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The story of Zacchaeus the tax collector
“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.”
Luke 19:1-10 (New King James Version)
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.”
Zacchaeus desired to encounter Jesus
There was a man called Zacchaeus who yearned to see Jesus while He was going through Jericho. Unfortunately, the crowd that followed Jesus was so large that Zacchaeus couldn’t see Him because of his height—he was a short man. To compensate for the deficiency with his height, he climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus. Zacchaeus was not discouraged by the danger of falling from the tree. He was just captivated by hearing that Jesus was passing by and his heart was fixed on seeing Jesus.
Despite the multitudes, Jesus was able to discern there was a heart desiring to catch a glimpse of Him. Jesus looked beyond all the people that surrounded Him and called Zacchaeus to come down from the top of the sycamore tree. When Zacchaeus came down from the tree, Jesus requested to stay in his house that day. At the request, the people following the savior reacted in an interesting way! They complained about the fact that Jesus had asked to stay in the house of a tax collector who was noted for his corrupt practices or extortion. But, Jesus didn’t condemn Zacchaeus for exploiting the people.
Today salvation has come to this house
Zacchaeus, on the other hand, had a memorable encounter with Jesus. It was this encounter that gave Zacchaeus the opportunity to confess and to repent from his corrupt practices. Indeed, after his repentance, he gave half his wealth to the needy. Also, he returned whatever he had wrongfully taken from the people.
We must note that Zacchaeus didn’t just repent, but his desire for material things diminished. This was revealed in the fact that he didn’t hold on to the things he had acquired through fraud. He gave them out to show that his heart was no longer after material things. Instead, his heart was after Jesus. Clearly, Zacchaeus’ repentance was triggered by his encounter with Jesus. Jesus confirmed this when He said “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham” (Luke 19:9, NKJV).
As believers, we must understand that Jesus will not in any way condemn us. When this happens, it is not for us to continue in our old ways. But it is for us to have another opportunity to live right. Indeed, Zacchaeus took his chance and made the most out of it. We have a part to play towards our redemption. We must have the willingness to play that part well to secure it.
Let’s keep the fire burning until the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!