Why Zacchaeus?

I was reading in Luke this morning, and I came across the passage when Jesus invited himself to the home of Zacchaeus.

To remind you of the story, Zacchaeus is a tax collector who was known for taking a bit extra from those he collected from, as most tax collectors did. He did this often enough that he was quite wealthy at the time of this story. He was also very short, and little curious about who this Jesus was that he heard so much about.

Because of the crowds already gathered, and his short stature, he couldn’t see anything. So he had a brilliant thought, he climb a nearby tree so he could get a better vantage point. And it worked. I had never thought of that before, I imagine that most places Jesus went, the streets were lined with people who wanted to see him, but I never that maybe the trees were, too!

For Zacchaeus, it worked. He could see Jesus walking down the street, and Jesus could see him. I don’t know if others were in trees too, or how many might have been crowded in the streets, but Jesus selected Zacchaeus. Jesus asked Zacchaeus to come down from the tree, because he would like to visit with him, and eat with him.

Why Zacchaeus? Of all the people crowded around him on the streets. Of the others who may have also crowded into nearby trees for a better vantage point, why Zacchaeus? At the end of this passage is the well known verse, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” There must have been a lot of lost people gathered on the street that day. But Jesus saw something in Zacchaeus. He must seen an openness, a willingness, a desire to be right with God.
What does God see in you? Does he see that same openness, that same willingness, that same desire to be right with Him?

Even Zacchaeus, a wealthy and greedy tax collector, could be made right God. You can be too! God is reaching for you – are you ready for Him, open, willing, and full of desire for him, or are you still hiding in your tree hoping he won’t notice you…