The lost are those who have yet to take refuge in God. They haven’t tasted and seen that Yahweh is good. These are the people we are called to reach.

Luke 19:1-2 Zaccheus was a bad man, engaged in a despicable profession that betrayed and exploited his own people.

Luke 19:3-6 Jesus noticed Zaccheus. He wasn’t so busy or task-oriented that he missed the wealthy man who had climbed the tree. As a high-status rabbi, inviting himself over to Zaccheus’s house was a huge honor to Zaccheus.

Luke 19:7 There will always be critics when you spend time with the lost. Even so, we want to be like Jesus and seek out those who are spiritually hungry.

Luke 19:8-9 Zaccheus repented on the spot. He’s ready to change his life. Love calls for a response. Martin Luther King used to say that love had within it a redemptive power.

Luke 19:10 Jesus came to seek out and to save the lost. If you want to be like Jesus, you, too, should seek out the lost. Those who are lost really need help (Eph 2:12).