Zacchaeus was rich but Jesus made no demands for him to give away all his goods to the poor as He did with the rich young ruler. Zacchaeus had already repented and money was no longer his god, as was revealed by his actions. It seems that Zacchaeus was going above and beyond the requirement of restitution as stated in Mosaic law by offering to give half of his goods to the poor and to repay fourfold for his theft.

Publicans were hated by their fellow Jews. They were especially despised by the religious Jews as the epitome of sinners and Jewish religious laws prevented devout Jews from keeping company with any publican. To eat with a publican was unthinkable as the Jews considered this actually partaking of the publican’s sins. This is why the people reacted so adversely to Jesus eating with Zacchaeus.

Jesus did not eat at Zacchaeus’ house to participate in his sin but to extend mercy and forgiveness to him. This is always the criterion whereby we can judge whether or not we should be involved in a certain situation. We must not participate in other men’s sins, but the Lord doesn’t want us to retreat to monasteries either. We are the salt of the earth (Mt. 5:13), and to do any good, we have to get out of the “salt shaker.” If we can be in control and minister the love of God, then we are right to associate with sinners. But when we are being controlled by the ungodliness of sinners, we need to take control or withdraw.

The devil will always have someone available to tell us why we shouldn’t expect to get results when petitioning God. Most people would rather stay with the crowd and not do anything to draw attention to themselves even if that means not getting their needs met. They will try to make you conform as well. If this man would have listened to the crowd, he would not have received his healing. “Ye have not, because ye ask not” (Jas. 4:2).

This blind man is a good example of an active kind of faith. He was not passive in his approach toward healing. He boldly cried out to Jesus for mercy. When the crowd ridiculed him and told him to be quiet, he cried out even louder for mercy.

Many people believe that God can perform the miracle they need but relatively few are willing to actively pursue it until they get results. They are afraid of what others will think of them. This man had his attention focused only on Jesus. Nothing else mattered and that is why he got healed.

An integral part of faith is seeking God only with your whole heart. If we are concerned about what people think so that we can gain their approval, we will never take a stand in faith for anything that we might be criticized for. This one thing has probably stopped as many people from receiving from God as anything else. You cannot be a “man-pleaser” and please God at the same time. Satan uses persecutions to steal away God’s Word and thereby stop our faith. To see faith work, we must say with Paul, “let God be true, but every man a liar” (Rom. 3:4).

Jesus told His disciples many times of His death but this is the first time He indicated the reason for His death. Now it is clear that His death would be a “ransom”, defined in the Greek as a means of loosing by paying a price.

The words “ransom” and “redeem” were used interchangeably in scripture.

Not only would Jesus pay the price for sin but also His death would be substitutionary. In 1 Timothy 2:6, the word “ransom” is taken from the Greek word “antilutron” which means “a redemption-price.” The Greek word “anti” means “in place of.” In other words, the ransom avails for all who will accept it (Jn. 3:16; Rom. 10:13).

The price paid for our redemption is the life of Jesus, that is, Jesus’ blood (Col. 1:14). This redemption, according to Hebrews 9:12, is eternal and is intended to purify us from all iniquity (Ti. 2:14), and bring us to serve the living God (Heb. 9:14).

This can be illustrated by the way we use trading stamps. First, the stamps have to be purchased, then they are redeemed for the desired product. The purchase is essential but so is the redemption. No one really wants the stamps. They want what the stamps can be redeemed for. The purchase for our total salvation has already been made with the blood of Jesus, but our bodies have not been redeemed yet. That is to say that we have not received yet, all the benefits of this transaction in our physical bodies. This will take place at the second coming of the Lord when we receive our new glorified bodies.

Our spirits are the only part of us that have experienced total redemption.

Thank God for the redemption He has provided for you today.

The Greek word for baptize is “baptizo.” This word was used by Plato (fourth century B.C.) to describe a man being “overwhelmed” by philosophical arguments; or it means sponges being “dipped” in fluid; and by Strabo (first century B.C.) to describe people who could not swim as being “submerged” under water. Josephus in the first century A.D. used the word to describe the city of Jerusalem as being “overwhelmed” or “plunged” into destruction by the Romans; and Plutarch (also first century A.D.) used this word to refer to a person being “immersed” in the sea. In the Septuagint (the Greek version of the O.T.), “baptizo” is used to describe Naaman dipping himself in the Jordan River (2 Ki. 5:14). From classical Greek right down to New Testament Greek, the same basic meaning has been retained: “To immerse, submerge, dip or plunge.” Jesus is stating that the disciples will indeed be plunged into the same sufferings that He will experience.

There are many forms of persecution. Having your life threatened because of your faith in Jesus is one way you can be persecuted. History shows that the church has always flourished under persecution with increased numbers and zeal. During intense, life-threatening persecution, people’s priorities get straightened out and the Lord assumes His rightful place. This always works for our good, regardless of what our outward circumstances might be. It helps to recognize that it is not you that they are persecuting, but rather Christ in you. You are actually partaking in His sufferings and will share in His rewards. With this in mind, we can actually shout and leap for joy in times of persecution.

Notice that the scripture makes special mention of Jesus loving this rich young ruler. This is stated after this young man said he had kept all of God’s commands, which was not the truth. Jesus was showing him that he had broken the very first commandment that states, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3), and also the tenth commandment that says, “Thou shalt not covet…” (Ex. 20:17). Jesus’ tough answer of “sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor” was not intended to hurt this young man. It was said from a heart of love and intended for his own good. This man’s money had become his god and it had to be dethroned before Jesus could become Lord.

The one thing this young man lacked was faith in Jesus as his Savior. This young ruler was trusting in his goodness and not in the salvation that Jesus offered as a gift. Millions of people are making the same mistake today. They trust in themselves instead of God.

