Read: Luke 19:1-10

He entered and was passing through Jericho. ^There was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, and couldn’t because of the crowd, because he was short. He ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was going to pass that way.

When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” He hurried, came down, and received him joyfully. When they saw it, they all murmured, saying, “He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner.”

Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much.” Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Explanation

Jesus seeks out Zacchaeus with deliberate grace, calling him by name before any change occurs. The encounter is personal and direct, showing that salvation starts with Jesus’ initiative, not human effort. However, grace does not leave a life unchanged.

Zacchaeus responds with visible repentance, returning what he had taken and reordering his priorities. This moment reveals the pattern of true transformation: being found leads to being changed. Jesus does not merely expose sin; He restores identity.

Salvation is both received inwardly and shown outwardly in a transformed life.

A question for today

What is God asking me to change in my life?

A sentence to take into the day

Jesus wants to transform my life.

One thing to do today

Make one practical change that reflects my faith in action.