“And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”And he hurried and came down, and received Him joyfully.”
Luke 19:5-6 (NASB)
Zaccheus was a wealthy man, and a chief tax collector, but he wasn’t a believer. He was very curious about who Jesus was, so much so, that he went to extremes to get a glimpse of Him. Luke tells us that he was too short to see Jesus in the crowd, so he climbed up a Sycamore tree to get a bird’s eye view. Most people would consider it extremely odd for a distinguished, wealthy tax collector to climb a tree, for any reason.
Jesus walked over to the tree and called Zaccheus to come down, saying He was going to his house. After making many enemies over the years and being despised by most people, Zaccheus might have doubted if he was redeemable, until Jesus called his name that day and he was touched by grace.
Something changed in Zaccheus when Jesus went to his home. He went from being an oppressive, dishonest tax collector to a repentant believer who joyfully turned over half of his wealth to the poor. He even went a step further, by paying back every person he ever wronged, giving back four times the amount that he extorted from them.
Zaccheus was showing the same mercy to others that he received from Jesus, something we’re all asked to do. He is a classic example of “radical redemption”, and it all began when he went to extremes out of curiosity.
When curiosity leads to extreme behavior of any kind, it might be a sign of a spiritual hunger for God. Just like Zaccheus, every person has an inner longing for God’s love and mercy, but some may feel unworthy of it. Thankfully, Jesus knows how to meet any person wherever they’re at.
Many years ago, I had a church friend named Ed, who shared his own story of how curiosity led him to redemption. He was raised Jewish, but considered himself an atheist. His curiosity led to the extreme undertaking of getting hold of a Bible and reading it entirely, from start to finish. He did it in order to acquire enough knowledge of scripture, to debate and disprove the beliefs of people he met.
After reading the whole Bible, the Holy Spirit began working within him, and he had a deep conversion to the faith. He surrendered his arrogance and became a believer in Jesus.
He later found a church, married and raised four sons. Today, they have four daughter in laws, ten grandchildren, and all are following Jesus.
Ed’s curiosity culminated in a life long friendship with Jesus. I still marvel at how God continues to bring people to the faith in each generation.
We may have loved ones or friends who are driven to extremes out of some kind of curiosity, but Jesus knows the real hunger that is within them, and He’s knocking on the door of their hearts. He stands at the door of every human heart, calling their name, as He called Zaccheus down from the tree. He reaches people in the most extreme places, because He has most extreme love and mercy to give us than we could ever ask for or imagine.
Lord, thank you for curiosity and the hunger that is within every human heart. Call every one of our loved ones and friends to you today, and by your grace, shower them with love and mercy. Amen
