Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-02-15
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
For Feb. IS. Luke 1910.
BY DR.. MARION MICH. HULL

quainted with grief. Zaccheus was
nightly drawn to Him, and every
step that He took gave Zaccheus a
better view of Him, and drew him
more and more to this wonderful
Man.
When Jesus got right under the
tree, He looked up, and said,
"Zaccheus, hurry down; 1 must
stay with you today" What! Stay
at the house of the chief publican,
whose threshold had never been
crossed by any one of the many
priests that lived in Jericho, nor by
any of it's inhabitants either for that
matter! Well, Zaccheus was as
much surprised as any of the crowd
that grumbled over it; but maybe
that very surprise hurried him
down; he fairly I'd out of that.
tree. You see, Jesus was giving
zaccheus exactly what he needed
con1panionship and confidence. His
lonely, hungry heart was just starV-
ing for this.
When the crowd grumbled, Fac
cheus told the Lord what waS his
custom about giving and restoring
but that didn't make any difference.
1t might have influenced other men,
but it didn't influence this Man. He
knew what Zaccheus craved and
gave it to him. This day is saliva
tion come to this house." he said to
Zaccheus, and then, turning to the
crowd, added, "forasmuch as he is
also a son of Abraham. For the Son
of Man is come to seek and to save
that which was lost" Salvation did
not come to Zaccheus and his house
because he was a large giVer to
charity, but because the Son of Man
was seeking and saving the lost;
Zaccheus was son of Abraham Je.
cause he believed and his faint had
made this salvation possible for him
Zaccheus had sought to see Jesus,
but Jesus had been looking for FAC
cheus a good deal longer than that.
His very loneliness, his futile eff
forts to find peace in large giving
were necessary to create condi-
ton in Zaccheus which would make
Jesus welcome him when he came.
Therefore, as he saw Jesus ap-
preaching him and studied that face
and the Man who owned it, FAC
cheus began to believe that He was
what he had heard He claimed to
the Messiah long prophesied. When
Zaccheus' feet touched the ground
he was already a believer in Jesus
as the Christ, and, therefore, a son
of Abraham.
Possible With God
What a wonderful day that last
Sabbath was! The next Sabbath
Jesus laid in Joseph's tomb. His
last Sabbath on earth Jesus spent
as the guest of Zaccheus. No, we
can not imagine what they talked
about; but We do know that that day
was the most wonderful of all days
Tor Zaccheus. 1t changed his life;
he had found the peace that his
heart craved, and it came not by
anything that he did, but just by
taking Jesus into his heart and
home.
1t. was a wonderful salvation that
he got, too; for the word is all in
elusive. 1t involves the idea of de-
HVeranee from bondage, of victory
over an enemy, of freedom from
punishment. When Jesus came into
Zaccheus' heart that was what FAC
cheus heart got-acQuittal from the
guilt of sin, deliverance from the
bondage of sin, victory made posi-
bic over sin, and freedom from the
punishment of sin. Salvation came
because Jesus came; for Jehovah
Jesus is my light and my salvation"
That is His business; that's why He
came into the world that's what He
was and is doing; seeking the lost
until He finds them; sometimes up
in a sycamore tree, sometimes by
Wen of water, sometimes among the
tombs, sometimes at the tax col
lectors window. sometimes in
home of sorrow, sometimes at a
wedding feast-seeking until He
finds, and then saving by becoming
His permanent guest.
Now this brings us back to the
closing days of His ministry in
Perea and to the incident to which
we referred to at the beginning of
our study. There it was that an
other very rich man came into con-
tact with Him. He was very diff
ferent from Zaccheus, this other rich
man. He was a rich young ruler;
he had led an exemplary life; he
was respected by all and highly re-
spectacle. He was like Zaccheus
only in that his riches had not
brought peace to his heart. He
| asked Jesus what to do to inherit
eternal life, and Jesus told him, an
swering on his own plane. He had
done all this. he said, and yet he
| lacked something. But he went
| away sorrowful-his money and he
| couldn't get into the Kingdom to-
gether unless he got on top of it.;
! it was on top of him.
Jesus was sorrowful, too, and He
said that it was terribly difficult for
a rich man to be saved; but it was
possibly with God, not with man.
zaccheus was an illustration of
! that possibility. God saved him with
all his money, even though it had
been tainted money. He believed
and obeyed. The rich young ruler
| didn't. That's the difference between
/ these two very rich men.
Money cannot buy happiness, or
peace of heart. Money given to the
poor will not do it either. An ex-
emplary life will not bring it. The
only way is to let Jesus come and
be your permanent guest. He is
| seeking you now. He wants to give
you His wonderful salvation. That's