I have a special regard for the gospel according to Luke because no other gospel portrays Jesus as the friend of outcasts and outsiders as much as Luke does. One can understand Luke’s emphasis in this regard given that he, like Mark the first gospel writer, was a Gentile and therefore considered as an outsider too.
The section of St. Luke beginning at chapter thirteen with the crippled woman who was healed on the Sabbath and ending here in chapter nineteen with Zacchaeus’ conversion could easily be called the “Section of the Outcasts and Outsiders” because most of the incidents here feature individuals who in one way or another were outcasts of their society or community.
We can safely assume that Zacchaeus must have heard about Jesus’ reputation and followed the crowd in curiosity to get to meet him or just see who this man was that so much has been spoken about. In this way, Zacchaeus was no different from any of those in the large crowd that followed Jesus. Many followed because of curiosity and the prevailing hype around this mysterious man. Many followed because they wanted something perhaps food, perhaps healing and some simply wanted to hear his deep soul-penetrating words. In this crowd too, would be all sorts of people. Some are children. Some are shepherds. Some are women who should really be at home. Some are skeptics. Some need healing. Some are trouble makers and most importantly some are searchers and by this I mean those who seriously desire to interact with someone who they have heard can make a difference to their lives. They all are following or coming out to meet him and Zacchaeus at this moment is one of them.
Then the differences become glaring. He is not really one of them after all. He is very short, much shorter than most people so he has to climb a tree. He is wealthy, but his wealth has been obtained by what most people of the day would describe as treacherous means. He worked for the Romans overseeing the collection of the hated tax on a poor overburdened and oppressed population. As far as the people are concerned, he is definitely NOT a son of Abraham contrary to what Jesus says about him in verse nine (9). Many Jews saw their ancestry in Abraham as their bonafide relationship with God and so it was only God’s true people who could claim that relationship. However, there were some sins that essentially excommunicated a person from that relationship. Zacchaeus’ treachery in collecting taxes on behalf of the Romans and making excessive wealth from it was one such sin which made him no son of Abraham. He had, by his own actions, cut himself off and was no longer worthy to be called a child of Abraham. He was definitely in their estimation, not one of them. This is the crux of this story. What happens to persons who are no longer accepted by society because of their actions or misdeeds etc.
There are two other things in the story that I would like us to take careful note of. First of all, we see that despite his physical challenge Zacchaeus is not daunted. He is determined to see who Jesus is. He is ingenious enough to find his way into a tree, a sycomore tree we are told, so that he can see Jesus. At this point all that Zacchaeus wants is to see Jesus. He has no other inclination or desire or expectation to meet him. I suspect that Zacchaeus being aware of his own undeserving state has no expectation that Jesus would give him the time of day but he wants to see who this Jesus is nevertheless.
Secondly, because of his desire to see this man Jesus who has created such a stir, he is prepared to lose all dignity and even risk a fall by climbing a tree. Wealthy men of power and influence in those days wouldn’t be climbing trees, at least not in public. They would send their servants up the tree for whatever they wanted. On this momentous day, what Zacchaeus wants or needs, no servant can do for him. Thus he has no shame or pride in climbing a tree.
Right here, we see two things that we can emulate. First, we can show real interest and desire to see Jesus. Many of us, even in church, still only have a half-hearted interest in knowing who this Jesus is for ourselves. We follow the crowd hearing great things about him but we are not willing to do what is necessary to see him. Secondly, if we really want to see Jesus and if we really want to get to know him, then we climb up a tree even literally if that is what it takes to meet Jesus for yourself.
Climbing up a tree shows two things about us. First, you have a deep desire to know Jesus and so you will do whatever it takes to get to know him.
Secondly, we become unabashed about meeting Jesus and living the transformed life. We are no longer proud to the point where we feel that some things we do for Jesus’ sake we need to feel embarrassed. There are people who resist becoming Christians because it means they may have to lose their pride by ‘climbing up a tree’. This means that they may have to go places they would not have ever gone. They would have to mix with people that they would have often despised, and they might have to make sacrifices physically and socially that they were just not prepared to make, including giving up certain jobs and losing some friends and being ridiculed by family, in order to live a new life in Christ. That’s what it takes to ‘climb up a tree’ and live the Christian life.
