1 Jesus entered and was passing through Jericho. 2 There was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, and couldn’t because of the crowd, because he was short. 4 He ran on ahead, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 He hurried, came down, and received him joyfully. 7 When they saw it, they all murmured, saying, “He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner.”

8 Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much.”

9 Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Luke 19:1-10 - World English Bible

Luke 19 presented the story of Zacchaeus, the short, “chief” tax collector. (The term “chief” meant either he was in charge of other collectors in an organization or he was simply a very rich tax man). Notice the author juxtaposed two images. Zacchaeus was a small (in stature) but big man (in status); people looked down upon him but respected and feared him. He was small enough to act like a child to climb the tree to see Jesus over the crowd, yet man enough to change his life in the presence of the Lord and declare openly his metanoia. He would give half the money he extorted from the poor back to the needy; the people he cheated he would repay four times. He gave up his hard earned status for the Lord. All this simply because Jesus wanted to have lunch with him and his family.

The presence of Jesus changes us. He seeks us when we are lost and offers us a saving hand, just like he did for Zacchaeus.

How has the presence of Jesus changed your life this week?