Weekly Summary:
The story of Zacchaeus is a literary and theological “plot twist.” A wealthy, despised tax collector climbs a tree in curiosity, only to be called down by name and welcomed into fellowship with Jesus. Instead of condemnation, he receives invitation. Instead of judgment, he experiences transformation. In the cultural context of the first century, tax collectors were symbols of betrayal and exploitation. To eat with one was unthinkable. Yet Jesus not only acknowledges Zacchaeus, He declares that salvation has come to his house. This week, we’ll explore how grace meets us where we are, invites us before it expects us, and transforms us into people of radical generosity.
Day 1 – Striving for Significance
Read: Luke 19:1–4; Psalm 139:1–4; Ecclesiastes 2:10–11
Reflect:
Zacchaeus was rich, powerful, and despised. As chief tax collector in Jericho, he had risen higher than most Jews of his time, yet he still climbed a sycamore tree. In the honor-shame culture of the first century, wealthy men did not run, much less climb trees like children. His action reveals desperation and emptiness. He longed for significance beyond wealth. The Hebrew Scriptures echo this futility: the Preacher in Ecclesiastes calls earthly striving “vanity,” and the Psalms remind us that God already sees and knows us. Zacchaeus’s climb embodies humanity’s endless attempts to grasp what only God can give freely.
Questions:
1. In what ways are you climbing trees of achievement or recognition today?
2. How might resting in God’s knowledge of you (Psalm 139) release you from striving for significance?
Day 2 – Religion Climbs, Grace Comes Down
Read: Luke 19:4; Romans 10:3–4; Ephesians 2:8–9
Reflect:
In the Jewish imagination, righteousness was often pictured as an ascent; climbing Sinai, ascending the Temple Mount, and going up to Jerusalem. Religion always demands more steps, higher climbs, stricter effort. Zacchaeus in the tree is a vivid picture of this human pattern. But salvation does not meet him at the top; it comes down when Jesus stops, looks up, and calls his name. Paul later declared that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. Zacchaeus’s tree could not save him; only the grace of Jesus, coming down into his life, could. The gospel is not about humanity climbing up, but God descending to us in Christ.
Questions:
1. Where do you still believe you must “climb higher” for God’s approval?
2. How would your daily walk change if you truly embraced salvation as a gift and not an achievement?
Day 3 – The Scandal of the Invite
Read: Luke 19:5–7; Luke 15:1–2; Revelation 3:20
Reflect:
Table fellowship was not casual in the ancient Near East. To dine with someone was to share solidarity and extend acceptance. That is why Pharisees were enraged when Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. When Jesus declared, “I must stay at your house today,” He was extending Zacchaeus not only hospitality but covenantal friendship. The crowd’s grumbling reflected their theology: sinners must repent before they belong. Jesus flips the order. Grace invites before it expects. He knocks, as Revelation says, and dines with those who open the door. Zacchaeus’s table became the setting for scandalous grace.
Questions:
1. Why is it so hard to believe that belonging can come before behaving?
2. Who in your life might need the gift of invitation before they experience transformation?
Day 4 – Grace for the Wrong People
Read: Matthew 9:9–13; Luke 7:36–39; 1 Timothy 1:15–16
Reflect:
Zacchaeus was the wrong kind of person in every way. He worked for Rome, cheated his neighbors, and lived in wealth built on injustice. Yet Jesus singled him out by name. The Gospels repeatedly show this pattern: Levi, the tax collector, called to follow, a sinful woman weeping at Jesus’ feet, and Paul, the persecutor, turned apostle. Grace aims for the people others think are beyond hope. It is offensive because it levels the ground. In the Roman world, power and patronage determined who belonged at the table. In God’s kingdom, the outcast finds a seat first. Paul confesses he was “the worst of sinners,” yet was shown mercy so that Christ’s patience might be displayed.
Questions:
1. Who do you struggle to imagine sitting at Jesus’ table?
2. How does your own story reflect the scandal of being chosen by grace?
Day 5 – Grace Flips the Question
Read: Luke 19:8; Leviticus 6:5; Philippians 3:7–8; 1 Timothy 6:17–19
Reflect:
Zacchaeus’s response is astonishing. The Law required restitution plus twenty percent. In cases of violent robbery, the penalty was fourfold. Zacchaeus voluntarily offered both radical generosity and maximum restitution. This was not legal obligation; it was the overflow of grace. Paul captured this reversal when he wrote that what he once considered gain he now counted as loss for Christ. Grace changes what we cherish and what we chase. It flips life’s fundamental question. The world asks, “What can I get?” Grace teaches us to ask, “What can I give?” A changed heart always produces open hands.
Questions:
1. What do your habits with money, time, and resources reveal about your heart’s priorities?
2. How might God be calling you to embrace generosity as evidence of grace at work in your life?
Day 6 – Decisions, Not Intentions
Read: Luke 19:9–10; James 2:14–17; Matthew 7:24–27
Reflect:
Jesus declares that salvation has come “today” to Zacchaeus’s house. Not someday, not eventually, but today. Zacchaeus’s decisions revealed the reality of his faith. He did not merely intend to change; he acted immediately. James reminds us that faith without works is dead, and Jesus describes the wise person as one who hears His words and puts them into practice. Salvation is not a vague feeling of sincerity but a tangible transformation that shows up in decisions. The house of Zacchaeus was changed that very day because one man moved from curiosity to surrender.
Questions:
1. Where in your life have you confused good intentions with obedience?
2. What step of decision-making faith is Jesus calling you to take now, not later?
Day 7 – The Table of Transformation
Read: Revelation 19:6–9; Psalm 23:5; Revelation 3:20
Reflect:
Zacchaeus’s home became a table of grace, but his story points forward to the greater feast. The Bible begins with humanity cast out of Eden and ends with humanity invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb. Psalm 23 promises that God prepares a table even in the valley of shadows. Revelation 3 pictures Christ standing at the door and knocking, ready to dine with those who open to Him. The marriage supper of the Lamb is the final fulfillment, where every redeemed sinner finds a seat at God’s eternal table. Zacchaeus’s table in Jericho was the foretaste; heaven’s table is the feast.
Questions:
1. How does the promise of an eternal seat at God’s table reshape your perspective on present struggles?
2. How might you use your own table (your meals, your hospitality, your home) as a place where others encounter the grace of Christ?
