Daily life with Jesus by Grahame Howard: He climbed a tree

"Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”
8Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”
9And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;10for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Luke 19:1-10. NKJV

Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, a most hated breed of man because of their love of demanding much more money than was necessary. He was also a very short man. As often happens to us all, curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he decided he wanted to see this Jesus. However, because of his size, he wouldn't be able to see over the crowds in front of him. Those who have ever been to a Pop Concert will be familiar with this - people jumping up and down in front of you blocking the view.

Zacchaeus made a very strange decision, he climbed a nearby sycamore tree. Sycamore's have low-limbed branches that make it easy to navigate them safely. This faith act didn't go unnoticed. Jesus saw him and told him to come down quickly as He wanted to stay at his house.

Zacchaeus' curiosity had not been the real reason he wanted to see Jesus. Although he didn't know it, this was a divine appointment - the Holy Spirit had drawn him to Jesus. He just couldn't resist. Also without being asked to, he volunteered to make restitution to all he had robbed in the past. He couldn't help himself; he felt a new man in front of Jesus. Indeed he was, he had received salvation this day, all because he decided to follow his gut and climb a tree.

Things may appear crazy to us at times, but not to Jesus. He can lead us to do the most mind-blowing things, possibly to test our faith - rather like Peter walking on the water, that day. The thing is, we are never too sure that Jesus is calling us to do something, but there can be an excitement in our body, rather like bubbles in your stomach. You can have that urgent desire to do something that you know is out of character. This is what happened that day to Zacchaeus. You can be sure that he never regretted taking this decision because it changed his life. It could yours as well!

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now

Lord Jesus, I have sinned. I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen
dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers
Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle Check it out. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

If you would like to contact me email grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk