24 Days to Reflect on God's Heart for RedemptionSample

Zacchaeus: Redeemed in the marketplace

Jesus made his entrance into Jericho, where Zacchaeus, a tax collector, lived. Zacchaeus heard about Jesus and wanted to see him, so he found a sycamore tree to climb up for a better view to see Jesus as he entered the city.

When Jesus reached him, he said, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” Jesus knows him by name, calls him by name, and invites himself to stay at his house.

The next thing we see in the story is Zacchaeus rising to his feet, apparently in the middle of dinner, to say, “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.” Wow!

Jesus then says to Zacchaeus, “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 what was lost.”

Zacchaeus’ vocation as a tax collector was one of the most hated and reviled at that time in history. They had the reputation of stealing and not to be trusted. So what would Jesus have been talking about that caused Zacchaeus to stand up in the middle of dinner and say, “Look, Lord!”?

Did Jesus talk about the Kingdom of God, his love for Zacchaeus, stewardship, financial principles, sin, and forgiveness? Did Jesus talk about serving the poor, serving the least of these?

The word statheis describes a formal act, as one who is about to make a formal declaration. Zacchaeus first said, “Look,” as though he wanted to prove or demonstrate something to Jesus. Then he said, “Lord!” With that word, he was saying, “Jesus, you are the master of my life and everything I have.” So how does that happen over a dinner conversation?

Jesus gave a hint into what happened. Salvation came to the heart of this tax collector. He had an on-the-spot turnaround in his heart, mind, and soul. In biblical language, we call this repentance. From that day forward, he would never be the same.

Redeemed people know they’ve been forgiven and make commitments to make things right.

Reflection questions:

• What is it about your life that needs to be made right as a redeemed person?
• What surprises you most about the redemptive experience of Zacchaeus?