Every church school child knows the story of Zacchaeus: "Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he; he climbed up in a sycamore tree, for Jesus he would see." For our purposes here, let us divide the story into three parts:

1. The person. Jericho was the gate city for Judea’s trade with the East, which meant that it was also the checkpoint for customs on imports and exports. Zacchaeus, as "chief tax collector," was in charge of collections and overseer of all other tax collectors in his district. Consequently, he was not only entitled to whatever revenues he could manage for himself, but also a share of what had been taken in by the other collectors. Opportunities for self-enrichment abounded and, from all indications, Zacchaeus allowed none to escape him. I would expect that at a very early age it had become clear to him that his choices would be severely limited. He was not physically suited for life in the country, nor strong enough to be a merchant who must travel long distances to trade. His childhood peers doubtless reminded him of his size by numerous remarks and omissions. But there was apparently one thing he could do well: cipher. He would excel in the area of his strongest ability and greatest interest ... money. The Scriptures depict him as short in stature, crooked in dealings, self-seeking, but interestingly enough, retaining a glimmer of moral consciousness.

2. The encounter. A large crowd had gathered to see Jesus as he passed through the city. Too small to see over the shoulders of others and unable to force his way to the front line, Zacchaeus climbed into a sycamore tree in order to see and, who knows, perhaps even to be seen. There is the possibility that the time had come in the little man’s life when his spirit cried out for peace and security ... the kind which the world cannot give ... something he had been unable to achieve by a lifetime of jaded aggressiveness. There is at least the possibility that something more than curiosity caused him to position himself in such a prominent place along the path of the one who was said to "forgive sinners." Whatever his reason, Jesus addressed him personally, went home with him to spend the day, and caused the people to complain, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner" (19:7).

3. The transformation. At some point during their visit, Zacchaeus stood up and said, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will restore it fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house" (19:8-9).

The story of Zacchaeus is not an isolated incident. Other similarly tainted individuals have discovered that the deep places of their lives have been touched and embraced by one whose perception and discerning compassion penetrates beneath life’s surface and addresses a lingering need. Had our Lord considered the tax collector as others saw him ... niggardly, self-motivated, crooked, irritatingly ambitious ... had our Lord stopped there, considering only the topical evidence, Zacchaeus would have been left up in the tree. But Jesus did not take his meal in the home of a reprobate that day; he supped with a man who had a need, and as the shadows of evening gathered about Jericho, the need of at least one of its citizens had been met; "Today salvation has come to this house."