Of course, the story does not end here. The best is yet to come. Jesus passes under the tree and for some unexplainable reason looks up and there his eyes meet with Zacchaeus. There, at that moment, they are face to face. More of us need that face to face moment with Jesus. In that moment, the change begins to take place, because you cannot be face to face with Jesus and not be someone different afterwards. Jesus takes the initiative to invite himself to Zacchaeus’ house, not the other way round as is the correct protocol. But with Jesus, protocol is upended. Social norms go out the window. The only thing that matters is a life that needs to be saved. Thankfully, Zacchaeus, one of the worst of persons in the public eye, becomes the guest and host at the same time and of course everyone else is left on the road grumbling. Clearly many are jealous. Some are angry because their objectives or needs for the day at least are now postponed. For what reason have they now been so inconvenienced? How many of us are grumbling because we are not the centre of attention in church? How many of us are grumbling in church because our talents and gifts are not regarded as important as someone else? How many of us are grumbling because the pastor is paying more attention to the unimportant people in the community and the church rather than us?
Jesus chooses to go to the house of a man who is an outsider, a traitor to his people, a man who they thought he should really have ignored completely. How many of us would take the risk to have dinner with a despised person? How many of us would go anywhere near to a person who the whole town has isolated and ostracised for whatever reason? That would be a reputational damage that most of us would not accept. Yet, we worship and honour the man who did just that. Jesus was not just willing, he was eager to spend time with Zacchaeus because he too was a son of Abraham and more importantly, a child of God, who needed to find his way back home. This is God’s mercy and love on full display. The interesting thing about this story is that many of those people who are muttering may just happen to be beneficiaries of the transformed Zacchaeus as he returns much of their money or other possessions back to them and their families. I wonder what they would say about him then? Jesus’ words at the end of the passage sums up his mission on earth and ultimately the mission of all of us who are believers. He came to “seek and to save the lost.” (See St. Luke 19:10 NIV)
From the moment we become Christians, our mission and sole purpose in this life is not only to look about our own souls in preparation for eternal life, but in so doing we are duty bound to live the life here on earth that will bring those who are being lost to God through our Saviour and Lord, Jesus. In another text in St. Luke, Jesus also said, “I have come, not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (See St. Luke 5:32 NIV) Both of these texts among others, point to the ultimate mission of Christ and of all believers. It is to bring others who don’t have a relationship with God into the fold, or into the kingdom. We do this by word and especially by our lives. Those who are lost are clearly those who are outside of a true relationship with God but we will be surprised and even shocked to know that many of those who are lost are not just the ostracized ones like Zacchaeus but even some of us who may be in church and who others would think are already born again and in a right relationship with God. Many of us may be lost simply because we have ostracized and condemned others who we think are unworthy of God’s grace. Many of us are lost because we have become too complacent thinking that just merely being connected to church is all that we need to save us, without being deeply rooted in our relationship with God.
Then the text leads us to see the beauty in the evidence of a life transformed for God.
We don’t know what exactly happened in that house. It really doesn’t matter as far as Luke is concerned. What matters is that Zacchaeus has come back into the fold and a lost son of Abraham has been found. More importantly a lost sheep or a lost son of God has found his way home much the same as the prodigal son in St. Luke chapter 15. Zacchaeus pledges to give back far more than was legally required as a living demonstration that his life was on a new path. He met the saviour and he was transformed by the power of God’s love and mercy.
As it turns out this mission was very likely the one reason why Jesus passed through Jericho that day. He came to find and to save this lost soul who also was seeking the Saviour without realising it. When someone is truly touched by the Lord and his or her life is transformed, there is no end to that person’s passion and commitment. You don’t have to beg or force them to do anything they can for the Lord. They have a spontaneity and commitment that is indescribable and a willingness to sacrifice whatever they must for the gospel. Do we have people like that around today? These are people whose gratitude to God and their awareness of God’s mercy on them is profound.
The word from this text today is that all of us need to look carefully at how we have treated others who we think are too sinful to be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit or those who we have already judged as being unworthy of God’s love and mercy. As we leave here today, let us think about the ways in which our pride and our complacency might be hindering us from having a true and right relationship with God. Let us also think about the ways in which our prejudices and our judgement of others have prevented us from reaching them with the good news of God’s salvation for all people. Let us climb up a tree both literally and figuratively if that is what it takes to renew our own relationship with Jesus as well as invite others to come and know the God who we can testify is “slow to anger and rich in love.” (See Psalm 145:8 NIV). May we go from here prepared to welcome Jesus into our homes and our lives all over again. Amen.