Welcome to Day 31 of Journey to the Cross, a forty-day devotional preparing our hearts for Easter Sunday. Today we look at the famous story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19.

He entered Jericho and was passing through. There was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because of the crowd, since he was a short man. So running ahead, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus, since he was about to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today it is necessary for me to stay at your house.” So he quickly came down and welcomed him joyfully. All who saw it began to complain, “He’s gone to stay with a sinful man.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.” “Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus told him, “because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”

Luke 19:1–10

When we take junior high and high school students to camp at Falls Creek, a few sponsors are allowed to go into the tabernacle early to save an appropriate number of seats. They often take a “standard,” a conspicuous object carried at the top of a pole to mark where they are located. When the group walks in, we all know to look for that standard. A similar idea is used in the airport when you are looking for someone you’ve never met. In the event that a driver or representative is picking someone up at the airport, they will often hold a sign with the person’s name on it. While you may have felt lost, seeing a sign with your name on it brings relief. No longer are you lost, for you have been found.

In the story from Luke, Jesus came looking for Zacchaeus. Of course, Zacchaeus did not know this. He simply wanted to see this man he had heard about. There was a problem though. Zacchaeus was a short man, easily lost in the crowd. So he climbed up a tree to see Jesus. Jesus spotted him up high in a sycamore tree. He did not hold up a sign with Zacchaeus’s name on it. Rather, He greeted Zacchaeus by name. He then began to shower Zacchaeus with His mercy.  

Sometimes life makes you feel like a nobody. You might feel like you are just another face in the crowd. Perhaps you feel lost in that crowd. But remember that Jesus came on purpose to seek and save the lost. He welcomes you by name with His mercy. And His mercies are new every morning.

Today as you pray, thank the Lord that He sees you. You are not just another face in the crowd to Him, but one of His children. Thank Him that when you are lost and lonely, He greets you by name.

Thank you for joining me for Day 31. It’s only 9 days until Easter. Are you ready? Come back tomorrow as we look at a living testimony.