Wee Little Man

 

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.

A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus;

He was a chief tax collector and was very wealthy.

Luke 19:1-2

Tax collectors were hated by the common man in Israel.  They were Jews who worked for the Roman enemy and were often nothing more than thieves themselves – charging outrageous overages and pocketing the extra. 

Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector of Jericho, a man who had become very wealthy through graft and deceit.  He was curious about Jesus, and wanted to see “what sort of person Jesus was.”  Being a short man, he scrambled up into the branches of a tree beside the path where Jesus was walking..  Imagine his surprise when the Teacher halted before the tree and called Zacchaeus by name, asking to dine at his house.

We are not told in Scripture what was discussed at that dinner, but it reached the heart of that wily old tax collector, and he promised to make restitution four times over to everyone he had cheated, and to give half his wealth to the poor and suffering.  Zacchaeus once was lost, but through the love of the Savior, he was found.

Zacchaeus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he.

He climbed up in a sycamore tree, for the Lord he wanted to see.

And as the Savior passed that way, he looked up in the tree.

And Jesus said, Zacchaeus, you come down!

For I’m going to your house today.

Yes, I’m going to your house today.