He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:1-10)
Zacchaeus wants to see, but knows that he can’t. The crowd thinks they can see but can’t. Jesus sees, even though the crowd thinks He can’t.
Matthew Henry says that Christ, “brings His own welcome.”
Rich Irony: In OT, Israel grumbled on account of the giants in the land. In the NT, in this story, Israel grumbles on account of the little man in the land, the anti-giant. The problem is not the size of the “enemy” but our own hearts and selves.
Jesus saves the worst of sinners. The most despicable of characters. Don’t be a scoffer and grumbler like the crowd when Jesus does this. But know, it includes you too.
Matthew Henry says, “Zacchaeus is declared now to be a happy man.” “What Christ had done to make him, in particular, a happy man, was consonant to the great design and intention of his coming into the world.”
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