All around us are reminders that Christmas is here.
Of course, we’ll be thinking a lot this month about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.
But why did Jesus come to this earth?
Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem to save us from our sin.
In fact, Jesus revealed the reason He came to this earth when he was talking to a man from Jericho named Zacchaeus.
He was a tax collector, which means that he took advantage of people.
Zacchaeus effectively ripped people off.
He didn’t have a friend in the entire place.
No one wanted anything to do with him.
When Jesus showed up in Jericho one day, it was a big deal.
Everyone wanted to get a look at Him.
If that were happening today, everyone would be asking for a selfie.
The problem was that Zacchaeus was too short to see above the crowd.
So he climbed a tree to get a view of Jesus.
Can you imagine Zacchaeus’s shock when Jesus stopped, looked up, made eye contact with him, and called him out by name? Jesus told him,
“Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today” (Luke 19:5 NLT).
Zacchaeus was overjoyed, and he welcomed Jesus into his house.
But the people of the city criticized this saying,
“He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner” (verse 7 NLT).
Exactly. After all, how can you reach a sinner if you don’t spend some time with him? Jesus said,
“For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost” (verse 10 NLT).
That’s why He came: to seek and save lost people.
That day, Zacchaeus walked into his home a sinner and walked out a saint.
That’s what spending time with Jesus will do.
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