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How tall are you? Who is the tallest person you know? If you were at the movies, would you rather be in front or behind the tallest person you know?
In today’s story we will see the story of a man who was really short.
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.
2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.
3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd.
4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “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.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
The story of this man Zaccheus is one that many people know. But Jesus was walking through Jericho and a man named Zaccheus wanted to see Jesus, but he couldn’t. Why? Because he was short!
It is believed that Zaccheus was under 5 feet tall. But everyone else was taller than him. So he would try hard to see Jesus and he couldn’t do it. So verse 4 says:
4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
Do you know what a sycamore fig tree is:
I have a picture right here. Could any of you climb that tree? those trees seems pretty easy to climb. Zaccheus wanted to see Jesus so bad, that he climbed a tree in front of everybody.
My question for all of us today is:
How bad do you want to see Jesus?
i understand that we can’t see Jesus in the same way Zaccheus and others saw him. Jesus isn’t here in person like He was then, but there are other way sin which you and I can have a relationship with Him.
15 “If you love me, keep my commands.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—
We can love Jesus, have a relationship with Jesus by keeping His commands. Let’s read how Zaccheus does the same thing.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
Jesus calls out to Zaccheus and Zaccheus finds out really quickly:
Zaccheus wanted to see Jesus, but Jesus also wanted to see Zaccheus. What I really love about this story is that it teaches us that Jesus wants to be in a relationship with us too. regardless of what other people may think:
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
People had a to say about Jesus, they always said “this dude who claims to be the messiah is hanging out with sinners”.
They said it because they all hated Zaccheus. nobody liked him because he would steal their money. You know, other people may be really quick to point out your flaws, and the mistakes you’ve made. But Jesus wants to fix them, He wants to take all of your sins away.
On Wednesday we talked about how sometimes our sins can weigh us down. And Zaccheus’ sin weighed him down. Other people in the community didn’t like him because he was stealing from them.
But when Jesus comes into your life, He comes to change it:
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “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.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Jesus knew who Zaccheus was, but that doesn’t matter. What matter is what Jesus can do in your life. My question for you today is:
Will you allow Jesus to come into your life?
Q: What city was Jesus walking though?
Jericho
Q: Why couldn’t Zaccheus see Jesus?
He was short.
Q: what did Zaccheus do for a living?
He was a tax collector.
Q: What type of tree did Zaccheus climb?
Sycamore-fig tree