Leaving The Sycamore

Luke 19:5-10 ESV 

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.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 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.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

A sycamore was all known as a false fig tree. It produces fig-like fruit that is inedible. The children of Abraham are referred to in Scripture as a fig tree planted by the Lord. Their fruit as a people was like that of a sycamore tree. It was not the fruit the Lord was looking for. They once walked with the Lord, but had lost their way. Jesus came first to the house of Israel to save that which was lost. 

Jesus told Zacchaeus to hurry down from that false tree because Jesus is the tree of life. Zacchaeus perceived this, came down the tree, and received Him joyfully. His change was based on something. 

This is a parable which may not seem like one on the surface. Going deeper in the word has its reward. Jesus is the word of God. He has come to stay in our house and is here today. Hurry!