Warriors Arise: February 8, 2022
Luke 19:1-8 (NKJV) Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” 8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”
Zacchaeus was very rich. I am guessing he didn't much care for babbling. He didn't want to hear what people had to say. Everyone had an excuse. No one wanted to pay taxes. I am betting he didn't want to be that kind of person around Jesus. I am betting he got straight to work on preparations for Jesus and His disciples. He made sure they were well tended when they arrived and then off he went to set in motion what he wanted for the meal and that evening's entertainment. When he returned he didn't just sit at the head of the table and entertain them with babbling, surface level chattering, or complaining about the troubles of a tax collector. As a wealthy business man he would know authority and who was the most important one in the room. He would know his place to honor Jesus and His disciples.
There is a reason why we do not hear of anything from when Zacchaeus was commanded to come down from he sycamore tree until some time later, when they are lounging or maybe after eating. He is tending to matters. He has his ears open to anything needing to be done to take care of his guests. At the sycamore tree he probably spoke to a boy and sent him to his house to make sure his servants were ready to receive Jesus. When Jesus looked at Zacchaeus, I believe something began to change in him. He had looked into the eyes of so many. Zacchaeus job as a tax collector would have positioned him to learn how to read people. Remember, nothing is recorded that Zacchaeus wanted to speak to Jesus, he wanted to see who Jesus was. He figured he would know what kind of a man this Jesus was just by seeing Him. Jesus did not disappoint.
Jesus looked right at Zacchaeus. He looked right into him. What would it be like to have Jesus look into your eyes, to see the very depth of you? What would it be like to look into His eyes? How many people had come to Jesus and didn't really look at Him? They didn't look into His eyes?
I am an eye contact person. I like to look into a person's eyes, because so much is said without saying a word. I am not staring. My eye ares listening in a different way. They are listening to what they are not saying; while my ears are listening to what is being verbalized. Isn't that what Jesus did all the time? He only did what He saw His Father doing.
When Jesus stopped at the sycamore tree and looked up at Zacchaeus do you think He was reading his eyes? Do you think He knew the depth at which he wanted to see Jesus? Remember he wanted to see who this Jesus was. Do you think Jesus read that in his eyes and gave him more than he asked for? No one likes to be misunderstood or evaluated without a fair shake. Maybe Jesus wanted to make sure Zacchaeus truly saw Him?
Father, I don't think I look close enough when Your presence has come. When I pray, worship or read my Bible; there are times I know You presence is near me. But I am not sure I take the time to look at You. When I know You are near and Your presence is unfolding into the room, I want to look at You. Even if I look at You with my eyes closed. I want to turn off my senses from being distracted by everything around me and allow the sprit within me to connect with You, to see You. My words fail me. I do not want to be misunderstood. You know my heart. I don't want to just observe You; I want to engage with You. I want to look into Your eyes searching for what I will only find by seeing You, seeing into the depths of Your love, Your peace, Your power. I want to open myself by allowing You to look into my eyes. It is scary, because I know You will find so much unrighteousness and things that need to be removed from my life. If they are not exposed, I will remain the same. I do not want that. I want to be transformed into Your like as it says Romans 12: 1 and 2 as well as in Ephesians 5:1. I want to imitate You because I have seen You in Jesus' name amen.
A Warrior in the Lord’s Army,
Veridee Joy Hand
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