Two Seekers

“He sought to see Jesus … the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:3,10).

There are two exceedingly anxious seekers in this passage, Zacchaeus and the Lord Jesus, and we should not be surprised that they found each other. God’s word describes them as the perfect complement for one another: a sinner seeking a Savior, and a Savior seeking a sinner.

If you are seeking Christ, dear friend, I have very good news for you: He is seeking you, too. By nature, man does not seek the true God: “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God” (Romans 3:11). But when divine light breaks in upon a person’s soul, it sets him seeking to find God. It makes him feel that there is something wrong with him, that there is a void, a vacancy, an emptiness, a want—that he is not satisfied. That is the first thing. Then, very likely, he will find out that he has to meet God. You have to meet Him—so do I. Every sinner has to meet Him sooner or later. The next thing he will discover is, that he is not fit to meet Him. Let me ask you, have you realized that you not only have to meet God, but also that you are not ready to meet Him? The one who gets his heart illuminated, and who feels his true need, says, “How can I be ready to stand before God?”

Whenever that is the case, God puts the gospel in his way, just as you have it here in this remarkable scene with Zacchaeus. Here was a man who was very eager to see Jesus. Now, I wonder, has there ever been in your history, such a record by God as this, that you desired to see Jesus? It is a wonderful moment in the history of a man when he wants to see Jesus, and when, in plain language, he sets out to seek the Savior.

Zacchaeus was drawn to the Lord in a remarkable way. Doubtless he had heard of Jesus previously, for the Lord had passed near, if not through, Jericho on a previous occasion. But after this day, He never passed through it again. That is what gives the story its great force. Zacchaeus had one last opportunity to get into contact with Jesus, and he took it. Notice that he embraced it; he seized it. I can understand why the Lord says, “Make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house” (Luke 19:5).

Suppose Zacchaeus had put it off, and declined the Savior’s call, as perhaps you have declined His call until today. What would have been the result? He would never have gotten another opportunity. Jesus never passed that way again. This may be the last time that God will give you a call. It may be the last opportunity that God will give you for hearing anything about His blessed Son. Decide for Christ today.

“Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

—Condensed from Seekers of Light by W.T.P. Wolston.

“What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)

To lose your health is much, To lose your wealth is more,
To lose your soul is such a loss, That nothing can restore.