God’s Tree Climbers

¹ Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through town. ² A man there named Zacchaeus, a ruler among tax collectors, was rich. ³ He was trying to see who Jesus was, but, being a short man, he couldn’t because of the crowd. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. ⁵ When Jesus came to that spot, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down at once. I must stay in your home today.” ⁶ So Zacchaeus came down at once, happy to welcome Jesus. ⁷ Everyone who saw this grumbled, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” ⁸ Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I repay them four times as much.” ⁹ Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this household because he too is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ The Human One came to seek and save the lost.”