Radically Changed Lives
Zacchaeus was a sinner, everyone in Jericho knew that. Now Jesus was heading over to the house of a “real, notorious” sinner. Why would Jesus associate with a sinner? Didn’t Jesus know how badly Zacchaeus had ripped people off, how much money he had taken from his relatives, friends and everyone else in his village? Going to someone’s home was to be a very special treat, occasion, in fact an honor to enter a person’s home. Jesus said He was God. God would never do anything like that!
How many of us would be like the people in Jericho, and scoff and complain that Jesus was spending time with a terrible person? Zacchaeus had gotten rich off the people who lived around him. He stole a lot of money from the people who were friends and neighbors. In reality, Zacchaeus was truly not a good person. Being a tax collector meant you were a traitor, ...