Treed

Good Morning

Luke 19:1-9 (English Standard Version)
Jesus and Zacchaeus
1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature. 4So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." 6So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7And when they saw it, they all grumbled, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." 8And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." 9And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.

Vacation Bible school was one of my favorite times of year – both as a child and as an adult. I think it was in VBS that I first learned of a character named Zacchaeus. What do we know about Zacchaeus? One, he was not only a tax collector – he was the chief tax collector – which means that he was the big dog in Jericho, tax wise. He had the rights to collect taxes from more people than any other tax collector. Under the Roman approach to tax collecting, they would levy a tax and appoint people to collect it. The tax collector would then add his costs to the collection process – and the amount he charged could be what he felt he wanted. The Roman government would then back him up in the tax collection process. So when we hear that Zacchaeus was not only the chief tax collector but also rich, we can surmise that he took full advantage of his leverage.

But Zacchaeus had a problem. He was “vertically challenged” to put it politically. The Scripture says he was “small of stature” such that he couldn’t see over the crowd. So, when Jesus came to town and Zacchaeus wanted to see Him, Zacchaeus had to climb into a tree. And that is where Jesus had him… treed.

Zacchaeus didn’t have too many friends – tax collectors at that time didn’t. They were viewed as evildoers – and rightly so, since they did take advantage of their position. One has to wonder why Jesus would want to associate with a person who was obviously a crook and a sinner. I think He had two purposes – one, to offer Zacchaeus an opportunity to make things right; and two, to prove a point to the onlookers.

It is easy to spot the evil in another person. But Jesus spotted both the evil AND the potential for good in this tax collector. Jesus knew the heart of Zacchaeus – the part of him that would seek to make restitution and to bless other people. And He was willing to risk the ire of the crowd to reach out to him. In a similar fashion, Jesus knew my heart even when I was so far away from Him. And He reached out to me – praise God, He reached out to me.

It is also easy to judge people. The “they” who grumbled about Jesus going to be a guest of a sinner were blind to their own sin – but quick to pass judgment on both Zacchaeus and on Jesus. And in their blindness they absented themselves from seeing the change in a man they despised. What a shame they missed the blessing.

Zacchaeus climbed a tree to see Jesus – and received new life in Him.

Have a good day!!!

Agape’

Mr. Jim
Fatdad5@comcast.net
"Preach the Gospel everyday - and if you have to, use words" ... St. Francis of Assisi