“And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:1-10)
Luke is the only writer who records this wonderful story that so many children have sung about in children’s classes and in VBS over the years. There are many wonderful lessons to be gleaned from this reading other than smallness of stature of Zacchaeus and his climbing up into a tree in order to see Jesus pass by. He hastened to see Jesus. Had Zacchaeus been influenced by the principles of this world, he would never have exposed himself to criticism, but he was willing to risk all to see the Lord. In his efforts to see Jesus in person, he was having difficulty because of the smallness of his stature. Trying to overcome the press of the crowd, he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree so as to be able to see the Lord as he passed by. As Jesus came to the place, “He looked up, and said, Come down.” Theaphylact said, “God always anticipates us if He sees us eager for good.” The problem is that usually we have trouble seeing the Lord because we surround ourselves with the cares and concerns of the world to the point that we have so crowded the Lord out of our lives that we cannot see the Christ. We need to pick up His Word and lay aside the things of the world (Matthew 4:4). Like Zacchaeus, let us seize the opportunities of life and seek the Lord while He may be found. Let us seek to draw nigh to God and resist the Devil (James 4:7-8).
Zacchaeus had an opportunity presented to him by the Lord. Jesus no doubt was often invited into the homes of others, but this is the only time that He presented His own invitation to be invited to be the guest in the home of another. Such was accepted “Joyfully.” How would we react if Jesus came to our home today as a guest? What changes would have to be made? What changes would have to be made in our habits? TV viewing? Language? Dress or should I say lack thereof? What beverages would have to be removed from some households and refrigerators? Would we be glad for Him to be there for just a day or so, or would we rejoice when at long last He had gone? So far as we know, this was this man’s only opportunity to be with Jesus. We have no record that Jesus ever passed this way again. What if Zacchaeus had wasted this one opportunity like so many do today? There are people today who have literally heard hundreds of sermons, and yet they still continue to put off their obedience to the Gospel or their need to be restored to the church. I pity their plight! Zacchaeus displayed haste. He displayed a penitent spirit. Because of this Jesus said to him, “This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the son of man is come to seek and to save the Lost.” Why not obey the truth today?
