Zacchaeus and Me
Luke 19:1 - 10
Text: "For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."
. . . Luke 19:10
As a child I enjoyed singing the Zacchaeus song.
Zacchaeus was a wee little man; a wee little man was he.
He climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see.
And as the Savior passed that way he looked up in the tree
And He said, Zacchaeus, you come down, for I am going to your house today."
When I sang that song as a boy, I felt a certain affinity with Zacchaeus. We were both "wee" little people that enjoyed climbing trees. I am no longer a wee little boy and I haven't climbed a tree in years; yet, there is something about Zacchaeus I still find refreshing and would like to recapture.
Who knows what Zacchaeus' motive was for wanting to see Jesus: curiosity?; feeling guilty about the excessive taxes he was collecting?; wanting to change? Something made Zacchaeus want to see Jesus. Maybe he even hoped Jesus would help him turn his life around. Yet, at best, whatever his motive, it has to fall into the category of "be careful of what you pray for - for you just might get it!"
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. First let's take a look at who Zacchaeus was. Zacchaeus was a tax collector. What's worse, he was good at what he did. He was so good at collecting taxes for the Roman government that Rome promoted him to the position of chief tax collector.
So it was risky business for Zacchaeus to join the crowd in downtown Jericho. He knew he would not be welcome. His own people did not like him because he had sold them out. He collected their money and gave it to Rome. To make matters worse, he was getting rich doing it. Tax collectors in those days collected money from the Jewish people and gave it to the Roman government - their oppressors. Furthermore, the tax collectors were allowed and encouraged to collect as much from people as they could through whatever means they could - that's how they made a living, and that's how they got rich. I guess if you didn't mind robbing your own people and giving it to the enemy it was a great job to get rich. Everybody knew it and nobody liked it. In the eyes of his Jewish contemporaries, Zacchaeus was a number one scumbag! And with his position as chief tax collector, everyone hated him just a little bit more.
Who knows, perhaps Zacchaeus was feeling guilty about getting so rich by the dishonest means tax collectors in those days employed; or perhaps he just got tired of being despised.
And, at the same time, Zacchaeus had heard great things about Jesus and wants to see for himself if what he has heard is true. He heard Jesus was a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Whatever his motive, Zacchaeus must have felt that by seeing Jesus something might change. So Zacchaeus took a big risk in joining the crowd just to get a glimpse at Jesus.
And a big risk it was. What if someone recognized him and told him he had no right to be there? What if someone pointed him out as a traitor collaborating with the enemy?
But when he joins the crowd, the crowd is so large he can't see over them, and this is where the problems begin. Suddenly, there is uproar from the crowd. Zacchaeus knows that Jesus is passing by, but he cannot see Him. Some quick thinking by Zacchaeus suggests he run ahead, and climb the sycamore tree beside the road.
Now picture the scene - Zacchaeus is not dressed for climbing. He probably hadn't climbed a tree in years. He's rich and wears an expensive robe. It might get dirty or torn. But if he were in the sycamore tree beside the road at the end of the corner, he would be able to get a good look at Jesus.
It must have looked crazy - Zacchaeus climbing the sycamore tree. Today, it would be like watching a man in an expensive business suit and expensive shoes climbing a tree. It would be enough to make one look twice - which may be what Jesus actually did. He certainly got Jesus' attention! And I wonder is this really what Zacchaeus wanted.
Remember what it was like when you were the tree climber? Working your way toward the top was fun. Swaying in the wind was neat. Then someone would walk beneath the tree. You held your breath hoping they wouldn't see you. Silently, you watched them pass. If Zacchaeus is anything like you or I, he just wanted to sit in the tree, get a good look at Jesus, and silently watch him pass.
(Isn't that sometimes the way we worship? Wouldn't you rather see Jesus than meet Him? It would be risky meeting Jesus. He might say something we don't want to hear - like reconcile with your neighbor who has upset you; or, sell all you have and give to the poor, or, work to set the oppressed free? Best to sit silently in worship and see what happens.)
But Jesus doesn't pass quietly beneath Zacchaeus. Jesus sees this richly robed man sitting silently in the sycamore tree. Jesus says, "Zacchaeus, you come down, for I am going to your house today."
