“Zacchaeus! You’ve cheated me!”

“And what are you going to do about it?” sneered Zacchaeus as he motioned for one of the Roman guards to come near.

The angry taxpayer knew better than to fight. He knew that he’d loose. Under his breath he mumbled, “how can you betray your own people and still sleep at night?”

“What’s that? Speak up,” Zacchaeus said loud enough to attract the soldier’s attention.

“Oh nothing,” the Jewish man said with disgust as he turned and abandoned his bag of hard earned money on the table.

A pair of older men had been watching Zacchaeus collect the taxes. They noticed how he had divided the money when he thought no one was looking. “Some for Caesar, the rest for Zacchaeus,” one said with distain.

“Just once I’d like to corner that cheating pipsqueak without the Roman soldiers around to rescue him,” said the other.

Both of the men snickered to themselves as they imagined how they’d inflict revenge on Zacchaeus. The only thing more hated than taxes is a cheating tax collector.

Zacchaeus lived in a house that was much nicer than his neighbor’s. He ate food that was much tastier than his neighbor’s. His clothes were the finest in the city. Everyone knew that the money had come from what Zacchaeus stole at his tax table.

One day Zacchaeus sat at his table alone, except for the Roman soldiers assigned to protect him. The village square was empty, which was very unusual.

“Guard,” Zacchaeus called, “what is going on today?”

The soldier stepped forward and said, “Sir, I believe that the people have gone outside the city to meet Jesus from Nazareth.”

“Jesus,” mused Zacchaeus, wondering where he’d heard the name before, “does He owe me any taxes?”

“No,” whispered the guard, “this Jesus has been going around making blind people see, healing the sick, and teaching some incredible things.”

Zacchaeus thought about these things while the guard continued, “I shouldn’t be talking like this, but many say that Jesus is the savior that you people have been waiting for.”

“Savior!” Zacchaeus said loudly, causing the other guards to look in his direction. As a little Jewish boy he had heard of the promise of the Savior. In Temple they taught that the Savior would come, and that through him all sins could be forever forgiven.

“If anyone needs forgiveness,” Zacchaeus said, “I need it most of all!” The guards who had stood by and watched Zacchaeus cheat and steal day after day agreed.

“I must be first in line!” Zacchaeus said as he dashed down the road to find Jesus.

There was a large crowd surrounding Jesus. Zacchaeus ran up to it shouting, “Excuse me! Let me through! I need to see the Savior!”

One man recognized Zacchaeus. “Hey! Look, it’s the weasel!” he shouted. With that the other men began to shove Zacchaeus around.

“Take this!” said one as he gave him a solid kick in the ribs.

“Payback time!” said another as he picked up a stone and dropped it on Zacchaeus’ head.

“You’ve got some nerve!” said a large man who lifted Zacchaeus and tossed him into the dirt. “Jesus won’t want to see a rat like you!”

The crowd laughed as Zacchaeus got to his feet and ran away. “I deserve that,” he said as soon as he was a safe distance away. For the first time he had started to regret the years of dishonest tax collecting he had done.

Zacchaeus caught his breath and said, “I want to start over! I need the forgiveness that Jesus can give to me!”

Even with his short legs, he was able to run faster than the crowd. That gave him a chance to run into a grove of trees.

“The crowd will pass by here,” Zacchaeus said. “Perhaps I’ll be able to get a glimpse of Jesus if I climb into this tree.” With some difficulty Zacchaeus pulled himself into the tree. He wanted to be high enough so that no one in the crowd would notice him, and that he’d still be able to see and hear Jesus. He was again out of breath as he waited in the tree for Jesus.

Modern Day Sycamore Tree in Jericho

After a while, people started to pass beneath his tree. Zacchaeus kept still and hoped that he’d be able to tell which of these people was Jesus. He was pleased that no one thought to look up into the tree. His hiding place was working well.

The traffic moved slowly by the tree. Suddenly, one of the men stopped. Instead of trampling the man, the mob attempted to stop. Some people staggered as they lost their balance.

All eyes were on the man who had stopped beneath Zacchaeus’ tree.

