Read Luke 19:1-10
Jesus’ Example
Zacchaeus was a lot of things. We know he was a tax collector, he was rich, he was considered a traitor to his fellow Jews, and he was a wee little man (a wee little man was he).
Apparently, he was also someone Jesus truly cared about.
In those days, for Jesus to spend time eating with someone spoke volumes about how he saw them. It was a shared meal, it was quality time, and it meant a lot.
And in a lot of ways, the same is still true today. We show value to people by giving them our most precious resource: our time.
Jesus had every excuse to not spend time with Zacchaeus: Jesus was an important man with lots to do. Zacchaeus was part of the rough crowd. Jesus’ reputation would have been tarnished by associating with someone like Zacchaeus.
Yet Jesus was excited to show Zacchaeus he mattered to Jesus with his time.
Let’s follow Jesus’ example and use our time to show people they matter to us too!