When Jesus comes seeking He:
Knows what you hope and He knows where you hide AND He knows where you hurt:
"A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy", V. 2
Verse 2 gives two reasons why Zacchaeus was hurting:
1) He was a chief tax collector = traitor or
sell out – which meant he was despised and an outcast.
A Jew who agreed to collect taxes from his own people for the Romans was required to collect a certain percentage fo them but above that amount he could charge whatever he wanted above that amount. It was a lucrative business! In fact, it was sanctioned stealing!
Verse 7 shows an insight into how he was
regarded by his neighbors – “sinner”
"All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a
sinner.”
No one wants to hurt. No one likes to hurt
and while much of his pain was self-inflicted it was hard to live with.
It
is good to know that Jesus knows where each of us hurt when He comes to us.
That is why He gave out the invitation:
Deep down pain - the pain in your heart and mind and spirit - doesn't just go away. It doesn't get better on its own. In fact, it normally gets worse for several reasons. One, we tend to nurse it and rehearse it which causes it to hurt more. Second, pain often prompts us to push Jesus away thus preventing Him from bringing the healing that only He can bring.
Will you meet Jesus there this morning?