Luke 19: 1-10 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.”

There are 10 verses and 10 very important points I’d like to share. I’ve read this story before but one of the verses hit me like I never read it and so I re-read it with a fresh awareness of the living Word.

#1: Jesus was near.

#2: A man named Zacchaeus who was a chief among the tax collectors was there; he was rich because of his work.

#3: He desired to see Jesus but was challenged because of the crowd. He was short and knew he wouldn’t be able to see Him, so…………

#4: He desired to see Jesus so he ran ahead and made himself taller by climbing a tree. He was more than just curious; a rich man literally climbed a tree because the Son of God was going to pass his way.

#5: Jesus came to the place, looked up, saw him, and spoke to him. Jesus called the short man that nobody liked by name and told him to get down from the tree quickly because Jesus was going to his house!

#6: And he, Zacchaeus obeyed with more than the minimum. He made haste, he came down, and he received Jesus joyfully.

#7: The crowd saw it. How could Jesus be a guest with such a wretched sinner? This man’s reputation was bad, no doubt.

#8: Zacchaeus did next what no one asked him or told him to do. He spoke directly to Jesus. The scriptures say Jesus looked up and saw him. He saw him in the tree and knew he put effort into being there. But Jesus saw much more than that; He had a total knowledge of everything about him; Jesus saw his heart, his motives, and yes the sin that the others saw and judged. But Jesus saw something else nobody else saw; He saw a man who’s heart was ready for more than what he had been living for. Zacchaeus was ‘rich’, but the time for him to receive a true and lasting Treasure was now upon him.

#9: Here is what really gets me; Zacchaeus stood, probably taller than he ever stood before and says to Jesus: “Lord I will give half of all I have to the poor and if I have been deceptive and taken anything from any man, I will restore to him 4x what I’ve taken.” Can you picture this? This is truly a 180 degree turn around just from meeting Jesus. He had a real and personal encounter with the Son of God. Now he not only had a desire to live differently, he had a desire to make right on his own the sin he was involved in! Zacchaeus’ mind, heart, and will met Jesus and it changed him completely.

#10: What does Jesus say to this? It wasn’t, “I’ll believe it when I see it”, it was “Today, salvation has come to this house….

For Today: Have you ever met Jesus the way Zacchaeus did? I don’t mean have you ever learned things about Him or sang songs about Him? Maybe you’ve even sang a song about Zacchaues meeting Jesus…but what about you?

Do you know what Zacchaues did? He totally surrendered to God. He wanted to see Him, he figured out how to get a clear view of Him, He was ready for the time when Jesus was near, he saw holiness and his own sinfulness, he obeyed and received the Savior with JOY, and he was a new man from that moment on.

Friends, let’s let an old story that we so often brush off as a little children’s song bring conviction to our hearts as we carefully reflect on what has happened in our lives since we met Jesus.