Jesus Visits

And Dines With Zaccheus

By

The Twelve Apostles

Jesus Visits And Dines With Zaccheus
The great Feast of Passover of the Israelites, the feast of spring, was calling every loyal Israelite up to Jerusalem. Ten days before the feast, the Lord and His disciples left the Ephraim hills and by the Jordan way, went down to Jericho. And as they entered Jericho, a wealthy publican came out to see the Lord. But he was small in stature and the crowd was so great that he could not see Jesus. A tree, a sycamore, stood by the way. He climbed up the tree and found a seat among its branches.

When Jesus came, He saw the man and said, “O Zaccheus, make haste, come down. I would abide with you today.”
And Zaccheus came down and joyfully received the Lord. But many of the stricter sect called out and said, “For shame! He goes to lodge with Zaccheus, the sinner and the publican.” But Jesus did not care for what they said. He went His way with Zaccheus, who was a man of faith.

As they talked together Zaccheus said, “Lord, I have ever tried to do the right. I give to the poor half of my goods, and if by any means I wrong a man, I right the wrong by paying him four fold.”
And Jesus said to him, “Your life and faith are known to God, and behold, the benedictions of the Lord of Hosts abide with you and all your house.”

Explanations:

1. You must restore whatever that you have taken that does not belong to you, to the rightful owner.

2. Only then is your repentance and confession true and perfect.

3. It is not enough to confess or ask for forgiveness. You must restore (give back to the owner) whatever that you obtained in an unlawful way.

"Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he hath robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live." Ezekiel 33:14-16

"But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife. Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.

And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored to him Sarah his wife." Genesis 20:1-18