Seen and Saved
“For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”
Yesterday’s theme of faith and restoration continues today as Jesus meets Zacchaeus while passing through the “City of Palms” (Deut. 34:3). Jericho, the world’s oldest inhabited city, is steeped in Jewish history. By Jesus’s day, Herod had made it a place of luxury for the powerful, while the Jewish people lived under Roman oppression. In this setting of magnificence and hardship, Jesus calls Zacchaeus and offers spiritual restoration.
Luke’s attention to detail draws us into the scene: Jesus and his disciples, a crowd, Zacchaeus— the “chief tax collector,” and a sycamore fig tree. We might imagine ourselves in the crowd, resentful of injustices, or we may identify with Zacchaeus—curious, guilty, and hopeful.
From Genesis to Revelation, God uses trees to reveal truth. In this story, Ficus sycomorus—an ancient, domesticated tree known to live for centuries—carried deep meaning in Israel’s tradition. It symbolized God’s provision and national peace (1 Kings 4:25; Micah 4:4) and served as a metaphor for Israel’s spiritual condition (Jeremiah 24). Standing beneath such a tree reminds us that our lives belong to a much larger story. Its fruit was a staple for the poor, making this humble tree a fitting place for Zacchaeus’s undignified act of running and climbing. His humility invites us to ask: What are we willing to do to see Jesus?
When Jesus sees Zacchaeus, he calls him by name and invites himself to his home. Zacchaeus responds immediately with action, pledging to give to the poor and restore what he had taken fourfold. Is our response to Jesus’s call immediate and our repentance evident?
The crowd murmurs with indignation, but Jesus responds with the heart of the Gospel: he came “to seek out and to save the lost.” Do we believe that God’s love extends to us and to the whole sinful world?
The story of love and salvation continues tomorrow as Jesus begins his 15-mile uphill journey to Jerusalem, stopping in an olive grove to prepare for his Triumphal Entry.
Lord Jesus, help me to welcome you today with a heart ready for change and a life that bears the fruit of repentance. Amen.
TAMMY ADAIR, PHD
Senior Lecturer; Department of Biology
Director of Undergraduate Research; Office of Engaged Learning
Master of Theology, Ecology, and Food Justice Student
Truett Seminary