“Could that be Jesus?” Zacchaeus wondered.

Slowly the man tilted his head until he was looking straight up. The eyes of the crowd tried to figure out what the man was looking at.

Zacchaeus cowered in the branches. Then his eyes met the eyes of the man on the ground, who was now smiling.

“Zacchaeus!” He spoke, extending his arm upwards, “make haste, and come down!”

Zacchaeus’ jaw dropped. This man, who was indeed Jesus, continued, “For to day I will be a guest in your home!”

Zacchaeus quickly came down from the tree. As his feet hit the ground, Jesus laid His hand on the little man’s shoulder and together they walked towards his home.

There was some grumbling as the crowd started to scatter. Some said, “Why is Jesus hanging around with that thief?” Some were confused, others were jealous that Jesus hadn’t come to their house for dinner.

To those around, Zacchaeus looked like the same man. There was a change happening that could not be seen by anyone except Jesus.

Zacchaeus used to be a man who didn’t care who he hurt. He used to be a man who loved nothing except his piles of money.

Jesus had changed Zacchaeus so much that he made this incredible announcement: “Lord, half of everything I own, I now give to the poor!”

The servants gasped. One said, “Has Zacchaeus gone crazy?!”

Zacchaeus’ heart continued to change. He realized that for years he’d been hurting people by stealing from them. He made another announcement, “And if I’ve cheated anyone, I will pay him back four times as much as I stole!”

With that Zacchaeus knelt at Jesus’ feet. Jesus said, “This day is salvation come to his house!”

Then Jesus turned and told everyone present in the house the wonderful reason why He’d come to this earth, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

Zacchaeus thought of himself as the chief of sinners. He knew he’d racked up a pretty bad record of sin, and he was aware that this sin was a big problem. We might argue that we need forgiveness more than he did, but that’d be a waste of time. One sin or fifty million sins will separate us from God. We all need the forgiveness that only Jesus can provide.

Where in this story did salvation come upon Zacchaeus?

It wasn’t at the beginning, when he was happy robbing the people. At that point he had no desire to deal with the sin. He was benefiting from it. In his little mind sin was working out quite well for him.

It wasn’t at the end of the story, when he gave half of his goods to the poor. This was a response to the change in his heart. It wasn’t when he makes restitution for what he had stolen. That too is a response to the new person we become because of Jesus. We can no longer be comfortable with sin. We find that anything that offends God hurts and offends us too.

Salvation came to Zacchaeus between the time he got up from his table to find the Savior and the time they met. At some point, Zacchaeus believed that Jesus was able to forgive sins. Further, he trusted Jesus to do just that. Lastly, by going to Jesus, he asked him to take away his many sins.

He didn’t need to say certain magic words with his mouth. Jesus knew what he was thinking. Jesus can see things inside of us that no one else can. He took that tiny faith, trust and that request, and gave him the most wonderful gift, salvation!

Jesus told Zacchaeus’ household the purpose of His mission to earth. We can read it in Luke 19:10 and apply it to ourselves. Jesus said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Without Jesus, I am hopelessly lost. I am doomed to wander in my sin for eternity.

Jesus found and rescued me. Through no act of my own I am no longer lost. Yesterday’s sin, today’s sin, and tomorrow’s sin have been lifted off of my shoulders and placed upon Jesus’.

Are you lost in your sin? Are you trying, and failing, to deal with your own sin? Listen to Jesus talk to Zacchaeus, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Now Jesus is talking to you!

Won’t you believe that Jesus is able to permanently erase your sin? Won’t you trust Him, and not yourself, to remove your sin? Won’t you ask Him to save you from your sin?

If you would just do that, you can be assured that He will carry your sin to His cross. Your relationship with God will be restored. You will be instantly adopted into God’s family!

That’s it. Your part is trivial. Believe, trust, and ask. Jesus did the hard part on the cross. He gave up his life, when I should really be the one facing eternal death. So powerful was Jesus’ blood, that it not only took care of my sin, but it also covers Zacchaeus’ sin, and yes, even your sin!

Again,

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10

Reviews: