The Only Person in the Bible to Climb a Tree

You will know straight away who I mean! Zacchaeus is well known for climbing a tree to get a better view of Jesus. But I’ve done a bit of research, and I’m pretty sure he is the only person in the whole Bible who ever climbed a tree! Of course others must have done so, but their tree-climbing has not been recorded in the Scriptures.

This well-known story can be found in Luke 19: 1-10. I think we can probably all sympathize with Zacchaeus – we’ve all been in situations where something is happening, someone is speaking, and we can’t get close enough, we can’t see well enough, we can’t hear what’s being said. But Zacchaeus was determined!

He wanted to see Jesus, and he was so determined to do so that he did three things. Firstly he made a plan. I guess that with all the crowds around him, Jesus would have made slow progress down any street, no doubt stopping along the way to speak to this person, heal that person, and so on. But still Zacchaeus had to think fast, and he worked out that there was a way he could get a decent view.

Secondly he ran. Quite a few people in the Bible are recorded as running, but in that culture it wasn’t considered dignified, especially for someone like Zacchaeus, an official who was described as a chief tax collector, and a very rich man. So he put aside his dignity because of his overriding desire to see Jesus.

Finally, Zacchaeus climbed that sycamore-fig tree. Again this is not the action of an important and wealthy man. When we think of climbing trees we probably either think of something children do for fun, or perhaps of professionals doing some serious pruning work with a chainsaw or whatever. Climbing would have involved him in significant effort, it was most likely hot, and he probably wasn’t dressed for such activity! But he managed it, and found himself a good viewing point.

We know how the story ends: Zacchaeus has a life-transforming encounter with Jesus. But as worshippers let’s meditate on his example in this story. Are we as dedicated as Zacchaeus was to seeing more of Jesus in our lives? Are we single-minded, devoted, wholehearted, are our eyes fixed on the author and perfecter of our faith, looking to Him and trusting Him in every part of our lives? I find this very challenging.