Zacchaeus

FBC family,

In our text today from Luke 19:1-10 we are introduced to a Tax Collector named Zaccheaus. He was the chief tax collector; we may liken his position to a District Manager for the IRS.  This was a position that made him both wealthy and also despised.

He was short in stature, but his heart yearned for something more than riches. News that Jesus of Nazareth had come to Jerricho had reached him and Zach was determined to get to see Him and speak to Him. As he had an intense desire to know God. He longed to see this man whose teachings spoke of love and forgiveness, and all the qualities so absent from his own life.

When Jesus entered Jericho, crowds surged to see him. Zacchaeus unable to see over the heads of the people, ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree. From his branch in the tree, he hoped to catch a glimpse of the man he longed to meet.

His vantage point paid off. When Jesus reached the tree, he looked up and called Zacchaeus by name. "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." This encounter with Jesus was beyond his imagination, Jesus was going to come to his home. The crowd grumbled, but Zacchaeus didn't hesitate, he like the blind man took full advantage of this opportunity, he scrambled down the tree and welcomed Jesus with great joy.

The presence of Jesus in his home was a catalyst for a marvelous change. Before the day ended, Zacchaeus stood up and declared, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

His words showed genuine repentance and a radical shift in his life’s priorities. In that moment, he was transformed from a greedy outcast to a generous follower. Jesus then declared, "Today salvation has come to this house... For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." Zacchaeus, once lost in his wealth and sin, was found and redeemed through his desire to know God and his encounter with Jesus.