Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
Maybe those in the crowd took the fact that they were able to see Jesus for granted. They need not have been highly motivated in order to do so. Mere curiosity would have sufficed. But not so for Zacchaeus. He was not able to casually stroll up to him to see if whatever it was that he had heard about him was true. He attempted normal means first but found the crowd too thick, and he too short to see over them. Perhaps someone less motivated would have given up. But Zacchaeus seemed rather to be provoked by the initial difficulty into taking extreme measures, going as far as to climb a tree to get a decent vantage point.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.”
To Zacchaeus it seemed that Zacchaeus was the one who was seeking Jesus. But it was actually the opposite. Even the will with which Zacchaeus did not give up, the humility and persistence that made him climb the tree, were things God was causing to happen in his heart since "it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (see Philippians 2:13). What seemed like a barrier to the presence of Jesus and a hardship was actually something that God made work for Zacchaeus's good. Jesus demonstrated this by stopping and speaking to him as though it was always his plan. He knew Zacchaeus would be there waiting for him because he was already drawing Zacchaeus to himself. It was for this reason that Jesus said, "today I must stay at your house" demonstrating that it was always part of his eternal plan.
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
Had Zacchaeus been able to walk up to Jesus and catch a glimpse like anyone else it seems unlikely he would have had such a pronounced response as he did. But it wasn't as though the vigorous response of Zacchaeus somehow earned the favor of Jesus. Rather even this vigorous response represented a more complete reception of grace compared to that of the complacent crowd. All of us are meant to be like Zacchaeus, extreme in our willingness to seek Jesus, all the more since we know that to do so is a desire he first inspires within us.
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
“Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over.”
What might we take away from this story? For one thing, we should grow in our resolute desire to be undeterred by obstacles. They may seem like a hassle at first. We may even have to grow in humility to surmount them. But they may well have the effect of making the eventual encounter with Jesus all the sweeter. He is able to make all such things work together for the good of those who love him (see Romans 8:28). A second thing we might take away is the comfort of knowing that even when we are having difficulty, struggling, and unable to see God's will clearly, Jesus is seeking us even then. When we are lost like one seemingly insignificant sheep or coin he does not rest until we are found.
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost.
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