THE SEEKING SAVIOR

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10 NKJV).

Here we have the Lord Jesus’ own statement of His purpose for coming to this world. His purpose was not to reform the Jewish religion, not to bring in a military, political kingdom. His purpose was to bring salvation to lost people. And so in our verse, the Lord Jesus is the One who did the saving of Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus had not sought out the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus had sought and found Zacchaeus. In a few days the Good Shepherd was going to lay down His life for the sheep, including Zacchaeus. Our text gives us some pertinent information about the Lord Jesus Christ and salvation.

The character of the Savior – “Son of man.” This is a messianic title taken from Dan. 7:13. It was the Lord Jesus’ most common way of referring to Himself. It describes both His humanity and His deity. It says that the Lord Jesus Christ was indeed God manifested in the flesh. He was both the Son of God and the Son of man. The incarnation involved both natures of the Lord Jesus Christ so He could be the saving Mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5).

The condescension of the Savior – “Is come.” In coming to earth to be our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ had to greatly humble Himself. His coming to earth in Bethlehem set the tone for the condescension of the Lord Jesus to be our Savior. The next time the Lord Jesus comes back to earth, it will not be to save but to conquer.

The compassion of the Savior – “Seek.” The Lord Jesus Christ went after sinners. Like the good Shepherd goes after the lost sheep, so the Lord Jesus’s compassion mandates His seeking the lost to save them.

The cost for the Savior. “Save.” The lost are the ones who are perishing, not having eternal life, and being cut off from God. The lost are spiritually destitute. To save is to rescue from harm and deliver from danger. The saving souls could not have occurred had the Lord Jesus not paid the terrific cost of Calvary. He came to earth to die on the cross for our sins. And He arose from the grave to be the great intercessor of our salvation.

(Adapted from Butler's Analytical Bible Expositor)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Salvation comes through a cross and a crucified Christ!”

Andrew Murray (1828 - 1917)

South African Christian Author, Theologian, and Pastor

Word Study

Entangles

In 2 Tim 2:4 we read, “No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier!” (NKJV).

Entangles is the Greek word emplékō (ἐμπλέκω = em-plek'-o). The word means literally means to weave in, and so to intertwine. In classic Greek emplékō means to weave in, be entangled in, be involved in, entwine. In the Septuagint, emplékō also carries the idea of being entangled. In the New Testament, emplékō means to be entangled. Figuratively emplékō means to become so involved in an activity that it interferes with other activities or objectives. As committed Christians, we don’t have the privilege of getting too involved or intertwined with matters that are relatively unimportant in light of eternity. Service as a Christian soldier calls for wholehearted devotion. This is not to say that we are not to be involved in the affairs of everyday living; but rather that we are not to be entangled in them.

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses” (Neh. 4:14 KJV).

Did You Know…

According to John 19:20, the sign above the cross was written in three different languages: Hebrew, Greek and Latin. This meant that the sign could be read by all - by Judean Jews, Romans, Jews of the Diaspora and Gentile God-fearers and proselytes.

Bible Quiz

What did the chief priests do with the money that Judas had returned to them?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: In John 1, what did John the Baptist say upon seeing the Lord Jesus coming toward him? “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

Names For the Lord Jesus in the Bible

“CARPENTER”

"Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?" And they were offended at Him!” (Mark 6:3 NKJV).

1. Meaning – CARPENTER speaks of the Lord Jesus as a Builder who knows how to build into our lives; and He knows how to finish the job.

2. Insights – Tekton is the Greek word for “carpenter,” and it means a worker in wood, stone or metal. This word denotes a craftsman. The Lord Jesus was a common worker, a blue-collar laborer. He had no formal training; He was not a scholar. And the people in His hometown knew this. Familiarity brought contempt, i.e., the very fact that the people of Nazareth were so well acquainted with the Lord Jesus and His family, caused them to look down upon him. In spite of His impressive words and deeds, He was too ordinary for them. As a result, they stumbled over Him and failed to follow Him.

Did You Know – Christian History

John Harvard was born in 1607 in in Southwark, Surrey, England. He was an English dissenting minister in Colonial America.

Harvard was baptized in St Savior’s Church, and attended St Savior’s Grammar School, where his father was a member of the governing body and a warden of the parish church.

In 1625, bubonic plague reduced the immediate family to only John, his brother Thomas, and Katherine. With the death of Katherine in 1635, and Thomas in 1637, John was left with some property, which enabled him to attend the University of Cambridge. At Cambridge, Harvard earned both the B.A. and M.A. degrees.

Harvard married Ann Sadler in 1636, and in 1637, the couple immigrated to New England, where Harvard became a freeman of Massachusetts. Settling in Charlestown, Harvard became a teaching elder of the First Church there and an assistant preacher.

In October of 1636, the Great and General Court of the English Colony of Massachusetts Bay, decided that funds would be allocated for the establishment of a college especially for the advanced training of ministers for the Congregational Church. When Harvard died in 1638 of a protracted disease, he left half of his estate and his library of classic and theological texts to the college. Originally called Newton, the name of the college was changed to Cambridge by 1638.

In 1639 Salem’s leaders met again. In gratitude for Harvard’s bequest, they named the college after him. It has become one of the greatest universities in the world. Its origin and purpose were entirely Christian. Fittingly, in light of John Harvard’s donation of books, it boasts one of the largest libraries in the world, with tens of millions of items.

A Little Humor

En route to church to make his first confession, nervous seven-year-old Greg asked his grandfather what he could expect. “Confession is where you tell all the bad things you have done to the priest,” said the old man. Greg looked more relieved. “Good. I haven’t done anything bad to the priest.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“If you keep rejecting the “come” of salvation, you will have to accept the “depart” of damnation!”