Seeking Jesus?

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… 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 19:3-6; 8-10 (ESV)

Luke tells us that Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus and understand who He was. Obviously, He saw how people were flocking around Him, but it appears that he did not know Him, nor had he made up his mind about His claims.

One of the obstacles Zacchaeus had to seeing Jesus was that he was a short man and could not see over the shoulders of the people who were surrounding Him as He passed through the city. Zacchaeus, however, was so determined to see Jesus that he ran ahead, climbed a sycamore tree and waited for Him to pass by just to get a glimpse of Him. 

Note that when Zacchaeus’ height did not permit him to see Jesus, he determined to do something about it. Many people in his situation would have simply walked away and not followed through in their desire. There was something in Zacchaeus, however, that drove him to do whatever he could to see Jesus as He passed by, so he found a tree and climbed it.

As Jesus approached the place where Zacchaeus was waiting to catch a glimpse of Him, note what happened.

First, observe the phrase, “Jesus came to the place.” In other words, Jesus took a route that brought Him directly to where Zacchaeus was. Zacchaeus made a special effort to see Jesus, and his effort was rewarded when Jesus came directly to where he was.

Second, consider the words, “he looked up.” Not only does Jesus come to where Zacchaeus was, but He looked up to him in that tree and fixed His eyes on him. Jesus noticed Zacchaeus.

Third, note that Jesus spoke directly to Zacchaeus. This makes the encounter personal. Zacchaeus was just hoping to see Jesus but imagine his surprise when He not only noticed him but spoke directly to him. 

Fourth, listen to what Jesus said to Zacchaeus: “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” We need to see two details in these words of Jesus here.

First, observe the personal nature of these words. Zacchaeus had climbed the tree just to see Jesus’ face but he got so much more. Jesus noticed him and spoke to him. He now invited the tax collector to prepare a place for Him at his house. Jesus would come into his house and dine with him. This was much more than Zacchaeus expected. 

Second, consider the surprise of the crowd as Jesus followed Zacchaeus home. Zacchaeus was a despised chief tax collector and the crowd protested as Jesus went to His home. Jesus, on the other hand, accepted him and his hospitality. He did not despise him like so many people of the day. Zacchaeus found acceptance in this man Jesus.

Consider one more detail here. Look at the words, “I must stay at your house today.” There is urgency to the words of Jesus. This would be the only opportunity Zacchaeus would have to see Jesus. He and His disciples were on their way to Jerusalem where Jesus would be crucified. That day was the only day Zacchaeus would ever have to speak to Him, understand who He was and respond to His call.

When Jesus spoke to Zacchaeus and invited Himself to his house, Zacchaeus wasted no time coming down the tree and accepting the invitation. Note that he did so “joyfully.” It appears that the Spirit of God was working in Zacchaeus’ heart preparing him for that encounter with the Lord Jesus. 

Note the response of Zacchaeus to the Lord Jesus that day. First, he promised Him that he would give half his goods to the poor. Second, he resolved that if he had defrauded anyone, he would restore it to them fourfold. 

Understand these commitments in light of the words of verse 7. Zacchaeus was hated by the people. They saw him as a sinner. They had just protested the fact that Jesus was going to dine with him. It would have been easy for him to harbour a grudge against them but he chose instead to make everything right. 

This encounter with Jesus changed Zacchaeus’ life. He was not the same man who profited from the poor and defrauded those from whom he collected taxes. His hold on his riches had loosened and now he had a whole new focus in life. That very day, Jesus declared that salvation had come to Zacchaeus’ house.

Luke concludes the story about Zacchaeus with the words: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” 

While Zacchaeus did all that he could to see Jesus, what Luke is telling us is that, all the while, it was Jesus who had been seeking Zacchaeus. The Spirit of God was working in his life, bringing him to that sycamore tree at the right time to meet the One who would change His life.

The question the story brings up is this: Who was really doing the seeking?