In the small town of Gold Beach, Oregon, there was a very
unpopular binman. You see the people in
that town loved their dogs and allowed them roam freely. This binman did not love dogs, had a famously
short fuse and carried a shotgun. They
hated the man who shot their dogs and I doubt anyone would have invited him for
dinner.
In the town of Jericho, in Jesus’ day, there was another
unpopular man. He was a short man called
Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax
collector. Their country was ruled by
the Romans and Zacchaeus was working for the occupying power. Tax collectors were known for being
corrupt. Tax collectors pocketed a lot
of money through their work. No one was
going to invite Zacchaeus home for dinner.
As we look at this story one of the things we need to note
is where we are in Luke’s Gospel. In
chapter 5, Jesus had outlined his mission statement, ‘I have not come to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’ In chapter 9, we read that Jesus ‘resolutely’ set
out for Jerusalem. Jesus is on his way
to the cross. We need to read this story
in light of what Jesus will do there. In
chapter 15, he was criticised for welcoming sinners and eating with them. He is going to do that exact thing here. In chapter 18, he tells a parable in which a
tax collector literally cries ‘have mercy on me, the sinner’ and is justified
before God. Also, in chapter 18, Jesus
teaches that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a
rich man to enter the kingdom of God—it is very difficult for the wealthy to
abandon all and follow God. Zacchaeus is
the chief tax collector—overseeing other tax collectors— and so would have been
a very wealthy man.
Jesus entered Jericho
and was passing through. Given the
fact that he had attracted a crowd, and given the culture of that day, we might
assume that Jesus would have turned down many invitations in Jericho to come
for a meal. Passing through, he is now
on his way out of the town.
Zacchaeus wanted to
see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the
crowd. So, he ran ahead and climbed a
sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. It is worth noticing that middle-eastern men
of that time did not run. There was a
parable that said, ‘you can tell the measure of a man by the way that he
walks.’ Rich and powerful men walked in
a dignified manner. They did not lift
their robs, expose their knees, and run like a child. Also, grown men don’t climb trees. But Zacchaeus is desperate to see Jesus.
One middle-eastern expert says that such trees were only
permitted on the outskirts of the town.
They had a short trunk, strong wide branches and lots of leaves. Zacchaeus is probably hoping that at this
stage of the journey out of Jericho the crowd would have dispersed. He also doesn’t intend on being seen.
When Jesus reached the
spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ So he came down at once and welcomed him
gladly. Why ‘must’ Jesus stay at his
house? It seems to have been Jesus’ plan
to refuse all the offers of hospitality in Jericho but Zacchaeus’s. He has chosen to refuse the invitation of
those who see themselves as self-sufficient and go to the home of someone who
knows themselves to be morally bankrupt.
He is showing how a rich man can enter the kingdom as Zacchaeus sees
that Jesus is worth more than any of his possessions.
This story is not so much Zacchaeus’s search for Jesus as
Jesus’ search for Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus
is hidden among the leaves when Jesus stops and points up at him. It would have been years since anyone would
have spoken to Zacchaeus with such love in their voice. Zacchaeus welcomes him gladly.
In fact, Jesus’ love for Zacchaeus caused the people of
Jericho to hate him. ‘How dare he refuse
to come to our homes, and then go to the home of that traitor.’ ‘He has
gone to the house of a sinner.’
Jesus is willing to embrace us even though it costs him. In fact, that is the message of the cross—his
embrace of us costs him his life.
Jesus is willing to be despised in order to embrace
you. Are willing to love people that
might cause us to become unpopular? A
number of years ago, Grace Church in Cork went to a hotel for a retreat. A traveller who they had been reaching out to
came, but ended up getting in a fight in the hotel. In turn, the hotel staff gave out to the
leadership of the church for the type of people they had with them. But the church refused to give up on that
traveller, and today he is a strong Christian who is a blessing to their
fellowship.
But Zacchaeus stood up
and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord! Here
and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated
anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’ It is not about the amount of
giving. Afterall, in the last chapter
Jesus told a rich man to sell everything and give to the poor. It is about the heart. In the previous chapter Jesus had exposed
that the young ruler loved money more than Jesus, with Zacchaeus we see a man
who loves Jesus more than money.
Just think about the for a moment. Money must have been such a powerful thing in
Zacchaeus’s life. Zacchaeus was a man
who was willing to be hated and considered a traitor by his own people in order
to get rich. He gave up so many
relationships just to have money. Money
is not just an idol, it serves other idols in our life. We might be drawn to money because we are
living for pleasure. We might be drawn
to money because it offers us security.
We might be drawn to money because it gives us power. But Zacchaeus sees in Jesus a treasure that
no amount of money can buy.
Jesus said to him,
‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of
Abraham.’ In Genesis we read that
Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. In other words, Abraham was put right with
God simply by trusting in the promises of God.
Abraham set out on a journey not knowing where God would take him. That is our calling too. Abraham also is an example of someone who let
God’s kindness transform him—even being willing to sacrifice his son in
obedience to God.
This passage finishes with a repeat of Jesus’ mission
statement. For the Son of Man came to seek and save that which is lost. The good shepherd has come and found a lost
sheep.
Do you remember that binman in Gold Beach, Oregon—the one
who shot people’s dogs? Well a couple of
Christians loved him and told him about Jesus.
He welcomed this as the best news ever.
So, he stopped shooting dogs and started attending church.
Zacchaeus welcomed him
gladly. The ESV translated it
welcomes him ‘joyfully’. The Greek word
is from Charis, which we translate grace.
So, I want to finish with three observations.
1.
Joy comes through being found. We studied the Song of Solomon in
church. It is firstly a love song
between a young man and a young woman.
But the church has always seen it as a picture of the love that Jesus
has for his people as well. I was moved
by the line, ‘show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is
sweet and your face is lovely’ (2:14).
Jesus found us and made us his own, but he is still seeking our voice
and our face. He wants intimacy with us.
2.
Joy comes through understanding grace. Grace is God’s undeserved, unearned and
unmerited favour. Grace is God treating
us not as our sins deserve but according to His kindness. Grace is possibly because Jesus takes the
punishment we owe and gives us the righteousness he deserves. We have noted that the word translated joy is
related to that translated grace. Go to
a non-Christian counsellor and they will try to treat you with the gospel of
self-esteem. But what do you do when you
look inside and see things you do not like.
What about when you fail your own standards, yet alone those of a
perfectly holy God. Grace tells us that
while we are more corrupt than we ever realise we are more loved than we have
ever dreamed.
3.
Joy comes when Jesus captures our hearts. Idols are anything that we look to for
ultimate meaning, security, pleasure of purpose. Zacchaeus had lived for money, but he found
joy when he realised that Jesus offered something better. We are fools who numb the boredom with binge
watching or retail therapy. We climb the
ladder to realise that there is nothing at the top. Jesus says come and follow. Who knows what adventure he has for us?
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