Exalt Your Lostness, Descend to Jesus
Jesus and Zacchaeus
“He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 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.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 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.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.””
How does one know that they're lost?
Lost means to be unable to find one's way, not knowing one's whereabouts, and essentially being astray. When you are lost, there is a humility that comes with admitting that you are.
There’s a difference between being lost and wandering. The idea of being lost often comes with fear, while wandering or being a wanderer can carry an element of excitement and curiosity. In Luke 19, we encounter a man who is seeking to see Jesus. Due to physical limitations, he could not. There was a drive and inner motivation to find and seek Jesus out.
The scripture states, “because of the crowd, he could not” (external limitation), and “he was small in stature” (physical limitation).
God made it so that these two “deficiencies” would cause him to make a decision to seek Jesus wholeheartedly. For Zacchaeus, that meant climbing a tree—a tax collector who was not accustomed to such physical effort, but through childlike faith, God granted him the strength to do it. This tree became his act of exalting himself in his lostness, seeking Jesus with everything he had.
Zacchaeus, a grown man, climbed that tree in front of everyone. But the true silence came when Jesus noticed him and called him down. The crowd, no doubt stunned, watched in silence as Zacchaeus climbed down. The moment was probably heavy as this was a powerful, vulnerable act. As Zacchaeus descended, everyone around him must have been in awe, watching this wealthy and powerful man humble himself in such a public way. Jesus had his full attention, and in that moment, Zacchaeus was invited to come face-to-face with the Savior. The silence was profound—a stillness before the life-changing invitation that Jesus extended to him.
Sycamore-Fig Tree
Being lost, Zacchaeus understood that to be found, he had to climb that tree—to be lifted up, to be seen. Interestingly, it wasn’t just any tree; it was a sycamore tree. These trees are sturdy, with low, wide branches that make them easy to climb, which was perfect for someone like Zacchaeus. They’re also known for providing fruit for the poor. This is a tree of provision, and Zacchaeus, despite his wealth, needed that provision—not in the form of fruit, but in the form of an encounter with Jesus.
For us, the “tree” we climb may take many forms. It could be the tree of prayer, where we lift our hearts to God in vulnerability. It might be the tree of serving others, where we elevate ourselves by humbly meeting the needs of those around us. It could be the tree of repentance, where we let go of pride and acknowledge our need for grace. Like Zacchaeus, we must climb with faith, positioning ourselves to seek and encounter Jesus wholeheartedly.
We must be seen and come down to meet Jesus. We must exalt our lostness and descend to meet Him. Being lost means you belong somewhere or to someone, but where you are now feels unrecognizable. You can be physically lost, mentally lost, spiritually lost, and emotionally lost. Being lost means being unable to find your way, especially when there are limitations preventing you from finding it. Whether it’s a physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual limitation, we can’t let our deficiencies and limitations keep us from seeking Jesus. We must exalt ourselves and our lostness—through prayer, through serving, or even physically by becoming childlike and climbing the tree that we need to in order to be seen and heard by Jesus in our weakness, trusting that God will grant us the strength to climb. Be radical in your seeking, and you will find your salvation, your escape, and a path toward not only safety but a familiarity for your soul, leading you out of the unknown, unrecognizable place that physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual lostness can create and into the safety that is Jesus.
climb on mariposas :)
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