I found it interesting that in the previous chapter Jesus spoke about it being impossible for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven except that all things are possible with God. And here at the start of the chapter we have the very wealthy tax collector, Zacchaeus, receive salvation. He was not only rich but also likely had cheated and stolen money from people in his role as a tax collector. God's spirit worked in his heart and he pledged to give away half of his riches and pay back four times anything he stole. Money was no longer his god!
Jesus sought him out from the crowd, the Holy Spirit changed his heart and Jesus forgave his sins and saved him. It is interesting how Jesus describes it. He says, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham." He says "salvation has come", showing that Zacchaeus didn't do anything that saved him, but that literally salvation came in the person of Jesus to his house, and figuratively the saving work of Jesus via a transformed life and heart came as well!
God is good! Though others scoffed and thought it not right for Jesus to enter the house of a sinner, Jesus made clear that this is why he came - to seek and save the lost! Thank you Jesus for saving a sinner like me!
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