Luke 15:4 — If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?

Have you ever noticed how quickly we can decide we know someone?

Maybe we’ve heard a story about them.

Maybe we know something they did years ago.

Or maybe we’ve just watched them make a few bad decisions, and we’ve already made up our minds about who they are.

It’s funny how easily a person’s reputation can become their entire identity in our eyes.

But aren’t you glad Jesus doesn’t see people that way?

There’s a story in the Bible about a man named Zacchaeus.

And let me tell you, Zacchaeus had a reputation.

He was a wealthy tax collector, and in those days, tax collectors weren’t exactly winning popularity contests.

They were known for taking advantage of people, and Zacchaeus certainly wasn’t someone the crowd was eager to welcome.

But one day, Jesus was passing through Jericho.

And Zacchaeus wanted to see Him.

There was just one little problem.

Zacchaeus was short.

And with all those people crowding around Jesus, he couldn’t see a thing.

So he did what any determined grown man would do.

He climbed a tree.

Now, can you imagine that?

Here’s this wealthy, important man perched up in a tree like a little kid, just hoping to catch a glimpse of Jesus.

I wonder what he was thinking up there.

Maybe he figured he’d watch Jesus pass by and then quietly climb back down.

After all, why would Jesus want anything to do with a man like him?

But then something happened Zacchaeus probably never expected.

Jesus stopped.

He looked up.

And He called Zacchaeus by name.

“Zacchaeus! Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”

Now, notice what Jesus didn’t say.

He didn’t say, “Zacchaeus, straighten out your life first.”

He didn’t say, “Explain yourself.”

And He certainly didn’t say, “Once you’ve earned everybody’s approval, maybe we can talk.”

No.

Jesus simply called him down and invited Himself over.

Jesus saw the man everyone else had already decided they knew.

And that changes everything.

Because in Luke 15, Jesus tells us about a shepherd with a hundred sheep.

When one wanders away, the shepherd goes looking for it.

Not because that one sheep is worth more than the other ninety-nine.

But because the one that’s missing matters, too.

And isn’t that exactly what we see in Zacchaeus?

While the crowd saw a sinner, Jesus saw someone worth seeking.

While others grumbled that Jesus would spend time with a man like him, Jesus was already doing what He came to do.

Reaching the lost.

In fact, at the end of Zacchaeus’s story, Jesus says something that connects these two passages beautifully.

“For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

And here’s what I love.

Jesus didn’t wait for Zacchaeus to get his act together before He approached him.

But that encounter didn’t leave Zacchaeus unchanged, either.

Zacchaeus responded with repentance and generosity. He promised to give half his wealth to the poor and repay those he had cheated four times over.

The man who had spent so much of his life taking from others was now ready to give.

Jesus didn’t overlook his sin. He offered him something powerful enough to change his life.

Grace.

And friend, I wonder how many people around us are a little like Zacchaeus.

People carrying reputations they can’t seem to escape.

People who’ve made mistakes and wonder if that’s all anyone will ever see.

People who feel like they have to watch from a distance because surely Jesus wouldn’t want anything to do with them.

But He does.

He knows their names.

He knows their stories.

And He hasn’t stopped seeking people who are lost.

So here’s a question I’ve been asking myself.

Am I seeing people the way the crowd saw Zacchaeus, or the way Jesus saw him?

Because it’s easy to notice someone’s failures.

It’s easy to remember their past.

It’s easy to decide who they are before we ever take the time to know them.

But love looks closer.

Grace makes room.

And sometimes, the most Christlike thing we can do is simply refuse to overlook someone everybody else has written off.

Maybe there’s someone in your world who needs that kind of love today.

Someone who needs to know their story isn’t finished.

Someone who needs to hear that their past doesn’t have to define their future.

Someone who’s waiting to be noticed.

So today, look around.

And maybe, just maybe, look up.

Because you never know who’s sitting in a tree, hoping someone will see them.

 

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A MOMENT TO REFLECT

• Have you ever felt that someone judged you by your past rather than who you are today?
• What does Jesus’ decision to call Zacchaeus by name reveal about His heart for people who feel rejected?
• Why is it important that Jesus welcomed Zacchaeus before Zacchaeus demonstrated a change of heart?
• Is there someone you’ve written off because of their reputation or past mistakes? How might God be challenging you to see them differently?
• What could you do this week to help someone feel noticed, valued, and welcomed? 

QUESTION TO CARRY WITH YOU TODAY

Who might Jesus be asking me to notice that everyone else has overlooked?