He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because of the crowd, since he was a short man. So running ahead, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus, since He was about to pass that way.

When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today I must stay at your house.”

So he quickly came down and welcomed Him joyfully. All who saw it began to complain, “He’s gone to lodge with a sinful man!”

But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord! And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much!”

“Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus told him, “because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”  Luke 19:3-10 HCSB

I don’t know about you, but I honestly can say that I don’t think I have heard this story since I was a young child in Sunday School. There is a great deal to be learned from this story of Zacchaeus. The very first thing we can learn from this story is that Zacchaeus was seeking Jesus. He couldn’t see him for the large crowd, so he went up into a sycamore tree where he could get a better view.

Zacchaeus got above the crowd. There was a time in my life when the crowd blocked my view of Jesus. I am not blaming anyone else for my sin, but I was going along with the crowd and it wasn’t good for me. I was doing what others did and it was separating me from Jesus. Sometimes we have to separate ourselves from the crowd to truly seek Jesus. This may mean putting the phone down and getting off of social media. This may mean the loss of friends when you no longer agree to meet them at the local bar for a few drinks. This may mean you separating yourselves from those with the potty mouths. But sometimes we just have to get outside the crowd to truly seek and find Jesus.

Once Zacchaeus separated himself from the crowd to seek Jesus, Jesus came to him.  Jesus called him by name and told him to come down to Him. Jesus knows us intimately. He knows our name and how many hairs are on our heads (Matthew 10:20). He calls us into an intimate relationship with Him.  Jesus called Zacchaeus down because He wanted to spend time with Zacchaeus. Jesus wants to spend time with us. All we have to do is seek Him with our whole heart and we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13).  He called him down just as he calls us down off our high horses. Sometimes we have to come down and be humbled in order to truly meet Jesus. Ever watch The Price is Right? Those people freak out when there name is called and the announcer says, “Come on down!” We should all be that excited when Jesus calls us down to meet Him.

We must remember that Zacchaeus had a bad reputation. He was a tax collector. In those days, the tax collectors not only collected the taxes that were legitimately owed but they had a bad reputation for extorting more money from people and filling their pockets with their ill gotten gains. Sounds like a lot of today’s politicians, right?

Jesus comes under the scrutiny of the crowd for associating with this sinner. But in verse 8, we see that this encounter with Jesus changed Zacchaeus. He was convicted of his sinful ways and agreed to give half of all he owns to the poor. He went on to say that if he had taken more money than what was legally owed through threats and intimidation that he would give these people four times what he had taken from them.

Jesus saw the change in Zacchaeus’ heart. Jesus called him to salvation and Zacchaeus responded. He confessed his sins, repented and went above and beyond to make things right again. Jesus told the crowd that he had come to seek and save the lost. If you are saved good for you. But don’t forget where you came from. Don’t look down your nose at a fellow sinner, if Jesus saved you, then He can certainly save them, right?

Last night I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a women’s conference at Colyell Baptist Church which is about 40 minutes from my home. There were around 250 women there, but when I separated myself from the crowd and focused on the words in the worship music and the words spoken by the women giving their testimony and the main speaker, I could hear what God was saying to me. I’ll share some of that with you next week.

Like Zacchaeus we have to separate ourselves from our daily routine and sometimes even from the ones we love in order to truly seek Jesus. Step away from any distractions like your family, the television, the internet, the phone and truly seek Jesus. Drop what you are doing and put Him first. When you seek Him with your whole heart, you will find Him (2 Chronicles 15:2). When He calls you down, humble yourself, repent of your sin and draw near to Him. Trust Him and get right with Him by doing what you can to make things right with God. This may mean returning something you have taken dishonestly or apologizing for something even if you feel you did no wrong. It may also require forgiving someone who has offended you. Then welcome Jesus into your heart and your home, enter into a close, intimate relationship with Him. I promise you will never be sorry you did.

Have a great weekend!