1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.  And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 2-4 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5-6 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.” 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, half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have  defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9-10 And Jesus said to him,  “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:1-10 English Standard Version

Even as a young boy, I was struck by how far people would travel to see a Cup Final sporting event or some entertainment star. I remember thinking to myself, would I make the same effort to go an event where a faithful man of God was going to preach? In the case of Zacchaeus, he certainly did all he could to see Jesus. Apart from being a short fellow, what was the other big obstacle he had to overcome? (vs 1).

Not only was he a tax collector (hated by many for 'working for the enemy', and despised by the religious leaders) he was a 'chief' tax collector. Just as the apostle Paul once described himself as having been 'the chief of sinners', because he had persecuted God's people, so Zacchaeus would probably have thought there was no way that a holy man like Jesus would have given him the time of day! Can you imagine his surprise and joy when Jesus stopped and said the words we read in vs 5-6! I wonder if he almost fell out of the tree as he scrambled down. What does vs 8 tell us that salvation will bring about in a person's life?

There is a total change of heart. Zacchaeus' conscience must have already been at work – and now he has the opportunity to put matters right. Notice too that Jesus didn’t criticize him for only giving half his goods to the poor. Zacchaeus' problem wasn't the same as the rich ruler who Jesus had told to give away all his goods. Unlike the rich ruler who had outwardly kept all God's laws, Zacchaeus had not done that. But after his encounter with Jesus his heart was changed.

I think Luke included this incident because, once again, it showed how sinners were welcoming Jesus and being saved, while many of the self righteous people grumbled and rejected Him. That rejection was going to happen in a big way when He reached Jerusalem. Did you notice how Jesus twice mentions the word 'today' in this incident? (vs 5-6 & 9-10)

We’re told that Jesus was 'passing through' Jericho that day - He would not pass that way again. Zacchaeus didn't know that, but still made the most of the opportunity of that day. When speaking of Jesus' sacrifice, the apostle Paul wrote: “For our sake God made Christ to be sin - who knew no sin - so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. Working together with Him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says, 'in a favourable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.' Behold - now is the favourable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 5:21-6:3)

The writer of the New Testament book called Hebrews said: “Take care - lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today', so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:12-13) There is a sense of urgency about the gospel that we must never lose sight of. Tomorrow's opportunity may never come.