“And when Jesus reached the place, He looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” Luke 19:5 (Amplified)
It was said that when the Japanese first laid eyes on the Americans who were visiting their Island, they could not understand why these strangers were so big in comparison to their tiny statures. So, they went and asked their emperor who responded by saying that the Americans were big because they ate a lot of meat as opposed to their typical Japanese diet of mostly vegetables and fish. There might have been some truth in the Emperor’s assertion, but it would not have done Zacchaeus any good because that was the way God made him – vertically challenged (see text Luke 19:1-6).
As it is with most things in life, you either adapt or become overwhelmed. The fact that Zacchaeus was rich is a testament to his adaptability and determination to make something of himself despite his physical limitation. He also was proven to be a very resourceful person; albeit this goes both ways and mostly in the wrong way because he used these positive characteristic to corruptly amass wealth. However, like most wealthy persons, Zacchaeus’ wealth did little to satisfy the emptiness of his soul. Then one day he heard about Jesus of Nazareth, probably from the disdained fellow tax collectors who had been impacted by His ministry, and characteristically made up his mind that he would make contact with Him. Things took a positive turn when he heard that Jesus was passing through his town, so he prepared to meet with Him.
The problem is that he wasn’t the only person in his town with the same desire. Other people had heard that Jesus was coming to town and they were doing their best to get as close to Him as was humanly possible and this was especially problematic for short Zacchaeus. The more he tried to wriggle his way through the crowd using his pint size to his advantage, the more difficult it was for him to break through, but he had made up his mind that if it was the last thing he did, he would see Jesus. So, he decided to change tack. He went ahead of Jesus, looked for a promising tree that was right in the path that he knew Jesus would take, scrambled up into a branch and waited for Jesus. It just did not occur to Zacchaeus that he might fall and break his neck, but that was a risk he was willing to take; hence it came as a total shock when Jesus finally reached the tree on which he was precariously perched and was clinging on to for dear life, looked up at him, called his name and then invited Himself to his house for lunch. He was astounded that Jesus even knew his name. At the end of the visit, Zacchaeus had achieved more than he bargained for – his entire household had received salvation.
Zacchaeus demonstrated the fact that he was a desperate man by the frantic measure he took of climbing a tree just to catch a glimpse of Jesus. He also showed that he was a determined man because he did not allow his physical limitations to deprive him of that once in a lifetime opportunity to see Jesus. He had also realised that Jesus was his only means of salvation, hence his determination to be impacted by Him. He chose to go the extra mile and succeeded in getting Jesus to go home with him. What are you willing to do to have Jesus’ life affirming presence in your life?
Prayer:
Lord, I am wont to use my physical limitations to excuse myself from seeking you as I should. Create a hunger for your righteousness in me so that I can desperately seek and find you because I am seeking you with all of my heart in Jesus name. Amen.