When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
Luke 19: 5 (NIV)
Scripture: Luke 19: 1-10
Did you grow up singing the song about Zaccheaus? Have you at least heard the story? This devotion looks at the story of Zaccheaus from his perspective.
“Oh, crudbum. I’ve been found out. Now what am I going to do? How is it going to look, me, Zacchaeus, climbing down from this sycamore tree?
“That was the whole reason I climbed this blasted tree anyway – so people wouldn’t see me and make fun of me. Yeah, I may be short, but I could have pushed my way through the crowd. My position should demand their respect. They would have had to get out of my way.
“But they don’t respect me. They just sneer at me, throwing insults at me. I wouldn’t have been able to get through. I couldn’t take their ridicule. It seemed the lesser of the two evils. So, I climbed the tree.
“Can’t I just hide in the leaves of the tree? That won’t work. You can’t hide from this Jesus fellow. He has a way of seeing right into you, as if He were seeing your thoughts and your heart. It would be almost creepy if He weren’t so sincere.
“Come down immediately. Jesus spoke that with authority. Don’t think, just do.
I am usually the one in charge, not taking orders. Maybe if I stay up here long enough he’ll just go away.
“He wants to come to my house, just like a friend would. I don’t have any friends. The citizens hate me; the other tax collectors hate me.
Don’t they realize I’m just doing my job? I don’t get a set wage like they do. Tax collectors earn their wages by charging extra. I have to fend for myself.
“He’s still there. Guess I’d better start down. Where is that foothold on the next branch?
“That’s not right. I didn’t charge what was fair, I charged way more than is necessary. I became rich off of my fellow citizens. No wonder they hate me.
“Let’s be honest. I came here so Jesus would see me. I came here wanting to change.
I’m lonely and empty inside. What I’m doing is wrong. I’m taking that which is not rightfully mine.
“But what could I have done to make them listen and believe that I want to change? If I would have gone to the Temple, they would have laughed.
“By coming to Jesus, He can make things right. They know that Jesus can make a difference in your life. Now they will believe I’m sincere. How can I repay the wrongs I have committed?”
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” (Lk. 19: 8 NIV)
Gracious Father. You are so wonderful. You see the wrongs we have committed, and You love us anyway. You look at us with all our faults and see us as potentially being “in Christ.” You see us and see kingdom potential. You are our Friend when we have no other. You make the difference in our lives, and You are the difference. Help us to be like Zacchaeus, longing to change, longing to be more like you. Help us to climb our trees to be with you. Amen.
“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 save that which is lost” (Luke 10: 9-10 NKJV).
What do you think? It is pretty unusual to climb a tree to see Jesus. What would be the equivalent in your world? Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
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