Zacchaeus was a rich tax
collector. He was short in stature. He heard about Jesus. He heard that Jesus
was passing through Jericho. Many too heard about Jesus coming into their city.
They too wanted to see Jesus. But Zacchaeus couldn’t get a glimpse of Jesus
because he was short. No one was going to let him in.
Have you ever been to a
parade where you couldn’t see over the person in front of you? It wasn’t much
fun, right? You couldn’t see the marching bands, the floats, or the fire trucks
with their flashing lights, and the dancing performances. What did you do? You
tried to squeeze to the front or stand on a wall or a chair if there was one.
Zacchaeus couldn’t find a wall.
But he saw a tree. And he sure knew how to climb a tree. He found a tree where
he knew Jesus would pass under. He climbed up and waited. Sure enough, Jesus
passed by and He saw Zacchaeus. Jesus called him. Jesus knew his name. He asked
him to make haste and come down because he was going to his house. What a
surprise! Zacchaeus couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Immediately, he
made haste and came down and received Jesus joyfully.
Being a chief publican (tax
collector), Zacchaeus did not have many friends except his own kind. The Jews
hated the publicans and group them together with the harlots (prostitutes)
(Matt 21:32). The Jews would not eat with the publicans
(Luke 19:7). The people in the crowd were shocked! You see, Zacchaeus was one
of the most hated men in all of Jericho. Why did the people hate him? Because
Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector and he had become very rich because he
cheated people by collecting more taxes than they owed and keeping it for
himself. The people could not believe that Jesus would go to the home of this
man. Yet, He did, and it would be a turning point for Zacchaeus.
Zacchaeus was short but he
wasn’t short of a good attitude. He wanted to see Jesus. He couldn’t get
through the crowd. He didn’t give up. He climbed up a tree and waited for Jesus
to pass that way. He didn’t care what men might say of this action; he needed
to see Jesus.
What is stopping you from
coming to Jesus? Many say they are too busy. But they are not too busy for
something else. Everything boils down to the attitude. It’s the attitude that
determines the result. A simple mathematical calculation will prove this
to be so.
If we assign a number from 1
to 26 to the alphabet from A to Z. Then, we will see that:
H+A+R+D+W+O+R+K =
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%
K+N+O+W+L+E+D+G+E = 11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%
L+U+C+K = 12+21+3+11 = 47%
A+T+T+I+T+U+D+E = 1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%
Every problem has a
solution; only if we perhaps change our "ATTITUDE". It is OUR ATTITUDE
towards life and work that makes our life 100% successful.
Nothing could stop Zacchaeus
from seeing Jesus because he had a good attitude. Being short was not an
excuse. The crowd was not an excuse. His determined attitude conquered all
those obstacles. And, that meeting with Jesus changed his whole life.
Are you too busy to attend
Sunday worship and Thursday bible class? Are you too busy to read your bible
daily? Check your attitude. Your attitude determines your choice and your
choice determines your action and the end result.
Zacchaeus made haste, and
came down, and received Christ joyfully (Luke 19:6). Let us do likewise.
Jimmy Lau
Psa
119:97 Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.
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