A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus: he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was (Luke 19:2-3a).

My job is to be curious. I ask questions about the natural world and seek ways to explore and find answers. But both parts—the asking and the seeking—have their challenges.

Sometimes the questions are obvious, but the answers are hard to reach. Other times, I feel that something valuable lies in the experiment, but I don’t know where to start. I haven’t yet found the question that will guide the search.

That’s when I start to wonder: Am I still curious? Am I still a good scientist if I can’t even form the right questions?

But curiosity doesn’t start with clear questions. It begins with something quieter: a flicker of interest, the sense that there’s more to see, more to know. It’s the whisper that nudges us to look closer.

Zacchaeus’s story in Luke 19 begins with that kind of subtle curiosity. He doesn’t come to Jesus with a plan. Luke tells us simply, “He wanted to see who Jesus was” (v. 3a). Just to see. But even that small impulse was enough to move him.

And what a surprising response. Zacchaeus doesn’t linger at the edge of the crowd or send someone ahead. He runs forward and climbs a tree.

That kind of effort says something about how much Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus. Whether he realized it or not, something about Jesus’s presence, reputation, or just the possibility that He could be more than what Zacchaeus had known, sparked a deeper need. What began as curiosity became a determination not to miss what this moment might reveal. Jesus wasn’t just passing by; He was stirring something in Zacchaeus that demanded a response.

And Jesus catches him, almost as if to tease saying, “made you look!” Jesus looks up the tree and calls Zacchaeus by name. Without hesitation, He even invites Himself into Zacchaeus’s home.

Zacchaeus hadn’t expected to be seen. He climbed the tree just to catch a glimpse, not to start a conversation and certainly not to be called out by name. But Jesus doesn’t just walk by. He stops, speaks, and steps directly into Zacchaeus’s life.

This wasn’t an ordinary moment at all. It was personal. It was intentional. It revealed just how extraordinary Jesus is: the kind of Savior who sees us before we even know how to seek Him.

Zacchaeus didn’t fully understand what he was looking for. But he still looked. And Jesus met him there, offering exactly what his soul needed.

Sometimes, all we have to do is look.

Sometimes we don’t have the right questions, just a quiet pull to look closer. Is there a part of your heart that feels curious, unsettled, or searching for something more? Maybe Jesus is calling your name and preparing to invite Himself in.