And it is this truth that helps us better understand our passage today, in which we encounter another rich man. But rather than a rich ruler, he was a tax collector. He was not respected but despised. He didn’t come asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. He simply wanted to see Jesus and so climbed a tree. But by the end of the day, Jesus could declare, “Today, salvation has come” (19:9).
Tag Archives: Jesus Christ
The King’s Heralds
It is his word by his Spirit that does the work, as he told the seventy-two, “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me” (Luke 10:16). We are simply called to be the King’s heralds, but where the gospel is preached the kingdom is near.
The Rock of Our Salvation
Israel was saved in the wilderness through the flowing, life-saving water from the rock. So, we are saved unto eternal life through the substitutionary, stricken, saving rock, our Lord Jesus Christ, the rock of our salvation.
Then to the Gentile
We are not reconciled to a holy and just God by our ethnicity, family, or good works. But, by God’s grace we believe in the divinely-chosen Servant, the soul-pleasing Beloved, the multi-national justice Preacher, the unbroken bruised Reed, the quenchless smoldering Wick, the justice-delivering Victor, our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord.
The Healing Authority of Christ
And while sickness and disease are the plagues of this world, our greatest need is eternal. A healed body may enjoy this life but apart from faith in Christ the soul will go to hell.
Planter, Pastor, Preacher 