In Case You're Curious... — Rachel Sinclair

Anyone who has attended a concert with me has experienced a… '“unique” side of my personality that we’ll call “Concert Rachel.” I’m normally a well-mannered, socially aware individual. However, when I get psyched up at a concert—especially if it’s one of my favorite artists—I may or may not be a tad more hyped up than usual.

Okay, that’s an understatement.

I think the pinnacle of “Concert Rachel” would be at a Lady A concert I attended in college at an outdoor arena. About halfway through the show, we realized that the band was stepping off of the main stage and headed through the crowd to a smaller stage in the second tier audience section. Because I knew the venue, I knew exactly where they were going and how to get there.

The only barriers in my way were several rows of empty seats (which I climbed over), a second-tier height barrier (which I scaled by using the hand railing to hoist myself up to the sidewalk level), and another level to the secondary stage (which I also climbed to reach before the crowd).

Basically, I was one of those crazy people. Granted, this was in my “younger years,” so perhaps I would be older and wiser now… I suppose time will tell whenever we have live concerts again.

Several times during the climbing-up-to-another-tier escapade, I thought, “Should I quit? Is this worth it? Do other people think I’m being ridiculous? (Probably.)” But nothing was going to get in my way of seeing my favorite band as close as possible.

This story came to mind when I read about Zacchaeus in the She Reads Truth “Advent 2020” book.

At the height of Jesus’ ministry, He was perceived as an interesting individual to say the least. Jesus captivated crowds with His teaching and His healing. While many people adored Him, others questioned His authority, and they wondered if He was really claiming to be God.

Enter Zacchaeus. You probably associate Zacchaeus with being a short man, which is true, but that is only a part of what we know about him from the Bible. Zacchaeus was not just a tax collection, he was a CHIEF tax collector, which means he was making the $$$. By the world’s standards, this was not a needy man. He was probably the picture of self-sufficiency and material abundance. We know he cheated in his profession, so perhaps he carried inner guilt about how he rose to power.

From the outside, many would say he had it all. And yet, he was clearly searching for something more. I think this is something our Instagram-perfect, image-centric culture can relate to, myself included.

As a Jewish person, Zacchaeus has undoubtedly heard other people talk about Jesus, probably with differing opinions. On this particular day, Zacchaeus wanted to see for himself who Jesus was.

The Gospel of Luke says,

“He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because of the crowd, since he was a short man. So running ahead, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus, since he was about to pass that way.”

Zacchaeus ran ahead (I’d like to think with the same enthusiasm as me at the Lady A concert). This man did not want to miss Jesus! I’m sure Zacchaeus thought he would merely observe Jesus from his spot in the tree. Little did he know that Jesus knew his name. Despite what other people thought about Zacchaeus, and despite what Zaachaeus may have thought about himself, Jesus wanted to build a relationship with him. Jesus knew him fully and loved him fully.

I encourage you to read the entire story, including the ending, in Luke 19:1-10.

In our world today, people have many different opinions about Jesus. Some think He was a great teacher, some think he was a prophet. Some people think His teaching is outdated. Others, myself included, believe that He is the Messiah, God’s Son who came to provide salvation to the world.

Regardless of who you think Jesus is, don’t you think you owe it to yourself to take a look at Him? Not just listening to other people’s opinions about Him, but looking at Him for yourself.

A great place to start is the Gospel of John, which is 21 chapters. You can read a chapter every day and finish the entire book in three weeks. Another wonderful option is to jump into the She Reads Truth Advent plan, which is FREE online. This year’s book focuses on passages from the Bible that share the reasons Jesus was born.

No matter where you are on your spiritual journey, I invite you to be curious. Climb the tree, take a look at Jesus, and don’t be afraid if He reaches out and invites you into a personal relationship.

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and save the lost.”

– Luke 19:10 –