A Man Named Zacchaeus - Luke 19:2

The beloved physician Luke wrote how, “Jesus entered and passed through Jericho”, and in chapter nineteen and verse two of his book Luke shares about, “a man named Zacchaeus” where we read:

And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus,

which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.

The verse reads, “And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, ...” Luke began with the words, “and, behold” or “and consider, lo and look”, “there was a man” which means “there existed a male human being” “named Zacchaeus” or “whose name was Zacchaeus which means pure and was a chief tax collector”. Luke shared how there existed a man in the city of Jericho whose name was “Zacchaeus”.

The verse goes on to say, “... which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.” Luke continued with the words, “which was the chief” or “who existed as the prince, principal and top ” “among the publicans” which means “of the tax collectors or gatherers”, “and he was rich” or “and Zacchaeus was wealthy, abounding in materials and abundantly supplied”. Luke shared how Zacchaeus was the head of all the “tax collectors” and was very “wealthy”.

When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we learn about another man who was to encounter Jesus. “Zacchaeus”, who was the “principal” “tax collector” in Jericho, was very wealthy, and we shall discover how this affects his relationship with Jesus. God desires to have a personal relationship with every person regardless of whether they have “wealth” or not, and material possessions should never keep people from coming to Him. God loves everybody, and when they yield their lives to His Son Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord”, they become the children of God and “heirs” of the Kingdom and “wealth” of God.

Next time Luke shares how Zacchaeus, “sought to see Jesus who he was”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".