Jesus in plain language – What is ‘salvation’?
From saving the planet, to saving money, to saving your soul, the word ‘save’ is used in many different ways. Often the word is used to mean ‘ransom’ and is the way Jesus used it. This is what I need to look at again and I have a big goal in sight: what the hell is ‘salvation’?
SURPRISE
When Jesus was born in Judea, a small occupied part of the ancient Roman empire, an announcement from God made it clear that Jesus was ‘a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord’ (Luke 2:11). In that unique role of Savior, he had come ‘to seek and save the lost’ (Luke 19:10). The story that uses these words of Jesus is about Zacchaeus, a short man, who worked collecting taxes for the Roman authorities.
For siding with the Romans, he was understandably unpopular and despised by his own people, but when he heard Jesus walk by, Zac (for short) got serious about watching closely. But in the midst of the crowd, his short stature was a big problem, so he quickly decided to go ahead and climb a conveniently shaped tree at the side of the road, from which, in the shade of the leaves, he would get your private ‘front’. seat view. What a surprise she got when Jesus stopped by the tree and called Zac down and told him that he was going to pay the tax collector a friendly social visit!
I LAUGHED
Oh, that soon had the crowd complaining that Jesus would mingle socially with such a vile traitor as a man who collected taxes from the poor for Caesar to run his empire and lavish lifestyle! But when rich Zac offered a generous meal for his friends and, in the presence of Jesus, announced that he would give half of his possessions to the poor and return four times as much to disappointed customers, he seemed to have made a big change of heart, for he was serious. . Somehow, the teaching, presence, and grace of Jesus touched Zac’s heart deeply, and he became a true follower of Jesus.
SAVED
After Zac made his announcement, it was then that Jesus explained: ‘Today salvation has come to this house…for the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost’ (Luke 19:10). That was a way of saying that it’s exactly people like Zac who need to be saved, because they’re the ones who are lost. They are the people who have strayed far into self-centered living and have banished God from their lives.
It is precisely these types of people who, when they see how much they are lost, without a map or a compass to guide them to an eternity with God, suddenly see how much they need to be saved. That is, saved from a ruined and wasted life, saved from destroying other people’s lives, saved from sinful unbelief by rejecting God and his own Son, the Savior Jesus Christ.
But above all except in the stronger sense of receiving the great salvation of God: receiving the forgiveness of sins, receiving the Lord Jesus as his own Savior and being reconciled with God, being at peace with him, being brought into his family, and be saved for time and for eternity. What about all the people who live well, even religious people, maybe they are good enough not to need salvation? No, they are not. If their own good efforts have blinded them with false hopes, they, too, are in dire need of salvation.
SALVATION
What a great salvation, what a grace, completely unearned and undeserved, freely given by the Savior, who later in his ministry even went to the cross and there bled and died for sinners like Zac, and like you and me! Do you need to be saved? Come empty-handed, come as you are, weary, weary of sin, guilty, close to giving up: Jesus is just the one you need. Come today.
That is simply salvation.