Encounters with Jesus – Part 1

Luke 19:1-10 ESV ‘He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. ‘For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Luke 19:1-3 ESV “He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.”

What is your crowd that’s stopping you from seeing Jesus? 

Luke 19:4 ESV “So, he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.”

Never be too prideful to do what it takes to get God’s attention. 

Luke 19:5-6 ESV “And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.”

Luke 19:7 ESV “And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

Luke 19:8 ESV And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

Luke 19:9-10 ESV “And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

© Pastor Kenna Pettaway, 2023