The Bible Is for You: 5 Days in the New TestamentНамуна

The Gospel of Luke

There are a handful of core people in my life who are indispensable to me. I would never give up on them, even though they are sometimes the ones who can bug me or hurt me the most. I also have peripheral friends and acquaintances. As seasons of life change, approaches to life change, or even if a friendship becomes a little draining, I tend to let those relationships run their course and fizzle out.

Jesus, on the other hand, saw everyone as indispensable—even the ones who drained Him, bugged Him, and hurt Him the most. Many times it would have been completely understandable for Him to let an opportunity for connection go by on account of how in-demand He was, but Jesus didn’t turn people away. In fact, He sought them out.

Luke’s Gospel has a unique focus on Jesus as a friend of sinners. He highlights Jesus’s concern for including the outsider and seeking the lost. And the lost were everywhere! Jesus gave the widow her son back, delivered a demon-possessed man from bondage, and touched the untouchable leper, healing him. As word got out, the crowds began following Jesus, and “He welcomed them, spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing” (Luke 9:11). The Pharisees and Scribes, however, would have none of it and were overheard indicting, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:2).

It was around this time that Jesus spotted Zacchaeus the tax collector up in a tree, straining to catch a glimpse of this healing rabbi who had everyone talking. No one would have held it against Jesus if He had pretended He didn’t notice the man. Zacchaeus was, after all, a cheater and a crook who was literally draining the pockets of the people of Israel. But he was indispensable to Jesus. “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today it is necessary for me to stay at your house” (Luke 19:5). This really gave the Pharisees something to talk about!

Right then and there, after Jesus called his name but before they even went to his house, Zacchaeus turned his heart toward the one who seeks and saves. “Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus told him, “because he too is a son of Abraham” (Luke 19:9).

Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and we are all lost sheep. He sends out search parties to find us, and heaven rejoices when we are found. Even those we don’t agree with. Even the people who make us tired. And yes, even the ones who’ve hurt us.

Jesus said it Himself: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). I was one of them. I bet you were, too. And now, Jesus invites us to take the good news to those who don’t yet know Him. Let’s join the search party, shall we? We’ve got sheep to find!