Zacchaeus[ZÔöÇ├ócchae’us]…pure or justified.

The Man Who Overcame Obstacles

Zacchaeus was the wealthy man of Jerusalem who gathered revenue for the Roman government, but who became a disciple of Christ (Luke 19:1-10). …Luke 19:1-10…Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.… When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. "Zacchaeus!" he said. "Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today."… Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the people were displeased. "He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner," they grumbled.…Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, "I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!"…Jesus responded, "Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man("Son of Man" is a title Jesus used for

A "chief publican," Zacchaeus might have been of a higher grade than Matthew.

Although not one of Christ's expected converts, Zacchaeus had heard much about Christ and was determined to see Him for himself. When ultimately Christ came his way there were two obstacles in his way-the crowd, and his own short stature. But he quickly overcame both hindrances.

I. The crowd. It is strange that those who were enthusiastic about Christ were the very people blocking Zacchaeus’view. What a lesson for our hearts can be gleaned from this fact!

II. The short stature. The other difficulty was Zacchaeus himself. His native hindrance was his small stature, which he quickly overcame. Up the tree he climbed and had the best view of Jesus that day. If we would see Jesus we too must scramble higher than ourselves.

III. The call to discipleship. Our Lord called Zacchaeus down and invited Himself to his house. Zacchaeus was a sinner and Christ saved him. Quickly Zacchaeus revealed the depth of his surrender to his newly found Master. There came an immediate and generous restitution