I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
If you had to define yourself with just two things, what would they be?
Would you include your nationality? Your occupation? Your greatest achievement? Your religion? Your cultural background?
It seems that just two things aren’t enough to describe in any meaningful way who you are.
Yet, when Luke wrote down the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19, he seemed to think there were only two things worth mentioning about him:
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. - Luke 19:1-2 NIV
Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. Apparently, that’s all Luke considered relevant to describe him. So, what do we learn from that?
Being a tax collector is not necessarily a well-paying job; it only is if you collect more than you’re supposed to and keep it for yourself. That means Zacchaeus was a corrupt tax collector. He even admitted he had cheated people (Luke 19:8).
When people saw Jesus invited Himself to Zacchaeus’ house, they said, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” Luke 19:7.
People defined Zacchaeus as a wealthy, corrupt sinner.
But not Jesus, when He sees him, He calls Zacchaeus by his name. His name means ‘pure’, and though he was far from pure when Jesus met him, that is the name Jesus chose to call him.
Jesus does not define us by our sins or mistakes, but by how He created us to be, pure, blameless, holy and to do good.
No matter how you may define yourself or what others may think of you, Jesus knows you. And even though He knows all that you are, and everything you’ve done, He chooses to call you by name:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. – Isaiah 43:1 NIV
