's prayer and many prayers Jesus spoke were public.  But Jesus warned against all prayers being public, because prayer could be a display for others in that circumstance, and not actual speech to God. (A good warning for  religious leaders.)  (Matthew 6:6)

4. Public prayer
Jesus commanded some public prayer, such as the Lord's prayer which implies it to be done with others ("Our Father"; "give us our daily bread").

5. Spoken prayer
All the prayers we have of Jesus were spoken aloud.  Even Jesus' most private prayer "Take this cup from me" was spoken aloud. (Matt. 11:25; Mark 14:36)

Although it is not significant, the only physical position Jesus' mentions for prayer is standing. (Matt. 6:5; Luke 18:11, 13).  The only position mentioned for Jesus was on the ground (Mark 14:35), although this seems an exception.

Occasional Prayer
1. Communion with the Father
Jesus sought to spend time with God the Father as often, as he could.  During his regular ministry, it was difficult to get time alone with God, so he would occasionally get up before everyone else to pray, or send everyone away in order to have an hour with God.  His life was so busy that it wasn't always possible, and his communion time was often cut short.  (Mark 1:35; Mark 6:45-46)

2. Fasting
Of course, Jesus spent one time in fasting and prayer for 40 days before his ministry.  In this time, it seems that he didn't eat for the full period of time, but he did drink water.  (Luke 4:1-4)
      It was a common Jewish practice to spend one day a week (Friday) in fasting since the time of the Babylonian exile.  It seems that Jesus did not participate in this fast, but he suggested that his followers would participate in this practice after he was no longer with them (Luke 5:33-35).  Jesus expected his disciples to fast, which is why he gave instructions for them not to display their fasting practice to others (Matthew 6:16-18).

3. All night prayer
There were two nights in which Jesus prayed all night.  Once when he was making the decision as to who would be the 12 apostles.  The second on the night before his arrest and death.  The first seems to be a time in which Jesus needed the Father's direct guidance.  The second, as Jesus told his three closest disciples, was in order to be prepared for the time of trial that was to come. (Luke 6:12-13; Mark 14:32-42)

4. Declarative prayer
On occasion, Jesus would just proclaim an impromptu praise, or a public prayer for others.  Jesus would also use portions of the Lord's prayer as the basis for prayer in his own words.  Jesus' prayer was sometimes based on liturgy and sometimes completely spontaneous. (Matthew 11:25-26; John 17)


All kinds of Christian practice come from this pattern of prayer.  However, there is little that we can use here to condemn others. The only practices Jesus actually commanded is the use of the Lord's prayer and the practice of isolated prayer. Apart from that, there is much freedom for all Christian practice of prayer, including spontaneous prayer and liturgical prayer; forty days of fasting and no fasting; all night prayer and brief prayer.  Like Jesus, it might be good that our prayer practices vary and depend on the circumstance.

What Jesus says about Foreigners

Luke 4:24-30

Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, He went His way.

Matthew 8:5-13

When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented."  Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it." Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven;  but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed that very moment.

Mark 7:24-30

Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it; yet He could not escape notice. But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And He was saying to her, "Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." But she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children's crumbs." And He said to her, "Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter." And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left.

Matthew 28:18-20

Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Matthew 24:14

This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Matthew 25:31-40

When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'

Did Jesus Beat Up the Rich?

It must be admitted, as we saw in the last post, Jesus was a little tough on the rich.  And it did seem to be a little sweeping.  Why did Jesus and James seem to be so hard on this particular social class?  I mean, did they do something so wrong?  And to thoroughly condemn them seems to be a bit excessive. 

            There is a definitive reason for this that can be described in four points:

1. God commands the wealthy to use their wealth for the poor

This is a consistent ethic throughout the Scripture, as we have seen above.  There are three main sections of Hebrew Scripture: The Law, The Prophets and the Writings.  The Law commands loans and alms to be given to the poor.63  The Prophets command the poor to be assisted or God would not bless them.64  The Writings speak of the dangers that happen to the wealthy if they do not give to the poor. 65  This is not a minor theme, nor is it easily ignored.  This does not mean that the majority of Bible teachers do not have on their blinders, looking only at their theological focus, but it is clearly at the heart of loving one’s neighbor in the OT.

