“For the Son of Man came to seek
and to save the lost.”
– Jesus, to Zacchaeus (Luke 19:10)
Jesus often shattered the societal norms of His day. While His fellow Jews were taking alternate routes to avoid going through Samaria, Jesus cut straight through the middle of the hostile territory. While the average person would steer clear of a contagious leper, Jesus reached out His hand and became probably the first person in years to touch the dying man. He made a tax collector His disciple, involved women in helping fund His ministry, and healed the servant of a Roman soldier. He featured a hated Samaritan as the hero of one of His stories. He condemned the rich and powerful and lifted up the poor and oppressed.
Jesus intentionally made headway into virtually every segment of society written off by the religious and political leaders of His day. And when the Pharisees criticized His scandalous fellowship with the corrupt tax collector Zacchaeus, He answered curtly: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Jesus had come to seek those left behind by everyone else. He came to save those deemed not worth the effort. He loved those whom no one else would love. He came to die for a world that didn’t see the need for His salvation. The Good Shepherd went looking for His sheep, not because He needed the sheep, but because the sheep would die without Him.
We would be doomed to eternal separation from God if not for a Savior who came seeking and saving the lost. Jesus sought out the lost where they were, changing them and then charging them to continue the revolution of forgiveness that He had begun. The Gospel of God’s magnificent love must be proclaimed to every category of society, however big the sacrifice may be on our part. From the AIDS ward to the homeless shelter, no human being is an “untouchable” in the eyes of God. Jesus came not to pamper and puff up the found, but to seek and to save the lost.
written by Trevin Wax. © 2007 Kingdom People Blog