Reflections — Three Appointments
“He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
Luke 19:7b
A defining hallmark of Jesus’ life and Ministry is being with sinners, the unclean, and the outcasts. Do you remember when Jesus came and transformed your identity from Sinner to Redeemed in Christ?
Jesus response to critics in Luke 5:31–32 clearly shows the heart and motivation of his Ministry,
“Healthy people don’t need a doctor — sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”
Jesus’ encounters were divine appointments. He went out of His way to pass through Samaria and wait at the well to reach out to a woman in desperate need of love and acceptance.
In the temple courts, He heard the charges against a woman caught in the act of Adultery. Did He wonder who her co-conspirator was? Or did He know and write his name on the stones of the temple courts?
In Jericho, Jesus didn’t ask around for Zaccheus. He stopped, looked directly at him, and said, “I’m eating at your house today.”
Jesus received all three as they were without condemnation. He embraced them, redeemed and forgave them where they were.
The outcome of each encounter was repentance and redemption.
The woman at the well went from seeking acceptance in the arms of men to knowing she was Christ’s beloved, and becoming the first missionary sent by Jesus.
In the temple courts, neither man nor God condemned the adulteress. Jesus, out of grace, forgave her and counseled her to sin no more.
When encountered by Jesus’ overwhelming grace, Zaccheus turned himself inside out, giving half his wealth and pledging to restore four times more than he had unjustly collected.
Jesus accepted and redeemed each one as he found them. Who am I to expect any more of them than what Jesus asked of me?
The law demands, condemnation kills, but grace gives.
Joseph Prince
“Jesus went to be the guest of a sinner. Now it’s your turn to do the same and be Jesus in someone’s life.
