Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Luke 19:5 - 19:7

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Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Luke 19:5 - 19:7


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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

The call of the Lord:

v. 5. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for today I must abide at thy house.

v. 6. And he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.

v. 7. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That He was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.

Although this entire proceeding was done with. out commotion, in silence and with haste, yet Jesus, the omniscient Lord, was very well aware of all that was going on, just as He knew the name of the man in whose heart such feelings had been aroused. The saving grace of Christ planned all with tactful kindness. He came to the spot opposite or beneath the tree with its strange burden; He looked up and saw the publican; He called to him with friendly frankness. He at once fathomed the heart of the man with the same look of revealing omniscience which once followed Nathanael to his position under the fig tree, Joh_1:48, and read his heart's longing. The Lord bids Zacchaeus hurry and come down, since it was necessary for Him to make a visit at his house that same day. With this invitation the Master conveyed His complete understanding of the situation to the heart of the man in the tree, so that the latter was now disposed to pay the most cheerful and hurried obedience to the call. Even so today a heart that may be filled with thoughts of doubt, and yet desires to know the Lord more closely, is cheered by the many gracious invitations which come in the Gospel, which are transmitted through the means of grace, and pays joyful obedience to the friendly call of the Savior. Zacchaeus lost no time in climbing down from the tree, for his heart was filled with ecstatic joy, and he welcomed the Lord into his house with grateful hospitality. But the Lord, by this action, again provoked the great mass of the people, for their hatred of the publicans was almost inherent, and they murmured, saying: With a sinful man He has gone to be guest. Human nature has not changed to this day; it is scandalized even now when some person whose special transgressions in the past were well known turns to the Lord and is received into the Christian congregation.