Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

As Jesus passed through Jericho, a wealthy tax collector named Zacchaeus wanted desperately to see him. But Zacchaeus was short, and the crowd pressing around Jesus blocked his view. Undeterred, he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a sycamore tree, hoping to catch a glimpse as Jesus passed by.

When Jesus reached the tree, he looked up and called Zacchaeus by name: "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." Zacchaeus climbed down at once and welcomed Jesus joyfully. The crowd, however, began to grumble -- Zacchaeus was a tax collector, a profession widely despised for its corruption and collaboration with Rome, and they couldn't understand why Jesus would choose to be the guest of "a sinner."

Zacchaeus's encounter with Jesus changed him on the spot. Standing before Jesus, he declared, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

Jesus responded, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."

What began as simple curiosity -- a short man climbing a tree for a better view -- ended with a complete change of heart, proving that no one is too far gone, or too looked-down-upon, for Jesus to notice and transform.