When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” –Luke 19:5, NIV 2011, emphasis mine
We know the story of Zacchaeus and the sycamore-fig tree. To recap, Zacchaeus was a tax collector from Jericho who wanted to see Jesus. Unfortunately, he wasn’t…erm…tall enough, so he climbed to a sycamore tree to see Him. Jesus called him down, and he urged Zacchaeus to take him to his house, amidst the comments from the people (“Why is a man like Jesus staying with an unworthy sinner?”) This sudden visit from Jesus turned Zacchaeus’ life around, and this made Jesus say, “Today salvation has come to this house…”.
And what do I find interesting, then? Right now, I looked up at the meaning of “Zacchaeus” on the Internet, and I found that the name means, “The Lord recalled.” Not simply called, but recalled. And this made me think…
Maybe Zacchaeus knew about Jesus, and when he became a tax collector, the promise of wealth and riches just drugged him, and slipped away. When he heard Jesus was coming to Jericho, he wanted to see Him.
Maybe Zacchaeus never heard about Jesus, and he was already doing bad, even when he became a tax collector. When he heard Jesus was coming to Jericho, he wanted to see Him.
Or maybe Zacchaeus heard about Jesus for the first time, like when we hear Benny Hinn or Billy Graham do a crusade in Texarkana, Arkansas or Mississauga, Ontario all the way over in Canada. And after an inner war of conflict, he then wanted to see Him.
Any way it happened…God called him back. As He called me back, and as He called you back.
And if you really think that He hasn’t called you back, look again…Maybe today is the perfect day He made for it.