MEMORY SCRIPTURE
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flayor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men (Matthew 5:13).
Encounters with Jesus profoundly changed Nicodemus and Zacehaeus, demonstrating the power of divine influence in personal transformation.
DEVOTIONAL, BIBLE READINGS
Mon. 25: Jesus Influences The Samaritan Woman (Jn. 4:40-42)
Tue. 26: Joseph’s Influence Beyond The Wall (Gen. 49:22
Wed. 27: Preservation In A Perverse World (Phil. 2:15)
Thur. 28: Preserved To Live (Gen. 50:20)
Fri.29: Preserving Your Posterity (Gen. 45:7)
Sat.30: Preserving The Spies (Jos. 2:4)
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT
Christianity is learnt inside the Church but practised outside the Church.
INTRODUCTION
TEXTUAL SOURCE: Luke 19:1-10; John 3:1-21; 19:39
Last week, we saw that Jesus was not gender-biased in His leadership approach. He did not only prepare men, but also women (cf Matt.19:4).
This week, our focus is to see how He influenced the publicans, Nicodemus, a member of the Pharisee, and Zacchaeus, the Tax collector We seldom consider reaching out to such people in our evangelism efforts, or spare time. However, Jesus demonstrated that He came for everyone, regardless of their background. We’ll explore how He influenced these two men, showing us the importance of reaching out to all people with the message of Christ’s love and redemption.
LESSON OUTLINE
- CODEMUS CONVERSES WITH JESUS
- ZACCHAEUS ENCOUNTERS THE SAVIOUR
LESSON EXPOSITION
NICODEMUS CONVERSES WITH JESUS (Jn. 3:1-21)
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (3:3).
a) v. 1: Nicodemus was a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews; a member of the great Sanhedrim, a scholar, a privy-counsellor, and a man of authority in Jerusalem.
b) v. 2: Being a Pharisee, He came by night and acknowledged the certainty of Jesus’ teaching ministry; we know that you are a teacher from God (cf. 1:6f).
c) v. 3: The response of Jesus is a total diversion from Nicodemus’ appraisal of Him. What is your subject matter when you have the opportunity to meet the social rulers (‘city movers”) or when the worship in your local assembly (v. 7)?
d) vv. 3-5: Nicodemus, despite being a religious scholar (vv.9-10), was taught the basic rudiments of the Kingdom life: being born again (v.3); water baptism; and Holy Spirit’s baptism (v.5, 8) No one is to big to start from foundational class (cf. 1 Pet. 2:2f).
e) vv. 11ff: Jesus went further on the conditions of salvation (v.14-18) and the consequences of not believing in Him (vv. 18-21).The way He talked to Nicodemus showed that He was neither intimidated by Nicodemus status nor flattered by his praise-singing. How about you?
f) 19:39: Though Nicodemus’ encounter was in the night, he eventually became a faithful, loyal and committed disciple of Christ even in the public (cf 7.50) What a great impact!
ZACCHAEUS ENCOUNTERS THE SAVIOUR (LUKE 19:1-10)
And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham” (19:9).
a) v. 2: “Zacchaeus’ means “righteous one”, but he wasn’t living up to his name–good name, but a bad reputation. As a tax collector, he became rich by collecting more than what was due (cf. Lk.3:13).
b) v.3: And he sought to see who Jesus was…It is possible that his desimes meet Jesus personally began when Matthew, a fellow tax collector, hosted Jesus in his house (l. Lk 5.29; 18:13).
c) v.4: Yet, he couldn’t see Jesus because of the crowd and his short stature (cf. Rom. 3:23). So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree showing his zeal and determination to see Jesus at all cost.
d) v.5: And when Jesus came to the place.. Zacchaeus thought he was seeking Jesus (v.3), but Jesus was the one seeking him (vv. 1,10)!
e) v. 8: Genuine repentance and restitution are not far from whosoever has an encounter with Christ. These would obviously have tremendous impact on his leadership relationship with people as transformed leader; no longer cheating them at any given instance.
f) v. 9: because he also is a son of Abraham…. There are several sons of Abraham like the prodigal son (Lk. 15:21) and the rich man (Lk. 16:) out there. This challenges us to reach out to this category of people in the society with the Light of Christ. Neglecting them isn’t good for anyone
LESSONS DERIVED
- The encounters Nicodemus and Zacchaeus had with Jesus evidently had a profound impact on their lives and leadership perspectives.
- How well are you allowing your encounters with Jesus to transform you all-round?
QUESTIONS
- Nicodemus, despite being a religious scholar was taught the basic rudiments of the Kingdom life. Any lesson?
- Discuss the impact of Jesus’ encounter on thelife of Zacchaeus and his leadership in later years.
