Luke 19:1-10 (NLT)

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19 Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.

5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”

6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.

8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

9 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

If we’re honest, there are people we’re tempted to avoid. In Jesus’ day, Zacchaeus was one of “those people.” Considered a traitor by his countrymen, he got rich fleecing his fellow countrymen to collect taxes for the Romans. 

Where most people would avoid a man like Zacchaeus, Jesus does the opposite. Love and obedience to God — not comfort — guided Jesus’ decisions. He calls Zacchaeus out of the crowd and invites Himself to Zacchaeus's house. The encounter with Jesus marked Zacchaeus so deeply that he offered to give his possessions to the poor and pay back what he had cheated from others. 

Jesus came to save those we cross the street to avoid. And like Zacchaeus, people who encounter Jesus walk away changed. 

Perhaps we’re too busy or too scared to engage. As Christians, the same power that lives in Jesus lives in us (Romans 8:10-11). What if the person we avoid is the very person who needs what we can offer? 

The best gift the world has ever received lives inside of each of us. How many people would experience the hope and peace of Jesus if we simply reached out?

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