It’s as if Christ was saying, “Zack, get out of that tree. Come down here. Nobody else is interested in you, but I am. I’ve heard about you and your kind. Everybody around here thinks you’ve made it and by their standards, maybe you have. But you and I know better. You haven’t. Something is missing, Zacchaeus. So let’s go to your house and let’s work on making you into that which will cause you to really live up to your name. Before you know it you really will be the Righteous One and the Pure One.”

I don’t know what Jesus said, but whatever it was, it was affirming, for Jesus observed the potential of Zacchaeus. That prompted the wee little man to commit to giving half of his wealth “to the poor” (v. 8b). He even said if he had cheated anybody he would pay them back with quadruple interest. Talk about a conversion!

Look at what happened as a result of Jesus’ approach. Zacchaeus got saved. “Salvation has come to this house…” (v. 9). Luke wasn’t interested in recording the entirety of the conversation Jesus and Zack had. He doesn’t mention anything about Zack saying the Sinner’s Prayer or hearing the plan of salvation from Four Spiritual Laws or some other tract. He didn’t have to because the Plan of Salvation was right there in Person and Zacchaeus knew it. He also knew that he was a sinner. Jesus showed interest and because He did, salvation came.

There’s a late tradition about Zacchaeus; it’s more legend than anything. It says that later on, Zacchaeus became Bishop of the church in Caesarea. Whether that’s fact or fiction, one thing is certain. The wee little man found Salvation and thus discovered the key to really making it. I believe that he spent the rest of his life going beyond the hesitancy to witness to others about Jesus – with those who had made it and those who hadn’t.

So there is hope for those who’ve made it. It’s up to you and me to get that word out. Let’s move beyond the hesitancy to witness to anyone that needs Christ – including those who’ve made it. Remember everybody is human and humans need other humans to take an interest in them, call them by name, and have their potential pointed out. As a result, maybe they’ll really make it because they will get saved. They need to hear you and me say, “Hurry! Come down out of that tree!”

I have one last thing. Bill Gates, Ted Turner, Oprah, Brittany Spears, Madonna, Howard Stern, even Ben Curtis are, indeed, representative of a lot of people. Perhaps, to a lesser degree, they are representative of you and me, because we’ve made it too. Oh, we may not be a household name throughout the nation and world, and we may never appear on the cover of Newsweek, Time, or People magazine. We’ll probably never be millionaires, let alone billionaires, and have the fame so many have, but we’ve made it in our own right, haven’t we?

We’re human. We need others to take an interest in us. We need others to call us by name. We need to have our potential pointed out. If you are feeling lonely and shut out, believing that you’ve made it in your own right, the Good News is for you too. Let me invite you to move beyond the hesitancy to listen. Don’t be afraid to listen for you just might hear somebody saying to you, “Hurry! Come down out of that tree!”

The One speaking is really Jesus. Oh, it may be my voice or someone else’s. But the One speaking really is Jesus. He came to seek out and to save the lost so the lost could make it – make it for an eternity with Him. So are you one who has made it – made it with Jesus? You can be. It’s up to you to come down out of that tree.

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Jimmy Gentry is Pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Carrollton, GA.