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20 Sep: A Guest for the Outcast
[Jesus said], Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. Luke 19:5
Scripture Reading: Luke 19:1–10
Zach was a lonely man. Walking through the city streets, he could feel people glaring at him. Then his life changed. According to Clement of Alexandria, one of the early church fathers, Zach went on to become a respected Christian leader and pastor of the church in Caesarea. This is Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector who climbed a sycamore tree to get a look at Jesus (Luke 19:1-10).
So why the tree? Tax collectors were seen as traitors. They squeezed their own people for money to fund the Roman Empire. But word had gotten around that Jesus welcomed people like them, and Zacchaeus may have been asking himself whether Jesus would welcome him too. He was short, and the crowd blocked his view (verse 3), so he probably climbed up to find Jesus.
What Zacchaeus didn’t know was that Jesus was looking for him as well. When Jesus got to the tree, He glanced up and told him to hurry down, because He was going to stay at his house that day (verse 5). Jesus didn’t offer it as a suggestion. He said He had to be a guest in the home of a man everyone else avoided. Think about that: the Savior of the world choosing to spend an afternoon with someone the whole town had written off.
Maybe your heart, your relationships, or your whole life feels broken and in need of repair. Zacchaeus is a reason for hope. When we turn to Jesus, He doesn’t turn us away. He can put back together what’s been lost or shattered, and He can give our lives fresh meaning and purpose.
By: Chloe Lee
Go deeper on: A Guest for the Outcast
Reflect & Pray
What relationships in your life can Jesus help restore? What will it mean for you to be restored by Him?
Jesus, thank You for seeking me when I was lost in sin and for redeeming my messed-up life.