We've all known the Zaccheus song since we were little children, and we can all sing the words from memory:
"Zaccheus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he! / He climbed up into a sychamore tree, for the Lord he wanted to see!
And the Lord said, "Zaccheus, you come down! For I'm going to your house today..."
What was it, though, that caused Jesus to notice him from everyone else in the crowd? Let's examine the Scriptures...
Luke 19:1-10 Zacchaeus the Tax Collector
1Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." 6So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' " 8But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." 9Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
Zaccheus sought the Lord's face, he humbled himself, and he repented from his wicked ways...just as we are instructed to do in the Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles 7:14 where God proclaims, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
God resists the proud, and He gives grace to the humble; 1 Peter 5:5 says, "Young men...be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
God wants us to be his children, and children should, ideally, be humble before their parents. Note Matthew 18:2-4...
2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Even in the heart of the Old Testament, we are told that humility is of key importance to our God:
Micah 6:8
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Note how Jesus honors child-like, humble faith throughout the Gospels:
Mark 2:3-5
Jesus Heals the Paralytic 3Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
Matthew, chapter 8, is filled with many such stories:
The Man With Leprosy 1When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." 3Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. 4Then Jesus said to him, "See that you don't tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."
The Faith of the Centurion 5When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6"Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering." 7Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him." 8The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." 10When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 13Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.
Jesus Heals Many 14When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him. 16When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases."
Even in the Epistles we are instructed to maintain a spiritual attitude of humility:
Ephesians 4:2 - "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."
James 4:10 - "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."
1 Peter 3:8 - "...live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble."
1 Peter 5:6
- "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." When we make ourselves lowly, God sees us from on high.
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