Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-02-17
Golden Text: "FOr the Son of
Man came to seek and to save that
which was lost" Luke 1910.

which was lost" Luke 1910.
The 31st verse of the 18th chap
ter begins new section of Luke's
story of the Man who lived and
died and rose again. 1t begins
the narration Of these events which
marks His last journey to Jerusa-
lem and His Sufferings there. Jesus
had been in Perea just prior to
this; good many of the events
of His ministry there Luke omits.
He does tell us one thought that
has a very important beafing up
on the incident we study today and
we shall therefore revert to it
after a bit.
F. AS He began His last journey to
Jerusalem He took His disciples
aside and told them what was
ahead of them and Him. They
were to start for Jerusalem now,
and there would be. fulfilled all that
the prophets had spoken concerning
the Son of Mantle would be de-
livered into the hands of the Gen
tiles, Knocked, spit upon, spitefully
treated scourEed, and crucified;
and on the third day He would
rise again.
The disciples looked at Him in
derstand anything that He was
talking about, because it was hid
den from them. How kind God was
to hide these things from them!
They would have been perfectly
miserable had they understood Him
fully; they would certainly have
made efforts to prevent it, and
would only have made matters
worse instead of better; because
they would have been impotent
against the powerful Roman gov
eminent and the plan of God. Lat
er they recalled it all, however, and
understood, and appreciated Him
the more keenly because they knew
He had gore to Jerusalem, knowing
beforehand exactly everything that
would befall Him; and yet He had
gone willingly, for the love that
He had to them and to us.
Their road. from Perea led them
through Jericho. AS they neared
the city. they were joined by great
crowds that were also on their way
to Jerusalem to keep. the feast of
the Passover. 1t was just week
before the Great Day. AS they en-
tered the city a blind man sat by
the wayside begging. Hearing the
multitude he asked what it meant,
and learning, began to cry, Jesus,
thou Son of David, have mercy on
me-. He kept it up all through the
they went out of Jericho. he was
Joined by another. Jesus called them
to Him, gave them their sight. and
was Joined by them as. part of the
crowd that followed Him
Zaccheus, the Chief Publican
Jericho was situated $50 feet be-
low sea level, and therefore had d
tropical climate. It's surroundings
lands were very fertile, and its crops
were large and lucrative. A large
number of Roman tax gatherers
were necessary to collect the taxes,
and the matter was farmed out to
underlings to do the actual work.
Zaccheus was a Jew who was the
chief of these publicans, and had
large opportunities to accumulate
wealth His practices were not al
ways honest, but he was in it for
all that the game would bear. He
had therefore grown very rich.
d., With all his wealth, he was not
happy. He had a lovely home in
the suburbs, furnished with all that
the heart could wish or that money
could buy. But he lived a lonely
life: no one came to visit him; be
was a despised publican, an outcast.
He had tried to buy happiness. He
had become one of the city's largest
giVers to charity, even to the halt
of his goods he gave to the poor.
But that did not produce happiness
cr peace of heart. He decided that
he would not have any tainted mon
ey: and if he found that any of 1t
had come by fraud, he did what the
law required of a thief, he restored
it. fCurfold. For notice in verse
that he is not making any promise
of what he. will do in the future, but
he is stating a fact as to what he is
doing now. The verbs are in the
present tense.
He had heard of Jesus; he had
probably heard of the criticism that
had been made against Him very re-
Gently when He had gone to eat
with some publicans i'll another
place, for news like this travels
fast from one group to another sim
liar group. He had probably heard
of Levi, the publican who had left
all to follow this Man Jesus, and Of
the supper that he had given Him.
And there had grown in Zaccheus'
heart a great desire to see this Man
Jesus what He was like. He had
never heard Of any one who treated
,publicans like they were folks be-
fore; he was curious to see how such
a man looked.
He edged into the crowd, elbowed
here and there; but in the narrowed
streets of the city, he didn't have a
Reliance; he was. too small: he
I%couldn't get glimpse of Him He
knew the road to Jerusalem well,
though, and so he ran ahead and
climbed up a. sycamore tree, an
Egyptian fig tree, that grew on the
side of the road. There, from his
point Of vantage, he waited to get
/ a first-class view of the Man. To
be sure, it was not a very dignified
position for one Of the city's
wealthiest men to occupy, nor for
the one who was probably the larg-
est giver to charity; but what did
he care for dignity? He was al.
ready despised and cast out; they
couldn't do him much more harm
by ridiculing him. He must have
that sight Of the Man, and he did.
There He came, walking in the
midst Of the crowd. Zaccheus had
never seen such a face such a
kindly eye, such a tender, yet firm,
mouth, such a smile, such love dis
played. And yet there was some