Advent Devotional: The Gospel of Lukeಮಾದರಿ

*Written by TJ Johnson

I hate losing things—misplaced car keys, an iPhone set to silent, reading glasses slipped between couch cushions, a TV remote gone rogue, or a wedding ring that slid off my finger (lost twice, actually… long story). I hate losing things because it requires effort to find them. Of course, some items that I lose I spend very little time looking for; other items I turn the house upside down to find. When I lost a paper advent calendar someone bought me as a joke, I spent very little time searching for it. Yet when I lost my five-year-old son in the subway, I exhausted all my resources to find him! The amount of effort spent on recovering the lost item depends on the value I have attached to the item.

Apparently, God has attached great value upon you. Our text today reads, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” That includes YOU and ME! This doesn’t mean God had misplaced us or didn’t know where we were. It means we were runaways. Made in His image, we have corrupted that image. Born to inherit the Kingdom, we, like Esau, despised our inheritance. Created to be citizens of a heavenly city, we defected—like exiles—trading in our passports for a city of far less value. The losing was all on our end, not God’s. And yet, God was not content to leave us lost.

He came and sought us!

What an amazing truth to consider this Advent season. God left heaven to find us. The King stepped down from His throne to bring us home. He searched high and low, exhausting all His resources to rescue what was lost. Those resources, of course, were the royal blood of Jesus. Jesus knew the dangers of this rescue mission. He knew it would cost Him His life. As our text today tells us, “The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him.” In a few chapters, we will see them succeed in their plan to kill Jesus. He would be nailed to a tree and die. None of this caught Jesus by surprise. He knew exactly what would be required of Him to save sinners. And yet...

He came and sought us!

To go to such extreme measures to find one lost item reveals the immense value God places on us. The world may not think much of you. It certainly didn’t think much of Zacchaeus. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” But that was not important. What really matters is what God thinks. From our text, we find that Zacchaeus meant the world to Jesus. YOU, TOO, are of great value to Jesus.

This chapter reveals Jesus’ great compassion for the lost—not just for sinners like Zacchaeus, who come to Him joyfully, but also for those who refuse to come to Him. “And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace!’” Jesus knew many would reject Him. He knew He would be mocked and ridiculed. Not much has changed in the two thousand years since. Jesus is still mocked by many. And yet...

He came and sought us!

So the next time you lose something, stop and remember that YOU were once lost. Remind yourself that your Savior took on flesh to find you. Rejoice in the fact that Jesus willingly was crucified, died, and buried so that you might be saved into His Kingdom.

From heaven, He came and sought her

To be His holy bride;

With His own blood, He bought her,

And for her life, He died.

Let's pray: Father, we thank You that You did not leave us in our sin. We admit that You would have been perfectly justified not to redeem us sinners. We acknowledge that Your holiness, love, or mercy would not have been tarnished in the least if You had not come to us and invited us into Your glorious Kingdom. For Scripture declares that You have mercy on whom You have mercy. So we give great thanks today for that mercy. We do not take it for granted. We rejoice in Your great love for us. All glory be to the Father, Son, and Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and forevermore shall be. In Jesus’ name, I offer this prayer to You, Amen.

Reflection Questions:

1. When you reflect on the idea that "God came to seek and to save the lost," how does this challenge your understanding of God’s love for you personally and for others in your life?
2. Who are some people in your life, like the city of Jerusalem, who have continually rejected Jesus, and how does Jesus’ compassion encourage you to continue to share the gospel with them?
3. What are the various ways Zacchaeus responds to Jesus’ seeking? What are some ways you can respond today?