Christ At The Crossroads- Repentance

Luke 19: 1-10

In Luke 18, Jesus meets a man often referred to as the rich young ruler. You might remember the sad result of that encounter. He walked away with his head down and his coat dragging in the dust after Jesus exposed his covetousness and self-righteousness.

As the man left, Jesus turned to his disciples and lamented how hard it is for those who worship wealth to embrace grace. In fact, he said, “For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Luke 18:25)

In other words, it is impossible for those who trust in earthly treasures to squeeze into a heavenly kingdom. Jesus then told them the rest of the story: “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27)

This Sunday we meet another rich man—but with an entirely different outcome. We will witness the impossible as we behold the miracle of a camel passing through the eye of a needle.

In Luke 19, we meet Jesus at an intersection of life and faith called repentance. I don’t know what comes to mind when you hear that word. You might associate repentance with tent revivals in the Bible Belt or sandwich boards announcing, “The End is Near! Repent!”

The Greek word metanoia means “to change your mind” or “to turn around.” It carries the idea of going in one direction and then changing your mind and turning to go in the opposite direction.

We will see this word fleshed out in the life of a vertically challenged tax collector—a man named

Zacchaeus—who meets Christ at the crossroads of repentance.