Please read Luke 19:1-10
Whenever I read Luke’s story of Zacchaeus, verse 5 first stands out. In that verse, Zacchaeus just wants to see Jesus – probably expecting no interaction. So what does Zacchaeus do? He does not shout, like the blind men who cried out to Jesus. He does not dare to come and touch Jesus or his clothes, like the bleeding woman. Zacchaeus wants to see Jesus, so he climbs a Sycamore tree to get a glimpse of Jesus walking by. As a tax collector, that too a chief tax collector, Zacchaeus is used to being hated and ignored. He probably thinks ‘this great man, this great prophet will not like me once he knows that I am a tax collector.’
Then something marvelous happens. Jesus knows Zacchaeus! Luke writes “5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” Jesus knows the name of the hated, reviled and ignored chief tax collector!! Not just that, Jesus wants to stay at Zacchaeus’ house!!! What else does Jesus say in verse 5? He says “hurry and come down…”. And we read in verse 6 that Zacchaeus “hurried and came down and received him joyfully”.
Interestingly, the name Zacchaeus means clean in Hebrew and pure in Aramaic. Zacchaeus thinks he was not pure or clean enough to interact with Jesus but Jesus Himself calls him by name (more on the cleansing and purifying of Zacchaeus later).
Dear brother and sister in Christ, maybe you have a popular name or you don’t. Maybe you have a name that is mellifluous or maybe your name sounds harsh to you and others. Maybe people make fun of you because of your name – in the USA, people are surprised to learn that my name is Ebenezer – because they only know the character from Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. So I have heard every joke about my name, and when asked about it I just explain it’s from the Bible and people are surprised. One person even asked, “ As a Christian, why do you have a Jewish name?”
Why am I writing all of this about names? Dear fellow believer in Christ, do you know that Jesus your creator (John 1:3,10) knows your name (Isaiah 49:1; Exodus 33:17) and will call you by your name (Isaiah 43:1; John 10:3)? Do you realize your name is written in the book of life (Revelation 3:5) because of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection? Isn’t it wonderful that One whose name is Holy (Isaiah 57:15), and above every name (Philippians 2:9) knows you personally? Let’s all praise Him.
Dear Father, thank you for knowing me and calling me by my name and thank you for Jesus, my creator and my redeemer. In His name. Amen.
He knows my name - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtlDVleJBtA
Who doesn't love this one? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmY3jSugNBU
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