The NIV 365 Day Devotional
Zacchaeus: Making Amends
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”Luke 19:1-10
A wealthy tax collector and an employee of the Roman government, Zac chaeus was looked upon as a betrayer of his own people. He may even have been supervisor of several tax collectors, exacting from his Jewish brethren not only the Roman tax, but a percentage for himself. Perhaps his small stature had over the years led to bitterness and fed his desire to get back at those who looked down on him because of his size as well as his corrupt occupation.
When Jesus and his disciples passed through Jericho, Zacchaeus could not see above the heads of the crowd. Stirred with curiosity, he climbed a large sycamore tree by the road to observe Jesus without being seen among its leaves. Imagine his shock when Jesus stopped beneath the tree, looked up at him, called him by name and invited himself over!
Touched by the Lord’s willingness to overlook his wicked reputation, the once stingy Zacchaeus promised to make amends. Jesus saw his willingness to make restitution as the evidence of Zacchaeus’s changed heart. But he also saw it as a sign of faith, calling the hated tax collector “a son of Abraham,” and welcoming him back to the fold. Although making amends on its own brings neither salva tion nor recovery, it shows that we recognize the pain we have caused others and are taking responsibility to help relieve that pain. And Jesus will be right there supporting us, just as he was with Zacchaeus.
Taken from the NIV Recovery Devotional Bible.