2. Jesus is prophetically commanding an ethic of love

Jesus is not so much establishing a new law, as he is interpreting the Mosaic Law through the rose-colored lens of acting for the benefit of everyone.⁶⁶  And Jesus’ ethic is not based in the realm of emotions, but in bold action.  Part of this action, an aspect that Jesus repeats a few times, is the need of the wealthy to give of what they have to the poor.  Jesus isn’t erasing the old Law and simply writing his own over the stone tablets—he is simply re-commanding what is already a part of God’s ethic.  This is so much so that Abraham, in one of Jesus’ parables, stated that the wealthy giving to the poor was so clearly commanded in “Moses and the Prophets:” that it should be obvious to everyone.⁶⁷

3. The wealthy only occasionally give to the poor

The command of God was not being obeyed by the wealthy.  Surely, some wealthy gave the occasional alms, and a few would assist their poor relatives.  But the heart of the command was being ignored.  Beggars lined the street, and many poor languished and suffered for their poverty.  All the while, the wealthy not only ignored them, but they condemned them.  “They must be judged by God.”  “Repent and get right with God and you will have what you need!”  Instead of the poor being assisted by the wealthy, they were ostracized by them.

4. The wealthy are judged by God

Jesus makes it clear that there are wealthy who are righteous, a part of God’s people.  But these are the wealthy who surrender their wealth, not keeping it for themselves.⁶⁸  The wealthy are to remember that their wealth is not their own, but loaned to them by their Banker, God.  When God gave them the loan, He said, “You are to give any excess you have to the poor and needy—do not keep it for yourself.”  But the wealthy ignored their Banker and used the money for themselves.  The Banker kept an eye on the accounts, until finally an accounting day came—and the Banker took back everything he had given, and more.  The wealthy are not God’s favorites.  They have been blessed by God, but that blessing comes with a condition—use the blessing for the benefit of those who most need it. ⁶⁹

Jesus was not interested in "beating up" the wealthy.  Rather, he was calling them to repent of keeping their wealth for their own power, but instead to give it to those who need it the most.  He is not saying this because he dislikes wealthy people, but because he loves them and he wants to see them have all the blessings of God.  When Jesus said that he came to "seek and save the lost" it was in the context of him convincing a wealthy man to surrender his wealth to the poor. 70

Wealth (just like fame and power) is not actually a blessing for Christians, but in reality a test.  It is a test to see if one would use the wealth as God sees fit, or would use it as the world sees fit—to increase one’s power, comfort or wealth, or to surrender it to those who need it most.  C.S. Lewis passed the test (he gave the majority of his wealth to charity, choosing to live on a limited income).  Rick Warrens passed the test (he gives more than 90% of his wealth to charity, going to the poorest in the world).  Mother Theresa famously passed the test, surrendering her life for the poor.

            I mention these exceptions, although they are rare.  The far majority of Christians who face this hardest of all tests fail miserably.  They make excuses why they should use their wealth for themselves.  They make excuses not to give to the poor.  In this way, the wealthy have become disfavored and rejected by God.  And so Jesus and James and others in the New Testament have harsh words to say to them.  Because their wealth they spend on themselves is not a sign of God’s blessing, but rather of their disobedience and arrogance.  Of their failure.

Notes

63. e.g. Deuteronomy 15:4-11

64. e.g. Jeremiah 5:28-29

65. e.g. Psalm 41:1-3; Proverbs 21:13

66. This is the point of the “You have heard it said” section of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5.  Each law or interpretation of the law is re-interpreted by the command “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Then Jesus wraps up by saying that only the leaders who obey the love command are to be listened to, the rest are false prophets (Matthew 7:12-23).

67. Luke 16:19-31, esp. v. 29

68. Mark 10:21-25; Luke 19:1-10.  It is interesting that Job and Abraham are often given as examples of people who were wealthy but named righteous before God.  It is clear in Scripture that part of the reason they were righteous is because they generously gave to the poor and immigrants. Genesis 18:2-8; Job 29:11-16.

69. Luke 16 is the primary focus for this understanding.  In the parable of the unrighteous steward, Jesus interprets as a person using money that was not his own to make friends of the poor so he would be helped when he was poorer than they.  Jesus also in that chapter, uses the example of the rich man who didn’t help Lazarus, a destitute beggar at the rich man’s gates, and so was brutally punished in the afterlife.

