Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. Luke 19:1-4
Zacchaeus the chief tax collector; that title tells us a lot about him. He was disowned, despised and rejected by everyone except notorious sinners and thieves. Yet he wanted to see Jesus and was willing to run and climb a tree to see him. Because of his job of being a tax collector and his short stature, no one in the crowd to see Jesus probably even noticed him. And once in the boughs of the tree he thought he would never be seen.
But when Jesus passed under the tree He looked up and saw Zacchaeus and then said, “Zacchaeus come on down, because I’m going to come to your house today for dinner”. Now everyone saw him and they took notice, not only to him, but Jesus. It was the talk of the town, Jesus going to the chief tax collectors house to share a meal, what is He thinking! And that was that Zacchaeus needed what Jesus had mercy, grace and forgiveness.
Have you ever felt like a tax collector? You know, like no one likes you and you don’t fit in anywhere. There may be many reasons, you just aren’t walking close with God, you are holding onto unforgiveness, a past sin or a failure from years ago. Maybe it’s even negative words that were spoken over you and keep playing in your head. Whatever it is or how small it may seem, it’s important to Jesus and just like Zacchaeus you can’t hide from Him and He is calling your name too. He wants to meet and fellowship with you and just like when He went to his home Zacchaeus had a change of heart. In His presence he came clean and called Jesus Lord and promised to repay people four times what he stole and give half his possessions to the poor.
Jesus isn’t asking you to repay or give anything away. He just wants to commune with you again. If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior and Lord, then he wants you to remember you are forgiven and He loves you. If you are not in a relationship with Jesus, then now is the time, just ask Him to forgive you of all your sins, past, present and future and to come and for His Holy Spirit to come live in your heart. And now you can hear Jesus say, “Today, salvation has come to this house.” If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior and Lord, please let us know, because this is a journey to walk with friends.
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