A Wee Little Man

A Wee Little Man

Q: Where was Zacchaeus when he first encountered Jesus?

• a. at home
• b. up a tree
• c. by the Sea of Galilee

Zacchaeus was a well-known and important tax collector, and he’d become rich from his job. Part of his riches came from overcharging people when they paid their taxes. Zacchaeus was also short. When he heard Jesus was coming, he wanted to see him. Zacchaeus couldn’t see Jesus over everyone already gathered, so he climbed up a tree for a better view.

When Jesus passed by, he looked in the tree and called Zacchaeus by name. He told him, “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”

This displeased the others in the crowd. Many of them had probably been cheated by the dishonest tax collector. Jesus told the people that salvation had come to Zacchaeus’s home because he was a son of Abraham who was lost. The people didn’t like to be reminded that Zacchaeus was a fellow Jew who was collecting taxes for the Romans. And they didn’t like to hear that a son of Abraham could be considered lost. They were proud of their heritage.

Once Zacchaeus came face to face with Jesus, he was changed. He paid back the money he’d overcharged people along with generous interest.

God isn’t concerned with who a person is by birth. Rich or poor, well known or unknown, everyone has an equal chance for salvation through Jesus.

For You

Sometimes our society shuns the poor or weak. But the rich are as lost as the poor. The do-gooder without Jesus is just as lost as a criminal. Don’t hesitate to share God’s love with the students around you, whether they are popular or outcast. Both groups need Jesus.

Answer: b

[Zacchaeus] 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.”   Luke 19:4-5

(The Whole Story: Luke 19:1-10)