70. Luke 19:1-10

Jesus and the Rich

Jesus was determined to go to Jerusalem.  He was going there to proclaim his authority over the city, but also to be killed by the leaders.  Nevertheless, he made it clear that he was heading toward Jerusalem.  Some of the Samaritans, who thought the temple in Jerusalem was not of God, was angry at Jesus because of his focus on the city, but Jesus ignored them.  Every step drew him closer to the cross, and he called everyone who followed him to take up a cross for themselves.

As Jesus was walking to Jerusalem, a young man stopped him and asked a question, “Good Teacher, what do I have to do to gain eternal life—to enter God’s kingdom?”  It seemed at first that the man was just trying to test Jesus so Jesus said, “Don’t flatter me.  Only God is ‘good.’  And as far as your question goes, everyone knows how to have eternal life, you don’t need to ask me about that.  Follow the commands from God—Don’t commit adultery, don’t bear false witness, honor your father and mother—you know all that.”

            The young man replied, “Yes, I know all that.  I have been keeping these commands all of my life.  Are you telling me that there isn’t anything more?”  Jesus then saw that the man was sincere and he desired to help him in any way he could, “If you want to be sure of God’s kingdom, then do this—sell off everything you have, then take that money and give it all to the poor.  At that point, your reward in heaven is guaranteed.  Once you’ve done that, follow me.  I am going to the cross, and anyone who would come after me must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me.  Come.” 

            However, the young man walked away in mourning because he had many possessions and to get rid of them all was very difficult.  He didn’t know he could do it.  Watching the man, Jesus mentioned to his disciples, “It is very hard for a rich man to enter into God’s kingdom.”  The disciples were surprised at this, so Jesus said, “Are you surprised?  It is so hard for a rich man to enter into God’s kingdom, that it would be easier for me to take a camel and put it through a needle’s eye than to get a rich man into God’s kingdom.”  The disciples were shocked and said, “Then can no one be saved?  Can no one enter into God’s kingdom?”  Jesus nodded and said, “It is just about impossible.  But the things that are impossible for people are more than possible if God is with you.” 

Peter's boat, still at the Sea of Galilee

            Peter, though, thought about what Jesus said to the wealthy man and asked, “Lord?  You told that man to sell his possessions and give to the poor.  But we didn’t sell our possessions.  We left them, yes, but they are still sitting there waiting for us.  And I had no intention of selling them.  Will we gain God’s kingdom?”

            Jesus replied, “Don’t worry, Peter.  Anyone who gives up what they have for me and for the gospel—whether it be their family, their homes, their land or their job—will gain more, much more.  Those who surrender all for me will gain more family, more homes, more land and more work—and more persecutions.  And in the end, they will gain eternal life.”

            A little while later, Jesus was travelling through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem.  As he was passing through, a huge crowd surrounded him, blocking the streets.  There was a very wealthy man in Jericho named Zaccheus.  He was a chief tax collector of the Romans, and that and his wealth indicated that he had cheated money out of his fellow Jews.  Because of this, he was ostracized by all of his people, they wouldn’t even go to his house or greet him. 

            Zaccheus, however, greatly desired to be right with God.  And he figured that Jesus was one of the last chances he had to repent and make peace with God.  So Zaccheus tried to get through the crowd to meet Jesus.  But he was so short, no one even noticed he was trying to get through.  Frustrated, Zaccheus decided that even if he had to look foolish, he would meet Jesus.  So Zaccheus went ahead of the crowd and climbed a tree, and then waited for Jesus to pass it. 

            As the crowd passed, they laughed at him, but Zaccheus didn’t care.  One of those from Jericho whispered to Jesus, “This is Zaccheus, the chief tax collector of Jericho.”  That was all Jesus needed to know.  He said, “Come down Zaccheus.  I need to stay at your house today.”  Zaccheus thought that was great—he was finally having the change to make his life right with God.  But some others didn’t think it was great.  They said, “Doesn’t he know what a terrible sinner this man is?  Why is he even talking to him?”

            Zaccheus heard the accusation and said, “I say that beginning today I will give half of what I make to the poor.  And on top of that, I will do just as Moses’ law commands and give back four times as much to anyone whom I have stolen from.”  Jesus was impressed and said, “You see—today Zaccheus has come back from sin and is once again a child of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost.”