This morning I found myself with a new perspective on Zacchaeus' tree climbing story. (See Luke 19: 1-10). I was sitting up in our pear tree in the front yard talking with Mary about how Zacchaeus climbed a tree so that he could see Jesus.
here's the gist of the story (emphasis mine):
There was a crowd and he was a short man so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree so that he could see Jesus.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."
So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. The people saw this and muttered about how Jesus would be the guest of a sinner.
He repented of his sins and was forgiven.
At the end of the story, Jesus said "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
Some things I had not appreciated about this story until I actually climbed a tree:
First, he climbed the tree so that he could see Jesus, not to be seen. Someone walking by today would not have seen me except for the gawking toddler that was seemingly alone in the front yard that gave me away. Jesus walked right to where he was, then looked up and talked to him. He was not hidden in the foliage from Christ. Jesus knew exactly where Zacchaeus was and he had a specific plan for their day together. Second, Jesus told him to come down immediately and he came down at once. I thought the urgent words were interesting for the nature of the feat. If he had to climb down even a few branches, how careful was he? I bet he was so excited, he just jumped. Finally, I was just struck by the humility of it all. An adult up in a tree in order to see because he was short. A wealthy chief tax collector to boot. I was encouraged that if we humble ourselves with a simple goal of directing our attention to Jesus, he will find us there and invite us to join him.
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