Luke Part 2: Seeking and Saving the Lost

I've been studying Luke's Gospel account for some months; haven't really known how to approach blogging on it and have now decided to approach it via ad-hoc topics. This will form post number two in the series.

In Luke 19, Jesus passes through Jericho and interacts with Zacchaeus, who offers restitution for money he has received dishonestly. Jesus then says:

"Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."

The significance of this is tremendous, provided we see it in the light of Jesus' mission to Israel. Here is a "son of Abraham" who is not living under Torah and who has profited from working for the Romans and defrauding Jews; a genuine "lost sheep" who has strayed outside of the bounds of Israel and is brought back in by Jesus.

I find this particularly ironic given my background of many years spent in a church movement that put huge emphasis on verse 10, " For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." The logic went along the lines of this:

• Jesus came to seek and save the lost.
• This clearly means "evangelism".
• A disciple of Jesus must have the very same purpose.

Often, the drive to "evangelize" swamped any other activity in those churches, so that the weak were often overlooked and there was a bit of a "revolving door" membership as new members were recruited about as fast as others were leaving.

The irony in all this, is that the significance of this verse is all about shepherding of the weak. One commentator writes:

Jesus has come to seek and save the lost. This formulation echoes Yahweh's self-description in Ezek. 34:16 as the true shepherd who will seek and save the lost sheep of Israel: 'I will seek the lost, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak'... Jesus describes his mission in terms of the will of Yahweh, who seeks out the lost in Israel, healing and restoring the people who have been mistreated by Israel's leaders. (emphasis mine).