From: April 18, 2025
‘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 19:5 ESV).
Zacchaeus wasn’t a popular person. As a chief tax collector, he was despised by many, seen as a traitor and a sinner. He was small in stature and likely overlooked in more ways than one. Yet on this day, Jesus did not overlook him. Jesus sought him out. He looked up into the tree, called him by name, and invited Himself into Zacchaeus’s life. This moment wasn’t random, it was intentional. Jesus came to the exact place where Zacchaeus was and made it personal saying, “I must stay at your house today.” What grace! What pursuit! Jesus was not deterred by Zacchaeus’s reputation or limitations. He saw him, He called him, and He wanted him.
There’s deep encouragement here for all of us. No matter how unworthy we feel, whether because of our past sins, present struggles, or personal shortcomings, Jesus sees us. He seeks us out, not because we are good, but because He is gracious. Like Zacchaeus, we may climb trees of our own effort, trying to catch a glimpse of hope, not realizing that Hope Himself is already looking our way. Jesus knocks on the door of our hearts (Rev. 3:20), desiring to dwell with us. Let us respond like Zacchaeus — with joy, humility, and a willingness to open the doors of our lives. Jesus knows our name, our story, and still says, “I must stay with you.”
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for seeking us out even though we are unworthy and unable to reach You on our own. You know our names, our brokenness, and yet You still want to come into our lives. Help us to open our hearts to You with gladness. May we welcome You not just into our homes, but into every corner of our lives. Teach us to respond with joyful obedience and a desire for deeper fellowship with You. In Your name we pray, amen.
From: April 18, 2024
‘And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost”‘ (Luke 19:9-10 ESV).
On his way up to Jerusalem Jesus stopped in Jericho. He ate at a tax collector’s house named, Zacchaeus. Now Zacchaeus was short of stature and had climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus over the crowds following Him. But Jesus knew he was there and called him down from the tree saying, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today I must stay at your house.”
Zacchaeus joyfully came down and rushed to his home to prepare for Jesus, but those who saw it complained that Jesus was going to a sinner’s house. Yet Zacchaeus confessed his sins to Jesus and repented. And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house.” Why? Because Jesus is our salvation and as He explained, that’s why he came, “to seek and to save the lost.”
After leaving Jericho, Jesus resumed His journey up to Jerusalem, where He would die on a cruel cross for our sins, both for ours and for a short, tree-climbing tax collector named Zacchaeus.
Has salvation come to your house? How can you know? Simple. Ask Jesus to be your Savior and Lord. For salvation is found in no other name, but Jesus (Acts 4:12).
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to us, so that we might know Your salvation. Now strengthen us this day to carry His name and His gospel to people everywhere. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: April 18, 2023
“Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’” (Luke 19:13 NLT).
As Jesus and His disciples were traveling to Jerusalem, He told them a parable. The Scripture says that He did this to help them understand that it wasn’t yet the time for Him to set up His earthly kingdom. Indeed He would soon be going away from them to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. What did He expect from them while He was away? Jesus said, “Invest this for me while I am gone.” Or as it is rendered in the NKJV, “Do business till I come.”
We don’t know when Jesus will return, but we know this––we are to do the Lord’s business until He comes again. What are you doing with the spiritual investment, that the Lord has given you?
Remember how young Jesus responded to his worried parents when they found him discussing Scripture with the teachers in the Temple? He answered, “Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49 NKJV).
Don’t be tempted to fear or to make excuses during this season. Bloom where you are planted. Let’s be about the Father’s business today!
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for the spiritual deposit You have given us by grace through faith in Jesus. Strengthen us to grow in grace and to be about the Lord’s business until He comes again. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: April 18, 2015
After Jesus visited Zacchaeus’ house, the short man stood and declared his intent to give away half of his wealth to the poor. This was not a confession of faith, but an evidence of heart change. Zacchaeus had already received Jesus into his house. And this was the result: Riches no longer held his heart, Christ did. Christ Himself was the Salvation that had come to his house. The gospel still moves from house to house. Has Salvation come to your house yet?
From: April 18, 2014
The people all had their own ideas about why the Messiah would come and what he would accomplish. But none were ready for his true mission: “to seek and save” the lost. Jesus described himself with the Messianic title “Son of Man” while explaining his purpose. On his way up to Jerusalem, to be crucified for our sins, he stopped in Jericho to eat at a tax collector’s house named, Zacchaeus. There the rich, little, tree climbing man confessed his sins to Jesus. And Jesus continued up to Jerusalem and to the cross, and carried Zacchaeus’ sins, and our sins, there with him.
“Shiloh” was a town located in Ephraim where the Tabernacle with the Ark was kept from the beginning of Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land until the time of Eli’s wicked sons in 1 Samuel. The name “Shiloh” was first mentioned in Jacob’s blessing over Judah and is often used synonymously for Messiah: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people” (Gen. 49:10). It comes from the word “shalom,” and has been translated to mean, “the coming of rest, the coming of peace, or place of rest.” It was at Shiloh that Joshua divided the land for the final seven tribes according to the Lord’s designation.