Thursday, April 30, 2015

Z is for Zacchaeus...



Zacchaeus

Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.  He climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see...

Zacchaeus was a Jewish tax collector who collected taxes for the Romans at Jerricho.  He accrued great wealth from his custom enterprise.  Jericho, was a significant center of commerce and sat along a major trade route connecting Jerusalem with the lands east of the Jordan.

In his Gospel, Luke records Zacchaeus' encounter with Jesus.  Because he was so small he climbed up in the tree to get a better view of Jesus. Jesus stopped under the tree and called him down, then invited himself to go home with the publican for the night.  Zacchaeus repented and followed Jesus, promising to return to those he cheated and took from fourfold, along with giving to the poor. Later on he became the bishop of Caesarea.

From Zacchaeus' life we can learn:
-No matter how small we are Jesus knows where we are and sees us.
-Jesus will forgive us of our sins if we repent and turn our lives around.

Zacchaeus story can be found in Luke chapter 19.

'And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.'  Luke 19:2

until next time...nel

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