We have come to the heart of the matter in Luke 19. Jesus is passing through Jericho when a man named Zacchaeus hears about it. Zacchaeus is described as a chief tax collector and rich. He is also short in stature, so in order to get Jesus’ attention he climbs a sycamore tree.
When Jesus spots Zacchaeus in the tree, He invites Himself into Zacchaeus’ house. It is there in Zacchaeus’ house that we hear Jesus speak the heart of the matter. It is the theme of Luke’s Gospel, and it is the glory of our hearts. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.” [vs 10 HCSB]
Jesus uses His favorite title…Son of Man. It is a title found in Daniel 7:13-14. Daniel saw “One like a Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven [shekinah glory]. He was given authority to rule and glory, and a kingdom, so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away and His Kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.” [HCSB]
The Glorious Son of Man came to us with a glorious purpose, “to seek and to save the lost.” Me. You. Us.
For me the most wonderful word in that verse is “seek.” It is zeteo, and it means “I seek, search for, desire, require.”
The Glorious Son of Man seeks, searches for, desires, requires the lost. It is not that we “find Jesus,” it is that “Jesus finds us.” We are the lost.
I remember being lost once as a child, probably around 7 or 8 years old. I went with a classmate after school thinking I could find my way home after that visit. I could not. I wandered the streets until finally a man found me and took me home to my family. Lost is a feeling I remember quite clearly.
I also remember being spiritually lost, wandering through life with no real awareness of where I was, until Jesus, in August 1973 found me and brought me home. The Glorious Son of Man sought me, saved me, because He loved me.