"Rut ro," I can hear Zacchaeus say, "What is this crowd going to do to me? And what on earth does Jesus want with me?" What if all Zacchaeus wanted was a look at the Messiah, he didn't want to be seen? Can you imagine the astonishment, the fear on Zacchaeus' face when Jesus called him down?
No doubt this was going to be a pivotal point in Zacchaeus' life.
Whenever we encounter the Lord, it becomes a pivotal point in our life.
Well, Zacchaeus does take Jesus to his house. This narrative suggests they even became friends. In response to this, the crowd began to grumble. They don't like Jesus sharing God's Kingdom with a sinner as treacherous as Zacchaeus.
It is interesting that this encounter between Zacchaeus and Jesus occurred in Jericho. Jericho is that ancient city whose massive stone walls Joshua caused to crumble. With Zacchaeus, Jesus caused some equally massive walls to crumble - the walls of arrogance, prejudice, hatred, jealousy, and self-righteousness come tumbling down. The crowd didn't like Jesus extending the Kingdom of Heaven (salvation) to the persons like Zacchaeus - and the crowd began to grumble.
Earlier in Jesus' ministry he encountered a rich ruler who wanted to know how to inherit eternal life. Jesus replied, "Go and sell everything you have, give it to the poor, and follow me." (Luke 18:22) The rich man didn't do it. Luke doesn't say he grumbled, but we know he did. Everyone grumbles when required to do something they don't want to do. Jesus required a radical response from the rich man. He refused to comply. You know he grumbled!
Still earlier, Jesus met a tax collector named Levi. Jesus demanded that Levi leave his business, his home, and follow Him to be a disciple. Much to the surprise of anyone reading Luke's Gospel "Levi left everything and followed Jesus." (Luke 5:27-28)
These are radical demands, extreme requirements, and conditions most people refuse to meet. But Jesus makes no such demands of Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus voluntarily makes restitution for his sins as a tax collector. Jesus responds to him by saying, "Today salvation has come to this house."
What does that mean? "Salvation" has become an illusive and ambiguous term. Peter Marshall offers an explanation that fits in nicely with Zacchaeus situation:
"Salvation is a free gift. One cannot buy it, nor can one earn it. It is not a reward dangling before the Christian, like a carrot before a mule. It is not something the Church must peddle, and probably no idea hurts the preacher more than suggesting he/she is a salesperson - endeavoring to sell people on the idea of salvation. Salvation is not for sale! It is a gift. It is given away."
The hardest part about salvation is that we cannot control to whom God gives it. Thus the gift of salvation becomes disturbing when it is given to persons we find unworthy or undeserving - like an unscrupulous tax collector such as Zacchaeus. Jesus explains His actions with a thought similar to those he used to conclude the parable of the Prodigal Son: "The Son of Man came to seek out and save the lost."
Luke's account of Zacchaeus is not just about a rich little tax collector that is also a good tree climber. It is about a man that found forgiveness. It is about the restoration of life. It is about Jesus extending the Kingdom of heaven, the love of God, to those beyond the Jewish faith. Think about that, too, and the implications for us - how do we invite others beyond even our faith? How do we forgive them and offer them whatever semblance of salvation we can?
We are not told if the crowd stopped grumbling. All we know is that Jesus said, "Today salvation has come to Zacchaeus' house."
And today we honor the lives of the "saints" in our lives whom have gone on before us. They are people who have had an encounter with God, and received salvation. They in turned witnessed faith for all of us. They may have been leaders of our church. They may have been the "behind the scenes people." Some of them may have been people who brought you up, people who taught you how to live and introduced you to the faith.
Who are the saints of the church? The apostle Paul defines them in the greeting to the church in Corinth when he says, "To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified (meaning found salvation) in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (I Cor. 1:2) In other words, we are all saints!
The saints we remember today are those who left us a legacy, made our lives a little better, pointed us in the right direction, or maybe even called us out of a proverbial tree from being observing Christians to participatory Christians! Zacchaeus was certainly a saint. And before that he was one of the most detested sinners in the land. You see, we all can become saints when God chooses us!
And today we remember those saints as we join in the wonderful mystery of the church - we share in communion. Not unlike the communion shared together by all the saints that have gone before us. Perhaps for you, like for them, you will find the grace and peace that this dining with Jesus can do you for your life.
Zacchaeus found out!