"He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." Luke 19:1-10
I found it interesting that Jericho is one of oldest continuously occupied locations on the planet. It has been dated back to between 8000-7000 BC.
In Joshua 6:20 it says, "So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city."
Most all archaeologists agree that the wall fell down and they date the destruction of the wall to the time of Joshua (1400 BC).
Jesus enters this old historic city and begins to tear down walls!
Jesus continues to spread his message in order to seek and save the lost. Verse one says he was just passing through, but Jesus is always concerned about redeeming men and women.
When I think about just passing through, I blow through a blinking light small town and get where I am going without hesitating. If I stop to get gas, that is as long as I am in town; I am just passing through. Jesus might just be passing through Jericho, but he sees it as an opportunity to minister to someone.
Do we take the time to minister to others? Our friends, our family, our brothers and sisters. Are you and I in the business of tearing down walls and living like Christ?
We can sit back and just allow our life to just pass by or we can begin to live for something more. Jesus calls Zacchaeus, you and I. He seeks to save the lost. Are you ready to come down from the tree and begin to live in Jesus?
If you already know Him, than are you waking up daily and living for Him? Lets begin to take Jesus' example and stop passing through, but tear down walls by spreading His love, His forgiveness and His grace to those we know. There is power in His name, we just need to begin to live it.
God bless.
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