He Calls You by Name

"When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name.” Luke 19:5 (NLT)

Jesus doesn’t just notice you. He doesn’t just scan a crowd of eight billion people and vaguely recognize your existence. He knows you.

And just like he did for Zacchaeus, he calls you by name.

Zacchaeus had spent his entire life being labeled. As a young man, he was likely ridiculed for his size. His small stature probably made him an easy target for cruel jokes and whispered comments. Then as an adult, the labels only grew heavier. He became known for his corruption and dishonesty as a tax collector. To his community, he wasn’t a person—he was a traitor. A cheat. A thief.

No one would have noticed if Zacchaeus disappeared. No one would have cared what happened to him. And yet… “When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name.” In a crowd full of “important” people, Jesus stopped for the most rejected man in town.

How did Jesus know Zacchaeus’ name?

For the same reason Jesus knows yours—because He made you. And here’s something even more powerful: the name Zacchaeus means “pure one.”

Can you imagine the tension in that moment?

The crowd knew Zacchaeus as a crook. A sellout. He had probably been called every ugly name imaginable—both to his face and behind his back. But it had likely been a very long time since anyone called him by his given name: “pure one.”

Jesus did. Why?

Because Jesus wasn’t defining Zacchaeus by his past. He was calling out his potential. Jesus always sees beyond what you’ve done to who you were created to be.

Maybe you know what it’s like to carry labels. Maybe you can still hear the names you were called in middle school. Maybe they came from classmates. Maybe they came from a parent. Maybe they even came from your own thoughts.

Rejected.

Failure.

Not enough.

Too much.

Those names can cling to your heart for years. But here’s the truth: Those labels don’t get the final say.

It doesn’t ultimately matter what others have called you. What matters is that Jesus knows your name. Right now, He is calling you—not to shame you, not to expose you—but to invite you.

He is saying: “I see you. I know who I created you to be. And I have never given up on that.”

The crowd may define you by your worst chapter.

Jesus defines you by your original design.

Jesus can work in your life, despite your past and your flaws and your sin. But, he won’t force you. Will you allow Jesus to work in your life? Will you follow him?

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” – John 10:27

He calls you by name.