In Luke 19:1–10, the familiar story of Zacchaeus reminds us just how wide and surprising the grace of Jesus really is. Zacchaeus was not only short in stature but a chief tax collector—someone people literally and figuratively looked down on. Yet while the crowd grumbled that Jesus would dare share a meal with a sinner, Zacchaeus responded to Jesus’ welcome with repentance and generosity, declaring that grace was already transforming his life. When Jesus says, “Today salvation has come to this house… for the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost,” He makes it clear that no one is beyond belonging, mercy, or restoration—not Zacchaeus, not us, and not the people we’re tempted to write off. This story invites us to receive grace with humility and to extend it with open arms, seeing others the way Jesus sees them and remembering that all of us are beloved children of Abraham.

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Well good morning! It’s good to be with you on this Thursday as we gather again in God’s Word. It is always a gift to open Scripture together and listen for what God longs to say to us.

Today we’re going to be in Luke 19, reading the story of Zacchaeus. And listen — if you grew up in church, this is one of those stories you probably learned before you could even spell your name.

There’s a lady I follow on TikTok sometimes — she grew up in church and her husband didn’t. And they do this hilarious thing where they play old church songs and she moves to one side of the room if she knows it, and he moves if he doesn’t. And she knows all the VBS classics.
You know… “Father Abraham had many sons…”
And of course: “Zacchaeus was a wee little man…”
If you grew up in church, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
If you didn’t… well, you probably think I’ve lost my mind right now.

But Zacchaeus is one of those stories that shows the beauty of Scripture:
a child can understand it, and yet it carries truths deep enough for all of us to wrestle with.

Let’s read it together:

Luke 19:1–10

“Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich.
He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because Jesus was going to pass that way.
When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.’
So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him.
All who saw it began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.’
Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.’
Then Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.
For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.’”

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I’ve been blessed to visit Jericho, and while I didn’t see the sycamore tree, I’ve seen plenty that look just like it. And when you see them, you can picture Zacchaeus up there, clinging to a branch, hoping for just a glimpse of Jesus.

Now, Zacchaeus wasn’t just short — he was a tax collector, and not just any tax collector. Scripture says he was chief tax collector. We’ve talked before about what that meant:
• He was a Jew who chose to work for Rome.
• He was seen as a traitor.
• He used the power of Rome’s soldiers to take money from his own people.

People hated tax collectors. And as one commentary I read said, people looked down on Zacchaeus literally because he was short, and figuratively because he was a tax collector.

So when Jesus says, “Zacchaeus, I’m coming to your house today,” everybody loses their mind.
In that culture, sharing a meal wasn’t casual — it meant acceptance, relationship, even family. So the crowd is grumbling:
“Of all the people… him? Jesus is going to his house?”

But look at Zacchaeus’ response. He doesn’t hide. He doesn’t justify anything. He stands up and says:

“Lord, half of my possessions I’ll give to the poor.
And anything I’ve stolen, I’ll pay back four times.”

In other words:
“Lord, grace is changing me. My life will look different now.”

And here’s the line that hits me every time — the line that is so deep, so beautiful, so full of gospel truth:

“Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.”

The people of Jericho didn’t think Zacchaeus belonged.
To them he was a traitor.
A thief.
An outsider.
Someone beyond grace.

But Jesus says, “He too is family.”
He too belongs.
He too is loved.
He too is part of the story God is telling.

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And here’s where this hits home for us — especially for those of us who’ve been Christians a while.

We love the idea of being the prodigal son running home to grace.
We love the idea of being Zacchaeus welcomed by Jesus.

But the longer we’re in church, the more tempting it is to become the older brother…
or the Pharisee…
or the crowd saying, “You’re eating with him? With her? With them?”

The hard truth is this:
Jesus didn’t just come for people like me.
He came for the people I’m tempted to write off.

He came for the Zacchaeuses of the world.
He came for the ones we judge.
He came for the ones we avoid.
He came for the ones we disagree with.
He came for the ones who don’t fit neatly in our groups or our circles.

Jesus came to seek and to save the lost —
all the lost,
including the ones we think are too far gone.

If we will humble ourselves…
If we will admit our need for grace…
Then grace is always what we will find.

So Zacchaeus is a great story for our kids — but it is also a deep, challenging, beautiful story for us grown-ups.

He too is a son of Abraham.
May we see people the way Jesus does.
May we welcome the ones He welcomes.
And may we, like Jesus, seek out and love all the children of Abraham.

Thanks for being with me today.
Tomorrow we’ll pick up with verse 11.
Have a great day!