Today Salvation Has Come

Jericho was a wealthy city on a major road, and Zacchaeus had done very well there. Luke calls him a chief tax collector who was very wealthy. In that world tax collectors worked for Rome, and many of them padded the bill and kept the difference. People did not just dislike them. They saw them as traitors and thieves. Zacchaeus was rich, and he was alone.

Then Jesus came through town, and Zacchaeus wanted to see Him. Luke says, “He was trying to see who Jesus was, but could not see over the crowd because he was small in stature.” I do not think that crowd was going to make room for him either. So he did something undignified. He ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree. A grown man, a powerful man, up in a tree like a ten year old at a parade.

There is something here for you. Sometimes getting to Jesus will cost you your dignity. You will have to stop caring so much what people think. You will have to climb a tree. Pride keeps a lot of people in the crowd, comfortable and close enough to see the top of His head, but never face to face with Him.

Then the moment. When Jesus came to that place, He looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down, for I must stay at your house today.” He knew his name. Out of a whole city full of people, Jesus stopped under one tree and called one man. And notice the word must. Jesus was not making a casual stop. He had come for this.

The crowd grumbled. “He has gone to be the guest of a sinful man!” They were not wrong about Zacchaeus being a sinner. They were wrong about what Jesus does with sinners. Religious people have been grumbling about Jesus' guest list for a long time. Let me ask you something. If you are uncomfortable with who Jesus eats with, you may have forgotten that He ate with you.

Grace changed Zacchaeus fast. He stood up and said, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.” Get the order right. Jesus did not say, clean up your books and then I will come over. He came first. The generosity was the fruit of grace, not the price of it. When a man truly meets Jesus, his wallet tends to get converted too.

Then Jesus speaks the words that give this devotional its title. “Today salvation has come to this house.” Today. Not after years of probation. Not after he proved himself. And then the reason: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” That is the mission statement of Jesus. He seeks. He saves. He went all the way to the cross and out of the grave to finish that mission.

Maybe you feel small this morning. Small in faith, small in worth, small in the eyes of people who know your past. Jesus knows your name. He is not walking past your tree. And maybe you have been the grumbler in the crowd. Ask Him to give you His heart for the lost. Somebody you know is up a tree right now, hoping to see Jesus. Be the one who makes room. Invite them to lunch. Ask them how they are really doing. Tell them what Jesus has done for you. You were lost once too, and He came looking for you.