He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Besides being one of the best-known accounts to children, because they can envision this, this passage really summarizes so much of Jesus' ministry: He was known as a friend of tax-collectors and sinners; He looked at people - he focused on individuals out of the crowd; he offered forgiveness and whole new life, beginning with offering salvation to the Jews, the people of Abraham; He gives here a demonstration of a rich man who was saved. Finally, He repeats something He had said way back in the beginning of His ministry, when He called Levi, another tax collector to follow Him: He had come to seek and save the lost. Everything Jesus had said and done is coming together here for one last time before He enters Jerusalem.
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