Perceptions

Bible In A Year | Read: Luke 19

1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. Luke 19:1-9

Overview of Chapter

The story of Zacchaeus illustrates that it is the end of the story that matters. Zacchaeus was a wealthy tax-collector, so he had lived his life taking advantage of people. When he meets Jesus, he turns his life around. Jesus also illustrates that he has left us here on earth to accomplish things for him. Jesus then enters Jerusalem to move toward his arrest, trials and death. At this point he is welcomed, but that will quickly change.

We can feel reassured that God accepted Zacchaeus. No matter what we have done in the past, we can still turn to God and make our relationship right with him!

Thoughts on the verses

Ever find yourself in a situation that people have the wrong impression of you? It’s like they’re casting unfair judgment on you because they don’t know the real you. Few things hurt more than being perceived incorrectly, especially when you’ve done nothing to deserve it. So what do you do when you find yourself boxed in by other people’s perceptions? 

Jesus dealt with people’s misperceptions constantly throughout his public life and ministry. The Pharisees perceived that the Messiah would congratulate them on being so pious, not party with “sinners”. They perceived Zacchaeus as irredeemable and someone to be avoided. And both Jesus and Zacchaeus proved them all wrong by remembering whose perception mattered the most: our Heavenly Father.

Just like he did with Zacchaeus, Jesus knows the real you and sees you as a cherished son or daughter of God. He’s able to look past your past and see you in all your potential, not everyone else’s perceptions. If you are living under other people’s perceptions, expectations, or labels, God wants to offer you something radically different. He wants you to experience a new life and identity in Christ. He loves you so much that He invites you to come to His House and party for eternity.  

Action Steps

Bible: What is God showing me?  What am I going to do about it? 

Bless: Serve one person through word, action, or gift today.

Have you ever thought it would be cool to hear some C3 leaders discuss the daily verses, share about their lives and mostly just talk about nonsense?  Of course not!…even though nobody has ever thought that we are still doing it.  You can follow along with us each morning in a brand new podcast – Tuesday Church People & Men and Women of the Cloth.