Christ

Zacchaeus in the Fig Tree: The Day Jesus Looked Up

Jericho's chief tax collector, a rich man his whole town resented, ran ahead of a crowd and climbed a fig tree just to get a look at Jesus. Jesus stopped beneath that tree, looked up, called him by name and invited himself home for the day.

YESHVA EditorialNovember 3, 20266 min readEditor: Luciano Olguin

Join free to read 3 articles a month

Create a free Yeshva account — it takes a minute.

Join free Sign in

More like this

Christ6 min read

The Woman at the Well: A Noon Conversation That Changed a Town

She came for water at the hottest hour, when the well was usually empty. Jesus was already there, tired and thirsty, and he asked her for help before he told her the truth about her life without shaming her.

Christ7 min read

The Emmaus Road: When the Risen Jesus Let Two Grieving Friends Talk First

Two disciples left Jerusalem on Easter Sunday with their hope in the past tense, and a stranger fell into step beside them. Before he explained anything, he asked a question and let them tell the whole sad story.

Christ7 min read

Even John the Baptist Doubted: What Jesus Did With a Prisoner's Question

The man who pointed at Jesus and named him God's Lamb later sat in a cell and sent friends to ask if he had it right. What Jesus said back is the kindest answer to doubt in the Gospels.

Christ6 min read

Talitha Koum: The Aramaic Words the Gospels Refused to Translate

The Gospels were written in Greek, but at a few unforgettable moments they keep the Aramaic Jesus actually spoke. Those words appear at a child's bedside, in a garden at night, on the cross and at an empty tomb, and they let us hear the sound of his voice.

Christ6 min read

When He Said Her Name: Mary Magdalene at the Empty Tomb

Mary Magdalene came to the tomb before sunrise, stayed after the others went home, and looked straight at the risen Jesus without recognizing him. What opened her eyes was not an argument or a vision. It was her own name.

Christ6 min read

Martha, Martha: The Kitchen, the Guest and the One Thing

Martha did everything right: she opened her home to Jesus and set out to feed him well. Then he said her name twice. Slow down with the most misread kitchen scene in the Gospels, and find out what he was actually asking of her.

Christ7 min read

Before Dawn and Alone: Why Jesus Kept Leaving the Crowd

After his busiest day in Capernaum, the whole town came looking for Jesus at sunrise, and he was gone. The Gospels record the habit again and again: at the height of demand, he slipped away to pray.

Christ6 min read

Bartimaeus Threw Down His Cloak Before He Could See

A blind beggar outside Jericho would not stop shouting, and Jesus, on his last walk to Jerusalem, stopped for him. Before anything had changed, the man threw aside the one thing he owned.