Jesus sees what the world has missed
As Jesus made his way through town, crowds always seemed to gather around Him. The people clambering to see, hear, or touch Him. There were ample opportunities for them to be blessed or healed as He passed by. Speaking with power and authority, He could easily have spent his days concerned with the “upper crust”. And yet, His mercy and compassion extended even to the lowest rungs of the social ladder as He dined with and loved the most despised of society. Jesus saw in them what had been hidden away by sin’s entanglement. He saw and He sees what the world has missed.
Every society in our world places a value on its constituents. Money, power, beauty, unique abilities, etc, all contribute in various ways. This list of factors, often used to determine our worth, is subjective at best and often contingent upon a genetic or environmental roll of the dice.
Ultimately, many of these are things we have no control over. And yet society happily chugs along praising or abusing its members based on this everchanging list.
Many of us struggle to see anything special in ourselves. We might even wonder why we exist or what value we have. We may wish we could go back and re-roll those genetic dice. But Jesus sees something in us. Knowing every evil thought, our brokenness, pain, failure, and sin, He still looks at us and sees someone of impossibly great worth. He sees what the world can’t.
He loves in a way the world will never understand. He knows your true value and the eternal beauty for which you were designed. Time and time again Jesus loved those the world had discarded. Zacchaeus was just such a man. He was the chief tax collector working on behalf of the Roman oppressors. He did so dishonestly, taking more than was necessary.
As Jesus was passing by, Zacchaeus climbed a tree for a better look. When Jesus came to the tree, He looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”
The onlookers, knowing Zacchaeus was the head tax collector, hated him and grumbled about Jesus being the guest of such a sinner. But because of Jesus’ love and willingness to forgive, Zacchaeus was forever changed. He gave half of his possessions to the poor, and gave back four times as much to anyone he had defrauded. Jesus, having come to seek and save the lost, declared that salvation had come to Zacchaeus’ house that day. Jesus frequently broke the social rules, talking to people He wasn’t supposed to, touching the sick, and going to eat or drink in the homes of sinners. He even chose to pay the ultimate price, giving His own life to redeem us. (John 3:14-21) Having a different set of standards, He sees what the world has missed. He looks upon the most wretched, vile, filthy person as the object of God’s unimaginable, seemingly impossible love. This is the mind of Christ, the undefiled heart of God. What if we drew close to this same heart? What if we had the mind of Christ? Wouldn’t we come to see in others that which the world blindly overlooks? Wouldn’t our actions, attitudes, and even our lives be redefined by the same selfless, sacrificial love expressed in Jesus? Then let us continually draw near, that with hearts and minds forever changed, they all may come to know their worth, and the lovingkindness of our God.
■ Rob Hintz is pastor at New Hope Church of the Nazarene.