The Tree-Climber Series

INTRODUCTION

Nobody puts “tree-climbing” on their spiritual résumé.

We expect prayer, devotion, Scripture memory, generosity… but not scrambling up branches like a kid chasing a glimpse of a parade.

Yet Zacchaeus’ story proves something astonishing:

Sometimes reaching for Jesus begins with desperation rather than dignity.

He was short.

Short in height.

Short in reputation.

Short in self-respect.

And he absolutely did not belong in the crowd that day.

But longing has a way of making us bold.

So he climbed.

He climbed because he needed to see Jesus more than he needed to protect his pride.

And Jesus… well… He noticed.

Sometimes the miracle is not that Jesus sees us.

Sometimes the miracle is that Jesus sees us when we are trying to hide.

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>> READING THE TEXT

Luke 19:1–10 (paraphrased for flow)

Jesus enters Jericho, a city packed with crowds eager to see Him. People press in, craning their necks, pushing closer.

Zacchaeus tries to squeeze through but elbows are less forgiving when you’re the most hated man in town.

He is a chief tax collector—meaning he’s made his wealth by taking advantage of others. He doesn’t get polite excuses; he gets hard shoulders.

He races ahead of the crowd, finds a sycamore tree, climbs high enough to see over everyone else.

Jesus reaches that spot, stops walking, looks up… and speaks the words Zacchaeus never expected to hear:

“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down.

I must stay at your house today.”

No rabbi had ever said that to him.

No righteous leader would ever be seen with him.

But Jesus didn’t avoid scandal.

He walked straight toward it.

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>> THE CROWD REACTS

The crowd’s reaction is loud, immediate, and furious.

“He’s going to be the guest of a sinner!”

And they are right… technically.

Zacchaeus was a sinner.

A big one.

He had stolen livelihoods, wrecked families, and betrayed his own people.

But the moment we forget we are also sinners…

we start resenting grace that goes to someone else first.

Jesus wasn’t condoning Zacchaeus’ behavior.

He was confronting it with presence instead of a lecture.

Grace doesn’t wait until the finance reports are cleaned up.

Grace walks right through the front door.

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>> THE JESUS WE EXPECT VS. THE JESUS WHO IS

We expect Jesus to:

• bless the innocent

• affirm the faithful

• reward the obedient

But here He is:

• stopping for the corrupt

• choosing their dinner table

• calling them by name

This is not the Jesus people expected.

This is the Jesus people need.

He speaks identity before transformation.

He says “Zacchaeus”… before Zacchaeus changes.

He says “I must stay at your house today”… before Zacchaeus apologizes.

He gives relationship first… before righteousness follows.

Because being loved by Jesus comes before becoming like Jesus.

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>> A HEART THAT MELTS QUICKLY

Zacchaeus scurries down the tree like someone who can’t wait to get to safety. He leads Jesus home, hosting Him with joy he hasn’t felt in years.

Then something shifts inside him… suddenly. The man whose whole life was built on accumulation…it starts coming undone in the presence of grace.

He stands up, trembling with conviction, and blurts out:

“Look, Lord! Here and now I give half my possessions to the poor!”

Half.

Not leftovers.

Not scraps.

Half of everything.

And he’s not finished:

“If I have cheated anybody out of anything…”

(which is an understatement)

“…I will pay back four times the amount!”

Four times.

This is not “inspired moment at church” generosity.

This is repentance turning into restoration.

Jesus didn’t tell him to do any of it.

Love did.

The law could not change him.

Judgment could not change him.

Shame could not change him.

Grace did in minutes

what religion couldn’t do in decades.

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>> SALVATION COMES HOME

Jesus doesn’t wait for the receipts to clear.

He doesn’t say:

“Let’s see if you follow through.”

He declares immediately:

“Today salvation has come to this house.”

Today.

Not later.

Not after Zacchaeus proves himself.

Not once restitution is fully processed.

Grace is always a first-day gift.

Jesus concludes with His mission statement:

“The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

Not merely to save the lost.

To seek them.

To look for the ones who climbed a tree hoping for a glimpse.

To stop under their hiding place and call them down.

To insist on coming home with them.

This is not passive grace.

This is pursuit.

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>> TIME TO PAUSE AND SEE OURSELVES

Here’s the tricky part about the Zacchaeus story:

We often think we are in the cheering crowd.

But many times… we’re the ones in the tree.

We pretend we have the full view.

But sometimes we’re the ones climbing just to see if hope is real.