#125: The Jericho Encounter (3): Counting the Cost

But the people were displeased. "He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner," they grumbled. Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the LORD and said, "I will give half of my wealth to the poor, LORD, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!" Jesus responded, Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. Luke 19:7-10

By God's grace today we will be concluding our study on the Jericho encounter. I trust that it has been an awesome time at the feet of Jesus. Glory to God for the success of the previous studies and for bringing us to today's study.

One thing of significance about people who ever encountered God is that they left something behind after the encounter, or they had to forgo something. The woman at the well left her jar pot and rushed to the city to tell others about Jesus. Peter, Andrew, James and John left their nets, their boats and followed Jesus. James and John actually left their father. In all these encounters, something keeps striking me. If truly I have met Jesus, and I walk away the same way I was before I met Him, then I have wasted the encounter. But most importantly, at every time that I am meeting Jesus, and I decide to go deeper in my relationship and walk with Him, there will always be something to leave behind or drop, or abandon. The change that Jesus brings is from the inside - out. It starts on the inside, but there is always an outward display to this effect. There has to be a change in ways of thinking and doing things. Encountering Jesus always prompts us to give up our way(s).

Then He said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me." (Luke 9:23)

So I strongly believe, that just like every other person that encountered Jesus and made the decision to follow Him, Zacchaeus came to the cross road, where he had to decide. He came to the point where he has to count the cost of following Jesus. In verse 2, scriptures introduced Zacchaeus as a rich man. He definitely got his wealth by cheating people when it was time to pay the compulsory tax. Tax collectors were quite frankly regarded as notorious sinners in those years. So what was Zacchaeus going to do? Would he hold back to his ways? He had already overcome the barriers of meeting Jesus. He had already brought Jesus into his house. Would he make a shipwreck out of all these?

Thank God for the life of Zacchaeus. Once again, he proposed in his heart, that nothing would come between him and his saviour - not even his own way, not even his possessions. Jesus was now LORD indeed of his house.

What are the demands that Jesus has been making of you? Do you esteem them higher than following Jesus? Even though we come, kneeling at the cross the way we are, as we get up, we cannot follow Jesus the same way; we have to give up our way(s). As you stand up today, can you stand up before GOD to take the bold step/decision as Zacchaeus did? We would only wish that Jesus would come at a time when we are not engaged, when we have nothing. So, we keep stalling Jesus' invitation to follow Him. But Jesus' coming always puts us in the position where we have to choose between abandon (to follow Jesus) and being possessive (rejecting Jesus). Can you quit the excuses? Consider the encounters that these persons had with Jesus, the demands that Jesus was making of them and their responses:

57 As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

58 But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”

59 He said to another person, “Come, follow me.”

The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”

60 But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”

61 Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.”

62 But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

Luke (9:57-62)

Resolve: After Zacchaeus made the decision, Jesus said, "Salvation has come to this house today!" At this point, Zacchaeus had made the transition. It seemed as though everything was building up to this point. Today, Jesus is knocking at the door to your heart. Will you let Him in? And when you do, will you allow any idol in your heart to prevent salvation from coming to your heart, or will you be like Zacchaeus and arise today before the LORD, letting go of everything, withholding nothing. A rich young ruler also met Jesus (Luke 18:18-23), but he would not surrender the dew of his youth to Jesus, neither would he surrender his wealth to Jesus and ultimately, Jesus could not rule over his heart. He went home the same way he came - a rich young ruler. For the past weeks, the LORD has been brooding over us, to have an encounter with us. Having done all, having made all the decisions before now, will you hold back anything from your saviour? Count the cost and make a decision today! The Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.