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.
“God has His remnant among all sorts. Christ came to save even the chief of sinners, and therefore even the chief of tax collectors.” Matthew Henry
When the call comes forth from Jesus, as it did to Zacchaeus in our verses for today, the response He desires from us is to be immediate, willing and joyful. I am reminded of the calling of the first disciples and their ensuing actions:
18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. Matt 4:18-20 (NIV)
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Matt 4:21-22 (NIV)
Sometimes Jesus’ call, as evidenced by His disciples, may result in our departing from our professions, our families, and much that is familiar to us. Other times it is remaining in our settings as a changed person in Christ, filled with the powerful Holy Spirit, bringing His light to our spheres of darkness. Either way, the call on a life by Jesus is a choice which demands our immediate response. Remember, sweet reader, no response to Jesus is a response. We are given fair warning in Scripture not to disregard His call:
1 As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. 2 For he says,
"In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. 2 Cor 6:1-2 (NIV)
“The present time is the only proper season to accept the grace that is offered. Tomorrow is not ours: we do not know what will be tomorrow.” Matthew Henry
We are not to spurn God’s grace by turning to legalism, grace abuse, or perhaps becoming indifferent or insolent. The word rendered “vain” in the above verse is defined as “empty, ineffective, useless, fraudulent or hollow; literally, of persons in respect to goods, empty-handed, without possessions, commodities, or property; robbed of valuables or personal effects; the fantasy of a deceived mind; futile, failing to achieve its end, and perhaps including the thought that such a thing was pointless and a waste of effort.” Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible New Testament Lexical Aids
“Now, ‘now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation;’ now embrace him as your offered, your all sufficient Saviour; so shall you be for ever delivered from him as your angry Judge. If this you neglect, how shall you abide the day of his coming in flaming fire, to take vengeance on all them that know not God, and obey not the gospel? Lift up thy head; my soul, none else is Judge but Christ. Will he who bore my sins, plead against me in judgment? No; but he will put strength in me. I know in whom I have believed; and the he is able to keep that good thing, my soul, which I have committed to him against that day.” K.H. Von Bogatzky
“It is well to be poor, when the knowledge of our poverty serves but to unfold to us the exhaustless riches of divine grace. That grace can never suffer any one to go away empty. It can never tell anyone that he is too poor. It can meet the very deepest human need; and not only so, but it is glorified in meeting it. This holds good in every case. It is true of every individual sinner...Grace is the grand and only resource for us all. It is the basis of our salvation; the basis of a life of practical godliness; and the basis of those imperishable hopes which animate us amid the trials and conflicts of this sin-stricken world. May we cherish a deeper sense of grace, and more ardent desire for glory!” C H MacIntosh, 1860, Notes on Leviticus
“I remember two things: that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior.” Newton