Jericho was about to have Jesus come and walk among the people. The gossip was a buzz. Could it really be? The streets began to crowd with people. Some with anticipation others with curiosity. Zacchaeus hears of this news and wants to see who this Jesus is.
Do we wait in anticipation for Jesus? Do we wake expecting to see His glory? Zacchaeus is curious and pondering this Jesus. Wait, is He approaching? He can't see. Oh, if only the people would give room for him to witness this King of kings. He doesn't want to miss out. Could Zacchaeus be expecting Jesus to be all he has heard about? He surely isn't giving up on getting a glimpse of Him. He runs ahead and with his short legs climbs a sycamore tree.
Zacchaeus sees Jesus, but did he expect Jesus to see him atop that tree? Jesus looks up. Their eyes meet and Jesus calls to him. Can you imagine this moment? Did Zacchaeus look around puzzled as if to say, "Me? Are you speaking to me?" He was just wanting to see Jesus, but here Jesus looks up to him and calls him by name. Oh, my friends, a stranger has Jesus never met. It stirs my heart to ponder all that Zacchaeus must be feeling. This time was planned in advance by a Savior who all along was preparing the heart of Zacchaeus.
"Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house." So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. but when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner." Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also 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
I love how Scripture shares with us that Jesus knew his name. It makes their meeting intimate even in the midst of a crowd. Zacchaeus climbs down from the tree and there is Jesus waiting. What a glorious sight to ponder. Not a chance meeting at all, but one that was planned for this sinner to meet his Savior face to face.
Zacchaeus had everything monetary. He was a wealthy man. Even though he had everything, was there something missing? I love that Zacchaeus was curious and wanting to see the Savior. He wasn't worried about what others thought. I mean as he climbed the tree what were others thinking of him? Zacchaeus was about to find out those around him would judge and point fingers, but he was in the presence of the One who would change his life forever. No one else mattered at the moment. The Savior was calling. Zacchaeus answered the call.
Can you imagine Jesus wanting to come to your house and stay the night? Zacchaeus was a tax collector. A schemer who deceived others to make his wealth. A sinner in need of forgiveness and grace. A home that needed the presence of Jesus. It mattered not to Jesus that Zacchaeus was a sinner. Jesus was welcomed and Zacchaeus was hospitable.
A short man in a tall tree. What does this say to me? Jesus always makes a way. He provides a vision. He prepares the way. Nothing can keep us from our Savior when He is calling. There is no distance He will not cross. The crowd too deep. Jesus makes way for a tree top. He will always give room for us to see if only we are willing.
But get this. Zacchaeus wasn't the only tax collector who he asked to follow Him. In Scripture we also meet Matthew. As Jesus was walking He passed by the tax collector's office. Again, not a chance meeting. Jesus sees Matthew through the window and calls him out. He speaks and says, "Follow Me" {Matthew 9:9-13}. Jesus goes to the home of Matthew and sits with many tax collectors and sinners. Once again the people didn't understand why Jesus and His disciples would be within their company. Jesus explains, but just today many didn't care to understand at all, but those with willing hearts were ready to accept. Don't you just love how Jesus steps out and makes way for us? Don't you love that Jesus isn't afraid of sinners?
"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:17
People didn't understand why Jesus would dine with a sinner. I believe many of us today wonder the same. How often do we dine with sinners? How often to do we invite them into our home? When was the last time we invited the Savior in to dine with us? We tend to leave Jesus out and we cast aside the sinners. I'm just being real here. In church I was taught to surround myself with only Christians. We were taught to not have relationships with sinners, with those not saved. I look back and see that my life was empty of people who didn't know Jesus as their Savior. How was I to share Jesus with the world if the world wasn't invited into my life to witness Him in my own?
Like Zacchaeus and Matthew there's a world out there filled with people searching for more. For something to fill the emptiness. Jesus provides a sycamore for every sinner. Just like Zacchaeus, Jesus made a way for me. He had set in motion long ago our meeting. He planned and then hoped in patience for when that day came I would be anticipating His call. I came as a sinner. He met me as my Savior.
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God has passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." {Romans 3:23-26}
"Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house." So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. but when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner." Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also 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
I love how Scripture shares with us that Jesus knew his name. It makes their meeting intimate even in the midst of a crowd. Zacchaeus climbs down from the tree and there is Jesus waiting. What a glorious sight to ponder. Not a chance meeting at all, but one that was planned for this sinner to meet his Savior face to face.
Zacchaeus had everything monetary. He was a wealthy man. Even though he had everything, was there something missing? I love that Zacchaeus was curious and wanting to see the Savior. He wasn't worried about what others thought. I mean as he climbed the tree what were others thinking of him? Zacchaeus was about to find out those around him would judge and point fingers, but he was in the presence of the One who would change his life forever. No one else mattered at the moment. The Savior was calling. Zacchaeus answered the call.
Can you imagine Jesus wanting to come to your house and stay the night? Zacchaeus was a tax collector. A schemer who deceived others to make his wealth. A sinner in need of forgiveness and grace. A home that needed the presence of Jesus. It mattered not to Jesus that Zacchaeus was a sinner. Jesus was welcomed and Zacchaeus was hospitable.
A short man in a tall tree. What does this say to me? Jesus always makes a way. He provides a vision. He prepares the way. Nothing can keep us from our Savior when He is calling. There is no distance He will not cross. The crowd too deep. Jesus makes way for a tree top. He will always give room for us to see if only we are willing.
But get this. Zacchaeus wasn't the only tax collector who he asked to follow Him. In Scripture we also meet Matthew. As Jesus was walking He passed by the tax collector's office. Again, not a chance meeting. Jesus sees Matthew through the window and calls him out. He speaks and says, "Follow Me" {Matthew 9:9-13}. Jesus goes to the home of Matthew and sits with many tax collectors and sinners. Once again the people didn't understand why Jesus and His disciples would be within their company. Jesus explains, but just today many didn't care to understand at all, but those with willing hearts were ready to accept. Don't you just love how Jesus steps out and makes way for us? Don't you love that Jesus isn't afraid of sinners?
"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:17
People didn't understand why Jesus would dine with a sinner. I believe many of us today wonder the same. How often do we dine with sinners? How often to do we invite them into our home? When was the last time we invited the Savior in to dine with us? We tend to leave Jesus out and we cast aside the sinners. I'm just being real here. In church I was taught to surround myself with only Christians. We were taught to not have relationships with sinners, with those not saved. I look back and see that my life was empty of people who didn't know Jesus as their Savior. How was I to share Jesus with the world if the world wasn't invited into my life to witness Him in my own?
Like Zacchaeus and Matthew there's a world out there filled with people searching for more. For something to fill the emptiness. Jesus provides a sycamore for every sinner. Just like Zacchaeus, Jesus made a way for me. He had set in motion long ago our meeting. He planned and then hoped in patience for when that day came I would be anticipating His call. I came as a sinner. He met me as my Savior.
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God has passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." {Romans 3:23-26}
