Lessons from a Tax Collector

“And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.

And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.

And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.

And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.

And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.

And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:1-10

What can we learn from Zacchaeus?

 Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus for himself

Zacchaeus must have heard a lot about Jesus, but he had never seen Him. So, he made the effort and went and met Jesus for himself. He wasn't satisfied just to know about Him.

If you come from a Christian home, attend a church, a Christian school, Sunday School or something else that is Christian, then you have heard about Jesus. But do you know Him? Do you have a personal relationship with God? Is Jesus Christ your personal Saviour? If not, do what Zacchaeus did. Make the effort and get to know God through His Word. There's a big difference between knowing somebody and knowing about somebody. I know about plenty of different people, but I don't have a relationship with them. They don't know me.

“And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:23

Do you know God? Does He know you?

“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Isaiah 55:6-7

Zacchaeus was persistent

Zacchaeus didn't give up easily. He kept trying until he saw Jesus. Are you persistent with important things? Or do you give up too easily? Are you persistent in prayer?

Zacchaeus didn't care what people thought

Have you ever seen a grown man climb a tree? I haven't! Usually, children climb trees, not men! Zacchaeus must have looked a little strange, but he wanted to see Jesus so much that he did it anyway. Sometimes when you're a Christian, people think you're a little weird! Putting the Bible into practice may seem strange to non Christians or unsaved church people, but it's what God thinks that is important.

Jesus knew Zacchaeus' name

I can just imagine Zacchaeus nearly falling out of the tree when Jesus stopped and called him by his name! Remember, he hadn't seen Jesus before!

When someone calls you by your name, “Hello______!” , it makes you feel special!

While helping a lady teach Bible in Schools, a new boy joined our class who was rather wild! We had a bit of trouble with him in our class as he didn't like been told what to do. If you crossed his path, he would fly into a rage (And it wasn't very hard to cross his path!). I don't know what his problem was, but after a few weeks, he had settled down. While he was still “wild”, I learned what his name was. But, he didn't know that I knew his name. One time I called him by his name. He nearly jumped! He said, “How did you know my name?” He was so impressed! The next week when I walked in, he was across the other side of the room. When he saw me, he called out, “Hey, you know my name, aye?”

Jesus knows your name. He also knows everything else about you. God knows more about you than even your closest family member or friend knows. He knows every single thing we've ever done or thought! Even the things we've completely forgotten about.

Zaccheus went to where Jesus was

It would have been silly for Zaccheus just to sit at home and pray about his desire to see Jesus! It's the same for us. If we want to get to know God, we need to go to where He is! Of course, we should pray, but we should do far more than that.

Where can we find God? In His Word, in places that teach God's Word and in people who know God. God expects us to search for Him with all our heart. If we do that, we will find Him.

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

Zaccheus searched for Jesus, and he found Him. What about you?

Jesus wanted to come to Zacchaeus’ house

Zacchaeus was a sinful man, and yet Jesus wanted to stay at his house!

Jesus wants to come into our heart and life. I don't know why! Our hearts are so dirty and unclean.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Revelations 3:20

Zacchaeus' salvation was real

We can tell from the change in Zacchaeus' life that his salvation was real. If he had gone on cheating and being greedy, it would have been obvious that he wasn't really saved. If a train changes what track it's on, all the carriages behind it will follow. That's because they're all connected. What we believe will affect how we act. Our actions are connected to our beliefs. If we're truly saved, our life will start to change. We’ll not become perfect, but we'll become different.

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” James 2:26

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17