And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.
Jesus was passing through Jericho at a time of crowded excitement, with multitudes and visitors eager to honor Him and with great interest stirred by His raising of Lazarus. The city was crowded with people and visitors drawn to see Him as He entered and passed through.
Zacchaeus, being short and unable to see over the press of the crowd, ran ahead along the route Jesus was to take and climbed up into a sycamore tree, a wide-branching fig tree, so he could see Him pass. He watched eagerly for the figure he longed to see, earnest to see who Jesus was. His effort shows strong desire and earnestness in seeking to see Jesus.
His longing to see who Jesus was grew from hearing of His kindness and merciful works and teaching. Those words convicted him that his way of life was wrong and made him recognize his need to reform, repent, and make restitution. He had already begun turning from wrongdoing and making restitution to those he had wronged. He wanted to look upon the One whose words had given him hope that repentance and a changed life were possible and to learn more from Him.
His eager seeking led to his joyful reception of Christ, which was one of the bright spots in the Saviour's experience. It brought comfort amid anguish over the unbelief of His own family, who did not believe on Him as the world's Redeemer. It also brought comfort amid rejection by the scribes and Pharisees and the chief priests and religious leaders of the nation. They rejected Him because His teachings did not harmonize with theirs, because He taught as one having authority though unrecognized as a religious teacher by the rabbis and scribes, and because they could not bear His manifestation of love and mercy to those considered outcasts and sinners.
His encounter shows that conversion means abandoning the unrighteous practices that marked his life and removing what hindered his Christian life. Making restitution is proof of sincerity. It illustrates that integrity and salvation matter more than money and that right principles should be put into practice.
People whom others dismiss because of outward status or reputation, even those counted hopeless in the eyes of others and objectionable and sick in character, may still be open to Christ's call, because He came to seek and save that which was lost. The verse reveals what Christ does for one going astray. He does not cut such a one off and leave him in the hands of Satan or build barriers between God and the soul. He does not press humiliation upon him and drive him to discouragement, desperation, and stubbornness, but brings him with cords of love into His own hands where prayer and leading and guiding can reach him, putting forth extra effort for the very ones most in need. His tenderness and mercy toward Zacchaeus drew fault-finding from the Pharisees, yet it reveals His work and the work of His Spirit.
Jesus was passing through Jericho at a time of crowded excitement, with multitudes and visitors eager to honor Him and with great interest stirred by His raising of Lazarus. The city was crowded with people and visitors drawn to see Him as He entered and passed through.
Zacchaeus, being short and unable to see over the press of the crowd, ran ahead along the route Jesus was to take and climbed up into a sycamore tree, a wide-branching fig tree, so he could see Him pass. He watched eagerly for the figure he longed to see, earnest to see who Jesus was. His effort shows strong desire and earnestness in seeking to see Jesus.
His longing to see who Jesus was grew from hearing of His kindness and merciful works and teaching. Those words convicted him that his way of life was wrong and made him recognize his need to reform, repent, and make restitution. He had already begun turning from wrongdoing and making restitution to those he had wronged. He wanted to look upon the One whose words had given him hope that repentance and a changed life were possible and to learn more from Him.
His eager seeking led to his joyful reception of Christ, which was one of the bright spots in the Saviour's experience. It brought comfort amid anguish over the unbelief of His own family, who did not believe on Him as the world's Redeemer. It also brought comfort amid rejection by the scribes and Pharisees and the chief priests and religious leaders of the nation. They rejected Him because His teachings did not harmonize with theirs, because He taught as one having authority though unrecognized as a religious teacher by the rabbis and scribes, and because they could not bear His manifestation of love and mercy to those considered outcasts and sinners.
His encounter shows that conversion means abandoning the unrighteous practices that marked his life and removing what hindered his Christian life. Making restitution is proof of sincerity. It illustrates that integrity and salvation matter more than money and that right principles should be put into practice.
People whom others dismiss because of outward status or reputation, even those counted hopeless in the eyes of others and objectionable and sick in character, may still be open to Christ's call, because He came to seek and save that which was lost. The verse reveals what Christ does for one going astray. He does not cut such a one off and leave him in the hands of Satan or build barriers between God and the soul. He does not press humiliation upon him and drive him to discouragement, desperation, and stubbornness, but brings him with cords of love into His own hands where prayer and leading and guiding can reach him, putting forth extra effort for the very ones most in need. His tenderness and mercy toward Zacchaeus drew fault-finding from the Pharisees, yet it reveals His work and the work of His Spirit.