Question: Why did Jesus come to earth on that first Christmas Day?
Answer: In order to seek and save the lost.
For that’s what we’re told in Luke 19:10 after Jesus invites himself to the home of the diminutive Zacchaeus. And it’s there that the newly found tax collector, in a move unlikely to be copied by the Inland Revenue, not only returns all the money that he’d previously fraudulently obtained, but also compensates those affected to the tune of four times the amount that he’d taken from them in the first place.
It’s worth noting here that, whilst Zacchaeus appears to have been curious about who Jesus was, it wasn’t Zacchaeus who found Jesus. Rather, what Zacchaeus discovered was that he’d been found by Jesus.
Which brings me to the time when, after an extensive search, I once found my passport in the cupboard under the kitchen sink. Whether I should be concerned by such an occurrence, I will-leave it for you to judge, along with whether I should still be permitted to drive, but suffice to say, I was mightily relieved that, not only could I still recall the name of the Prime Minister, but also, having somehow secreted itself in amongst the dog food and fairy liquid, my most important of personal documents was as spotlessly clean as it was, for the time at least, uneaten.
All of which is to make the point that when something, or someone, is found, it’s not just the rescued that rejoice. There is huge satisfaction for the seeker too.
In Luke 15, Jesus tells three parables in which the finding of something that was lost prompts seemingly excessive rejoicing in the one who was doing the searching. In one of the parables it is a coin that goes missing – and one can’t help wondering if the cost of the ensuing celebration was more than the value of the coin that had been originally mislaid.
If so, the joy expressed could be considered as somewhat over the top. But that’s the point I think Jesus is making in the parables he is telling, all of which are meant to teach us something about him.
Namely that to seek and save the lost is something that Jesus himself absolutely delights to do. What’s more, Luke 15:10 tells us that there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who, like Zacchaeus, repents. And so we can say that it makes God happy too when sinners are saved. And when I say happy, I mean really happy – exuberantly, extravagantly, abundantly happy.
For such is the love that he has for the lost.
To reveal the secrets concealed behind door 2 of last year’s Christmas Countdown, click here.
Some musings 