A New Kind Of Love

“A New Kind Of Love”

Luke 19:1-10

David P. Nolte

Some people base their love of others on their future, potential and continued performance: “I will love you if ....” and then the conditions are added: “If you let me have my way.” “If you bring me presents,” “If you do what I tell you when I tell you to do it.” This demanding love is a burden, not a blessing.

Others base their love on desirable present conditions: “I love you because ...” and the conditions are stated: “Because you are rich.” “Because you are handsome / beautiful.” “Because you are happy and funny.” This conditional love is colder than "peas-porridge in the pot, 9 day old."

The bottom-line is “You will be loved on condition of being loveable!” A major drawback is that if any of those required factors changes or ends, so does the so-called “love.” Who wants to be loved like that? It is about as comforting and desirable as a spoke in the eye.

Jesus brings a different kind of love. Luke recorded an event that demonstrates His new kind of love. “He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, ‘Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.’ And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.’ Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’” Luke 19:1-10 (NASB).

What kind of Love is evident? And what does His love do?

I. HIS LOVE SEEKS THE LOST:

A. The smug and self-righteous were indignant that Jesus would speak so kindly to this skunk of a traitorous tax collector. But Jesus defended His action and declared His intention saying, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:9-10 (NASB).

B. Jesus took the initiative and, looking up into the tree, said, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." He said that, not harshly, or angrily, or impatiently, but kindly and with good humor, full of grace. It was an invitation, not a demand.

1. In the same grace and kindness He invites us to come to Him. He doesn’t brow-beat or berate or bellow at us to “Get down from that tree right now!”

2. He came to seek and save people like Zaccheus, and you and me, not to harshly drive them further into lostness.

C. He still seeks the lost which includes:

1. Those who trust their own works and goodness to save them.

2. Those who think they are beyond saving.

3. Those who imagine they are too insignificant for Jesus to care about them.

4. Those who are indifferent to their spiritual condition. They don’t know and they don’t care.

5. Those who are hard-hearted, stubborn and resistant.

6. Those others have written off, ostracized, and shunned like Zaccheus, the woman at the well and lepers..

7. Those who are His enemies and who are angry with Him for something He allowed to happen or something He prevented from happening.

D. The folk in the crowd were as lost as Zaccheus, but were not aware of it. But, more to the point, where are you in this picture? Are you lost and unaware of it?

1. Are you one of the curious, self-satisfied crowd smugly standing on the sideline watching Jesus pass by, rejecting those, like Zaccheus, whom Jesus came to save?

2. Or are you up in the tree about to have a personal one-on-one with Him Who is calling you to come down?

E. Either way, Jesus came to seek you and me. We all need to seek Him, too. This week I heard the story of a father and son whose favorite game was "hide and seek." The game always went the same: Dad always counted to 100 by 5’s and then would shout out, "Here comes Daddy to find you Timmy." And Timmy would always hide in the same room and the same spot - but of course Dad always went through the motions of looking in just about every other room. He’d go into one of the bedrooms and loudly proclaim "I wonder if Timmy is under the bed?" Down the hall he could hear the barely suppressed giggles of his child as he lifted up the sheets. "I wonder if he’s in the closet?" Again giggles from the other room. Making his way into the bathroom, Dad would say "I wonder if he’s in the shower?" Giggles. "I wonder if he’s in the toilet?" as he lifted the seat. The giggles were getting louder. Out in the hallway now, the father proclaimed "I wonder where Timmy could be?" And at that moment Timmy would burst out of his parents’ bedroom hollering "Here I am Daddy, here I am!" and he’d throw himself into his Dad’s waiting arms.