The man that climbed the tree...

I'm pretty sure almost all of you have heard the story of Zacchaeus the tax collector. If you haven't, this is a story that you will find in Luke 19:1-10. It is a story about a man with a bad reputation climbing a tree...

What does a man climbing a tree have to do with anything with us? Well, it has EVERYTHING to do with us!

Zacchaeus was a tax collector that cheated people out of their money. Absolutely no one liked him because of that. He always took more than he was supposed to and he lived wealthy while everyone around him lived in poverty.

This selfish, greedy man heard that Jesus was passing through Jericho, where he lived. Zacchaeus was most likely excited and curious like everyone else in Jericho. So naturally, he went to find where Jesus was passing through.

 At this point, I'm imagining the small town that I grew up in when there's a Rodeo passing through it. There's so many people out and about that aren't normally out and the streets are completely full. Everyone was curious about what was happening in our small town (because, let's face it... nothing exciting ever happened there) and they made sure that they were apart of it, even if they didn't have any interest in horses or Rodeo.

This is the same kind of thing that I imagine was going on in Jericho. Everyone heard about what was going on, so EVERYONE and their mothers were out and about to see Jesus.

That wouldn't be such a problem, if Zacchaeus was a normal sized man. Not only did people not like him because he was a thief, but Zacchaeus was a SHORT man. As a kid, when we heard that he was a short man, we instantly thought of a grown man our own size. Now when I think about it, I picture a hobbit trying to find Gandalf the white among elves.

So what did Zacchaeus do? He wanted so bad to see Jesus! So Zacchaeus climbed up a Sycamore Fig Tree (Ficus Sycomorous, for all of you dendrology folks like me thanks to my Ag teacher in highschool) to see Him!

A Sycamore Fig Tree was a symbol of blessing and prosperity for the nation that it was growing in. ( Fun fact: The caskets of some Egyptian mummies were made from the wood of Sycamore Fig trees.) So of course, Zacchaeus picked that tree to sit in. No other tree was probably good enough for him to sit in.

 Having studied recently a little more about Sycamore Fig trees, I'd love to have one of these trees in my yard! Mostly, because of the way it grows. The branches grow low to the ground and instead of growing straight up, they grow kind of out wide. Perfect for a tree house!

Anyway, Zacchaeus sat in that Ficus Sycomorous until Jesus got to him. Could you imagine the anticipation of seeing Jesus, our Savior, up close in all that he is? I could only imagine the adrenaline rushing through Zacchaeus. The fast beating heart and the heavy breathing. Kind of like the way we get when we see someone famous,( or when we're about to go on stage to perform a dance solo that was only half way finished until right before the recital...).

BUT not only did Jesus pass close enough for Zacchaeus to see him. Jesus stopped under the tree that Zacchaeus was in and looked up at him. Everyone around Jesus of course probably looked up too. They most likely quickly looked away though, because it was just Zacchaeus, nothing special. So they thought.

Jesus said, "Zacchaues, come down! I'm going to your house today!"

I could just hear the gasps and air sucking from the crowd. This crowd was probably full of people that followed Jesus devotingly. They were all do-gooders and goody two-shoes, most likely. These people were self righteous and thought that their poop didn't stink, I bet. So they were thinking (out loud, according to the scripture), "Jesus is going to the house of a SINNER!" They all knew what Zacchaeus was. And they were probably all of his favorite victims, because he thought that since they were good people he could take advantage of them.

Zacchaues instantly got down from the Ficus Sycomorous and was happy about the Lord coming to see HIM, out of all of the people that were around him. After hearing what the other people had said about him, Zacchaeus was ashamed. So he said, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold."

 A  LOST man that seemed to do nothing but sin. He was a thief, he was greedy, he wallowed in his own wealth and rubbed it in other people's faces. No one expected him to ever do anything good. No one expected him to ever sought out Jesus to follow him. Yet, on this day in Jericho, Zacchaeus came to see Jesus. Then, Jesus stopped and sought Zacchaeus out of the tree. And Jesus was going to go to his house.

Even though Jesus is blameless and perfect, he STILL had people try to correct him. They wanted to make sure that Jesus knew what Zacchaeus was. They wanted to make sure Jesus had his priorities straight, apparently. Of course he did! He knew EXACTLY who Zacchaeus was and what Zacchaeus had done!

After Zacchaeus said what he was going to do in order to pay back for his short comings against other people, Jesus replied, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which is lost."

That is so powerful to me, because that was Jesus looking at those people that were trying to correct him and teach them a lesson. That lesson was that Zacchaeus was the reason that Jesus was born! He came to save the LOST people. Because if everyone was already a follower and did everything that they were supposed to, then Jesus wouldn't have had a reason to come to earth.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

That's the verse we've all come to memorize. Let's look a little further though.

"For God did not send His son to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:17

This is the verse that so many people miss. If Jesus came to CONDEMN the world, the people that were complaining would've probably been able to convince Jesus that he shouldn't be going to Zacchaeus' house. Because Jesus wasn't sent to condemn us, but to SAVE us. All of us. Especially the lost, then it makes perfect sense why Jesus was going to Zacchaeus' house!

So what can we learn about this story about a man that climbed a tree (ficus sycomorous)?

Jesus loves ALL of us and wants to be apart of ALL of our lives. He has come to earth, died, and risen to save ALL of us! Our duty is to accept that and FOLLOW Him! No matter how dirty, bad, self centered, creepy, decietful, or sinful we are! He wants to save us.


Let us seek Him, like Zacchaeus did. Let's climb our trees to look past all of this world and focus on Him. So one day, we will see Him face to face and be invited to HIS home in the sky.

You see, once Zacchaeus saw that Jesus accepted him like he was, he turned away from the bad things that he did before. Once we truly accept Jesus, we turn away from the bad things and strive to do better!

If you haven't accepted Jesus as your Savior, I'd love to answer any questions you have. I'd love to pray with you. I'd love to talk with you. I'm a sinner just like you are and Jesus has saved me! He can save you too!

Pray with me:

Dear Lord,

Thank you for all that you have done. Thank you for stories like this story of a man named Zacchaeus that climbed a tree in order to see you. Thank you for all that you've shown us through this story and help it to stick with us, Lord. Help us to seek you and only you to be saved. For it's in your name I pray.

Amen.