“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 down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.’ Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has some to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.’ Luke 19:5-10

Judgement of others blinds one to the truth. The people grumble because Jesus goes to Zacchaeus house to eat, because Zacchaeus being a tax collector must be a sinner. But what if he isn’t? Read these lines like this: “Look, Half of my possessions, Lord, I give to the poor; and if I defrauded anyone of anything, I pay back four times as much.” In Greek Zacchaeus’ words are present tense not past tense, so he defends himself and his practices against the grumbling judgmental crowds. He stands, not kneels. One is a position from which one defends him/herself the other is a position of repentance. Jesus applauds his actions. Maybe it is members of the crowd who are lost and being sought out?