1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” 9Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 19:1-10
I have read this passage and even preached from it many times, but today I was able to receive something from this passage that I have often overlooked in the character of Zacchaeus. It would be easy for us to think about the kind of faith and repentance he had, and take home the obvious lesson about salvation and transformation. But the highlight of today’s devotional will have us focus in on the emotion that is gathered from reading this passage. There is a real sense of exceeding joy in Zacchaeus’ response to Jesus’ request.
Zacchaeus who was an outcast of society, and very much despised by many due to the nature of his career and being guilty of many cases of fraudulent behavior, is recognized by Jesus. The news of his acceptance shatters his complete old self. For the first time in a very long time Zacchaeus is welcome in the company of someone who is truly righteous. But I believe that the nature of his response tells us something about what he believed about Jesus. He believed (and without doubt) that Jesus was truly the King – that he was the Messiah and Savior. He responds the way he does because he was just accepted into the presence of God! It was a new chance at life.
How do we respond to the good news of Jesus Christ? with ecstatic excitement and overflowing joy? Does the news of him put a burning desire in our hearts to do what is right and live a life in holiness simply because we are touched by his Grace? Today, I am pondering these questions in my heart and hope that you will also join me in finding that joy again in worshipping and following with obedience to the Lord.
T H E O P H I L U S 
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