He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd, he could not because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And 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."
Luke 19:1-5 (ESV)
The passage goes from a physically blind man who sought Jesus to a spiritually blind man seeking Jesus. Zacchaeus was a hated man, yet it seemed his loneliness and curiosity got the best of him, and he did what he needed to do to position himself to see Jesus.
There were many reasons or excuses Zacchaeus could have used to stay away from Jesus. Those that hated him, most likely, became enraged by the fact that Jesus went to Zacchaeus' house because they could not imagine Jesus visiting with such a sinful person.
Jesus goes where He is invited and welcomed. Jesus spends time with anyone who seeks Him and wants to know who He is.
Zacchaeus did not think that Jesus would acknowledge him, yet he wanted to see and know who this man was, so he made an effort. Perhaps the others were hoping to use Jesus to build their status or perform some miracle for them. For them, the day was disappointing.
Jesus has now talked about blind men finding Him and sinners finding Him. I guess the only people who cannot see Jesus do not want to find Him. In which category are you?
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