1 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
Jesus said He had to go to Zacchaeus’ house that day. The reason is that the next day, He was going to be in Bethany and then the Triumphal Entry, so He had a whole schedule to keep. Right. But why Zacchaeus? I believe it’s because Jesus came to earth to redeem the unredeemable. He healed the sick. Gave sight to the blind. Made the lame walk. And His disciples after Him baptized eunuchs. So, the lowly right. Many believe He had to go to Zacchaeus because he was a tax collector. Well, that doesn’t really make sense because He ate with many tax collectors, which is why the Pharisees were always upset with Him, and He even had a tax collector as one of His twelve Apostles. So, I don’t think that’s it.
Here’s the thing. When you go back and read the law, it says that only those without a defect could serve as high priests and enter the presence of God. So, no lame, blind, mute, or deaf could enter—as well as no dwarfs.
Zacchaeus was a dwarf. Jesus had to eat at his house because He wasn’t going back to Jericho. That Thursday, He was gonna die. So, He had to redeem all the unredeemable before then.
That’s why He had to stay at Zacchaeus’ house that night. His heart wasn’t hardened against God. He was willing to repay anyone that he had cheated 4x the amount. And would give half his possessions to the poor. Jesus didn’t have to say anything to him. He was just willing to do whatever it took to be right with God. So, God chose him to redeem on behalf of all other dwarfs that are redeemed because now God dwells in and with any willing heart. Not just those who are physically without flaws.
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