More on Zachaeus

God does not forget his people. He notices and cares. Take, for example, a man who though wealthy was actually lonely, having few if any friends.  Jesus noticed! This man’s name was Zacchaeus. Note also that Jesus knew his name, his deeds, and his needs. 

 

Zacchaeus 

 

Zacchaeus, they say, was short among the crowd.

With height, he wasn’t endowed.

He was just a wee little man,

Though wealthy within the land,

For he cheated people by the tax he collected

And was government protected.

Just a sinful, wee little man was he

Who, Jesus, he wanted to see.

Though wealthy, Zacchaeus wasn’t too proud

To climb a tree among the crowd.

You might say, he went out on a limb,

Though only on a whim.

There in Jericho,

Sitting short and low,

Zacchaeus didn’t expect the spotlight,

As Jesus traveled within his sight.

But Jesus stopped, looked up, and said, 

“Zacchaeus, you come down right away,

For I’m going to your house today.”

Zacchaeus didn’t expect to be acknowledged while sitting there,

Nor did all the people who sent complaining words into the air.

Surprise! Was Zacchaeus’s reaction in that Sycamore, 

From the sin of cheating and stealing, he bore. 

Zacchaeus probably felt –

insecure because of his height and ignored in other’s sight,

angry and resented what the people vented, 

ashamed over the stealing for which he was blamed.

In a tree, sat a sinful guy,

But it was men like him, 

For which Jesus came to seek the lost and die.

 

Mary Crisp Jameson.  1/14/2026  

 

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 NIV