The crunch of footsteps following Jesus suddenly stopped. An eerie stillness surrounded the confused crowd as a gentle afternoon breeze ruffled the leaves of one single fig tree standing above them unprotected. The subtle noise of something unusual in the tree drew the spectators' eyes upward. In amazement, one by one they spotted him. The small stubby frame of a man latched awkwardly around the smooth bark of a low hanging branch. Instantaneously, a piercing anger shot through the crowd as they realized it was him—the greedy, selfish, annoying tax collector. As they recognized his wide eyes and burning cheeks, their anger hastily changed into a loud clap of laughter that ripped through the silent vacuum that stood between them.
Insecurity encompassed him like a fierce, suffocating wave of emotion. The overwhelming feeling made him forget why he had climbed the tree in the first place. Then, clearly, distinctly he heard a calm voice break through the orange noise of laughter: “Zacchaeus, come down, I must stay at your house today.” Startled, he looked down to observe Jesus addressing him unfazed by the jarring crowd. Zacchaeus would never be the same. Jesus makes this plain in His assertion: “Today, salvation has come to this house.”
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