Read Luke 19:1-10
Jesus was passing through Jericho unannounced. Everyone was excited about this unexpected opportunity to see Jesus, including someone no one wanted to see – the chief tax collector, a man named Zaccheus.
Rome was set on ruling the world, but had also made possible an abundance of benefits. It brought in soldiers to keep the peace, built roads, restored crumbling public utilities and built ports. However, someone had to pay for it all, thus the dreaded tax collector. The collector contracted with Rome for a specific amount, then collected as much as he could get. Anything above the contracted amount was his. Being a chief tax collector meant Zaccheus had secured several contracts and had people working for him. Being rich meant he was quite successful at a job that usually involved extortion.
Zaccheus wanted to see Jesus whom he had heard so much about. However, he had a problem, actually two: he was too short and too despised. No one was about to give up his or her prized vantage point for the one making them poor. He wanted to see Jesus, but not be subjected to everyone’s hated glare. He devised his own solution to the problem by running ahead of the crowd and hid up in a tree before anyone could see him doing something so juvenile. Zaccheus wanted to see, not be seen! He quickly learned an important truth: you cannot hide from an all-seeing God.
Zaccheus sought to see Jesus out of curiosity; Jesus was seeking him for a far more important reason. He sought to save Zaccheus. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what is lost.” To see him, Jesus went to where he was – up in a “hiding tree.” Jesus knew exactly who he was and where he was. He stopped right under the tree and called up to Zaccheus – by name! Jesus made it clear that he was passing through Jericho, just to see Zaccheus. “I must stay at your house!”
Pride could have kept Zaccheus up in that tree, ignoring Jesus’ plea. Coming down meant facing his inadequacies (in his case physical), other’s opinion of him, ridicule and judgment. His life changed the minute his feet hit the ground. He stepped down from a life defined by power and pride into one defined by grace. He turned to Jesus and called Him, “Lord!” Calling Caesar “Lord” assured his position and prosperity. Calling Jesus “Lord” testified of radical change in allegiance and life purpose. Greed became grace as he quickly discovered a transformed desire to make things right with others (times four) and sacrificially meet the needs of the poor. Physically he didn’t changed, but in God’s eyes and soon others, he stood much taller and no longer needed a “hiding tree” to see Jesus.
Making It Personal
The word “seek” (zeteo) means “a compelling desire that employs all available resources to secure the objective.”
· For Zaccheus that compelling desire meant climbing a tree.
· For Jesus that compelling desire meant being nailed to one!
Do you have a compelling desire to see Jesus?
What extent are you willing to go to see Him living and working in your life?
Pride can keep us stuck up in “hiding trees.” We miss seeing Jesus and all He has for us to see through Him. How have you experienced this sad truth?
Being judgmental and critical can keep other stuck up in “hiding trees” as well. What does it mean to you that God has entrusted to you the “ladder of grace”?
Throughout the Day Challenge
How did or can you help others see Jesus today?
