It is easy to miss the Savior when you are focused on the crowd.

The streets of Jericho were chaotic. There was a din and bustle, a cacophony of noise. Everyone was pushing, shoving, and trying to get a glimpse of the famous teacher.

But there is a difference between looking at a celebrity and looking unto a lifeline.

Zacchaeus was short. He couldn't see over the shoulders of the people. But his desperation produced a different kind of focus. He wasn't just curious; he was drowning.

It reminds us of the time in the wilderness when the people were bitten by snakes. Moses was told to lift up a bronze serpent.

“And so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.” Numbers 21:9

Those who looked at their wounds died. Those who analyzed the snakes died. Those who complained about the pain died.

Only those who looked away from themselves and onto the remedy lived.

Zacchaeus climbed a tree to get that view. He separated himself from the noise to get a clear line of sight. And because he was looking for Jesus, he discovered that Jesus was already looking for him.

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10

It doesn’t matter how loud the noise is around you today. It doesn’t matter how many likes or dislikes you have on social media. The crowd is a distraction.

One look is all it takes.

Look at the cure, not the wound.