Jesus and Zacchaeus

Jesus passes through Jericho, where Zacchaeus climbs a tree to see him and is called down for a house visit. The crowd grumbles at Jesus’ choice, but Zacchaeus answers with restitution and generosity. Jesus names the house as a place of salvation and describes his mission as seeking and saving the lost.

T¹hen Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ²And there was a man named Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, who was very wealthy. ³He was trying to see who Jesus was, but could not see over the crowd because he was small in stature. ⁴So he ran on ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see Him, since Jesus was about to pass that way. ⁵When Jesus came to that place, He looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down, for I must stay at your house today.” ⁶So Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed Him joyfully. ⁷And all who saw this began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinful man!” ⁸But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.” ⁹Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”