Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” -Luke 19:9-10

To seek and save the lost! That’s why God sent His son to earth, so He could look for people like Zacchaeus, who were living stuck in sin, and lead them to salvation in Christ. 

Have you ever stopped to think about what put Zacchaeus in the position to be found and brought to saving faith by Jesus? Remember, he was a tax collector. More specifically, Luke tells us he was the chief tax collector and a wealthy man. Tax collectors were generally not well liked by their peers because they were motivated to make the taxes as high as possible. And because of Zacchaeus’ tax collections, he had made himself quite rich. 

I’m imagining Zacchaeus in a crowd of people who didn’t like him, and I’m wondering how I would have reacted, if I were him, in a similar situation. To be honest, I think I would have hung toward the back in order to avoid attention and keep myself from catching any side eyes or under-the-breath comments from people. But Zacchaeus was so determined to see Jesus that he set aside any inhibitions and did what he had to do to get some face time with the Lord. 

A commentary I read by David Guzik said: “Because Zacchaeus sought Jesus so intensely, he didn’t mind doing something that many thought was beneath the dignity of a grown, wealthy man—he climbed up a sycamore tree.”

It’s easy to stay stuck on thinking about Zacchaeus as the terrible tax collector, and he certainly was not without his faults. But I love the way Guzik encouraged me to deepen my understanding of Zacchaeus by thinking about his seemingly out-of-character actions when Jesus came to town. He truly acted with childlike faith! Perhaps he thought to himself, Ya know what, who cares that this crowd expects me to act a certain way. I don’t care what they think, I’m doing whatever I have to do to get to a place where I can see Him. He was desperate to see Jesus, and he didn’t let anything stop him from making that happen. While Zacchaeus’ tax collecting practices obviously don’t set a noble example to follow, his undeniable showcase of desperation and childlike faith do.

Remember the Bible verse about having childlike faith?

And [Jesus] said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” -Matthew 18:3

Another verse that comes to mind when reading Zacchaeus’ story is this one: 

He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. -John 10:3b

Jesus knows you by name. If you read Zacchaeus’ story in Luke 19, you’ll see he never introduces himself to Jesus. He doesn’t shout out his name. But when Jesus sees him up in that tree, Jesus knows Zacchaeus’ name by heart. I love that! …mostly because that means He knows my name, too. (And yours.)

There’s so much to Zacchaeus’ unique and intriguing story. But even just a quick overview like this one gets my mind spinning as I think about what I can learn about God and myself from this story in Luke 19:1-10.

What can we learn about God from Zacchaeus’ story?

• God responds to His people when they seek him. 
• He cares about people who are living stuck in sin.
• God wants to bring you to saving faith in Himself—no matter how far gone you think you might be.
• God spends time with sinners.
• He transforms lives!
• His main mission is to find people who are far from Him and bring them in close. 
• God will not exclude you from His family or plan based on your past mistakes.

What can we learn about people/ourselves from Zacchaeus’ story?

• Nobody is too far gone for Jesus to save and restore.
• We can draw near to Jesus by laying aside our inhibitions and approaching Him with childlike mindsets and faith.
• Even your worst mistakes can be forgiven. 
• You can be creative in how you approach God. 
• Worry about what Jesus thinks rather than worrying about what other people think about you.
• You can invite Jesus into your heart/space/life even if you don’t have everything cleaned up and ready for him yet.
• Your life can be completely transformed if you want it to be (and if you invite Jesus into it).
• Your past does not have to dictate your future. 

What else do you learn about God from this story? What do you learn about yourself? How can you apply that to your life today? Pick out the one lesson you’re learning from Zacchaeus in Luke 19—you know, that one that’s resonating in your heart right now—and talk to God about it in prayer. Write it down somewhere where you’ll see it, and let that lesson move you forward in faith.