Walking With Christ

In Luke 19 we are introduced to Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector. This meant he was in charge of tax collectors. He was most likely hated more than most because he wasn’t JUST a tax collector like Matthew. He was rich. He was also short. When Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was coming through Jericho he wanted to see Jesus for himself. Thanks to his short size and the large crowd that most likely really didn’t like him, he wasn’t going to be able to see.

Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed a Sycamore tree in the hopes of being able to see Jesus as He moved through the crowd. Zacchaeus was just hoping for a glimpse of Jesus. Jesus walked right up to the tree Zacchaeus had climbed and said (paraphrased) “Zacchaeus, what are you doing in that tree? We can’t have dinner at your house if you stay up there.”

Zacchaeus rushed to make a meal for everyone. After the meal Zacchaeus said, (again paraphrased) “I’m giving away half of everything I have to the poor and anyone I may have defrauded will get paid back four times what I took from them”. The crowd scoffed that Jesus would dine with a sinner. His response? “Today salvation has come to this house”!

Two points.

1. We don’t know if Jesus said anything to Zacchaeus. There is no mention of Jesus giving a sermon here. Just the presence of Jesus was enough for Zacchaeus to repent, repay, and give things away. Some people just need the presence of Jesus to get right.
2. God is placing His resources well in advance of your arrival just so that we can reach Him. The sycamore tree had been a part of that place for years, if not decades. It was just there. God planted and cared for the Sycamore tree that Zacchaeus climbed long before that day. God made a way for Zacchaeus long before he ever knew he needed one. He is always doing the same thing for each of us. God is placing people and resources in places that we haven’t reached yet because He knows that we will need them when we get there.

Luke 19:1-10 (1)He entered Jericho and was passing through. (2)And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. (3)And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. (4)So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. (5)And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” (6)So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. (7)And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” (8)And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” (9)And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. (10)For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”(ESV)