Jesus and Zacchaeus

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.' So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, 'He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.'

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.'

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.'

Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector—wealthy because he worked for Rome and likely cheated his own people. He was despised. Yet something drew him to Jesus. He was so determined to see Him that this wealthy, dignified man climbed a tree like a child.

Jesus didn't wait for Zacchaeus to come to Him. He looked up, called him by name, and invited Himself to dinner. The crowd was scandalized, but Jesus saw what they couldn't: a lost son ready to come home. Zacchaeus's response proved his heart had changed—immediate, generous restitution.