Welcome and tank you for taking a bible break to test your knowledge of God's word. This week's question:

As Jesus walked this earth, He interacted with many of the people in the nation of Israel, with many different reactions to those encounters. Many of the common Jews believed in Him with some conflicting discussions (John 6:2 & John 7:40-43). But for the most part the ruling class of Jews did not believe in Him and wanted Him removed from the public eye for fear of their own jobs and the loss of their nation (John 11:47-57). But Jesus concern was for saving the lost of any class of people (Matthew 18:11).

That brings us back to our question of the day, "What rich tax gatherer does Jesus visit?". As Jesus passes through Jericho, as was common place, a large gathering of people lined His pathway, and for anyone that was shorter in size the ability to see what was happening becomes difficult to do. So was the case here as a small man wanted to get a glimpse of the one called Jesus who performed so many wonderful things in the places He visited and when He spoke it awed those who heard to the point that they even tried to take Him by force and make Him king (John 6:15).

Now this man was not only small of stature, but he was also a tax-collector, who was looked down upon by the public, because many of them were crooked in their dealings with the people and were rich because of it. This man of small stature was a "chief tax collector and was rich" (Luke 19:2). And so, to see Jesus, this little man runs ahead and climbs up in a sycamore tree (Luke 19:4), and as Jesus passed that tree, He pauses His journey and looks up in the tree where the tax collector sat and said, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." (Luke 19:5).

And so there we have the answer to our question and the "wee little man"-so goes the song-is named "Zaccheus"! Although many tax collector's were crooked in their dealings with the public, that does not mean Zaccheus was. But even if He was, his heart was changed as He tells the Lord as he came down from the tree to receive Jesus gladly and the crowd began to grumble, "Behold, Lord, half my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much. And Jesus said to Him, 'Today, salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which is lost." (Luke 19:8-10). The heart of Zaccheus has found something that was lost too, for life!

Are we ready to turn aside from the desire of wealth at the cost of our souls for the hope of eternal salvation that cost so little? Let us remember that little man who grew so much spiritually in one day by a visit of the Lord!