Jesus only came to save sinners. Unless an individual acknowledges that he is a sinner, he cannot be saved. Because the whole world is guilty before God, He has provided one way of salvation for everyone. In the same way that everyone is guilty, everyone also has been justified freely by God’s grace.

That does not mean everyone is saved. Everyone has had the sacrificial offering of Jesus made for their sins by grace but grace alone doesn’t save.

We have to put faith in what God has provided for us by grace. Although the price has been paid for the sins of the whole world, only those who receive it by faith will benefit from the salvation that Jesus offers.

On the surface, it appears that this rich young ruler was “right on” in the way he approached Jesus and sought salvation. He ran, kneeled down to Jesus, and openly professed Him as a Good Master. What could be wrong with that?

First, he acknowledged Jesus as good but not as God. This is a pivotal point.

Every major religion of the world acknowledges that Jesus lived and will even admit that He definitely was a good man, but they won’t recognize Him as God. If Jesus was only a good man, He couldn’t save anybody. Jesus didn’t just come to show us the way to God. He was the way, the only way unto the Father.

No man could come unto the Father, but by Him (Jn. 14:6). Jesus had made this point publicly many times before. This is the reason that Jesus responded to this young man’s question the way He did. Jesus was saying, “God is the only one who is good. You must accept me as God or not at all.” Jesus was either who He claimed to be or He was the biggest fraud that ever lived. He has to be one or the other. He cannot be both.

Second, he asked what he could do to produce salvation. He trusted in himself and believed he could accomplish whatever good work Jesus might request. This is completely opposed to the plan of salvation that Jesus came to bring.

Jesus obtained salvation for us through His substitution and He offers it to us as a free gift. All we must do is believe and receive. This rich young ruler wasn’t looking for a Savior. He was trying to be his own savior. This is the reason Jesus referred him back to the commandments. He either needed to keep all of the law perfectly or he needed a Savior. Jesus desired to turn this man from trusting in himself by showing him God’s perfect standard, which no one could keep, so that then he would trust in a Savior.

Although adultery denotes one who has unlawful intercourse with the spouse of another, in its much broader term, it means to violate or pollute. Israel violated or polluted their covenant with God. Jeremiah says, “She (Judah) defiled the land, and committed adultery” (Jer. 3:9).

Adultery in relation to marriage also reflects a violation of the covenant of companionship. Sex outside of marriage is adultery because it violates or pollutes the covenant of marriage by introducing another party and bringing that relationship into the marriage. “They two shall be one flesh” (Eph. 5:31).

Divorce also adulterates or pollutes marriage because it disrupts or denies the divorced parties the right to be faithful to their covenant of companionship. Any time one divorces his mate (except for fornication) and marries another, he is guilty of adultery. He has polluted and destroyed a relationship intended by God to be permanent and pure.

Why the “except for fornication” clause? Jesus is not saying that if fornication is involved, we must divorce, but rather, when fornication is involved, that is the only time when the person getting the divorce is not guilty of adultery. That is because the partner who had an extra-marital relationship has already polluted the marriage vow. In God’s original design for marriage He intended marriage to be sacred, precious, pure, and permanent. The marriage covenant represents a final, irrevocable commitment where the man and the woman renounce the right to live for themselves and become “heirs together of the grace of life” (1 Pet. 3:7).

What does it mean for a man and a woman to become “one flesh?” The act of sexual intercourse between a man and a woman produces this one flesh relationship. Whether or not the man and woman ever cleave to each other in marriage; the physical act still binds them together as one flesh.

This is the reason that sexual relationships outside of marriage (whether extra-marital or pre-marital) are so damaging. Whether or not individuals get caught, pregnant or ever hurt anyone else with their sin, they are doing a lot of damage to themselves. There is a relationship that takes place through the sexual act that makes us one with that person. There is no such thing as just a “night on the town” or a “one night stand” and that’s all there is to it. Alcoholism, child abuse, hatred, and a thousand other things that are certainly wrong, are not grounds for divorce but fornication is. That shows that there is something very powerful that takes place in the physical act and explains why Satan has exploited this area so much.

Becoming one flesh with someone (sexual intercourse) is not marriage. Marriage includes, but is even beyond, becoming one flesh. This can be seen very clearly in John 4:17-18. Jesus said the woman He was speaking to at Jacob’s well had five prior husbands and the man she was currently living with was not her husband. It is certain that this woman was having sexual relations with the man she was living with but that didn’t make him her husband. Marriage involves more than sexual relations. It is a covenant or commitment between a man and a woman that corresponds to the cleaving to each other that Jesus spoke of here.

The Pharisees didn’t really want to know what Jesus taught on divorce and remarriage. They didn’t value His opinion but were tempting Him and desired to get Him mired in the big dispute of their day between liberal and conservative views on divorce. This was a very emotional issue then, just as it is today, and they thought they had Jesus in a “no win” situation.

However, as always, Jesus proved to be more than their match and He gave them much more than they asked for.

The Pharisees didn’t question whether or not divorce was right. They took the right to divorce for granted. But Jesus, instead of expounding on acceptable grounds for divorce, went to the very root of the problem and showed that God never intended there to be any divorce at all. If they really understood the extent of the one flesh covenant between a man and his wife, they would not be looking for an excuse to get out of marriage. This approach amazed the Pharisees and brough forth the question “why did Moses in the law make provision for divorce?”

Once a person begins to question, “How can I get a divorce?” instead of, “How can I keep this marriage together?” indicates, that there is already a serious breach in the marriage, that Jesus calls a hardened heart.

Jesus answered that divorce was permitted but never intended. God allowed something that He hated because of the hardness of people’s hearts. This was also true of polygamy and slavery. Jesus came to remove our stony heart and give us a heart of flesh so that we could walk in God’s best for us.