What a friend we have in Zacchaeus: Reflections on Luke 19:1-10
Most children who grow up in American churches know about Zacchaeus, and for good reason. He was short. Kids are short. He was frustrated that he couldn’t see past a crowd. My shoulders, neck, and legs have all ached from supporting ever-growing children who want to see over a crowd. Zacchaeus climbed a tree. Kids love to climb trees. Zacchaeus was lonely. It doesn’t take much for a kid to feel lonely.
My wife joked yesterday about how Zacchaeus would not care for his legacy in America as the wee little tree climber. But once you take a closer look at his story you see a prime example of the Christian faith. Seek Jesus. Welcome Jesus gladly. Be generous. Reconcile with others.
This week our afterschool kids’ club looked at the Zacchaeus story as only told in Luke’s Gospel (19:1-10). Before reading the story I asked the kids about cheating, and several of us came up with examples of other people we knew who cheated at games. I told the kids about my shock the first time I played Uno with someone who placed 3-4 cards at once in the pile, pretending they were placing just one.
After a couple minutes of sharing cheating stories, one girl said that she’s cheated too. I looked at her and nodded my head. I said, “me too.” I then asked all the kids who among them had cheated. We all had.
I then introduced them to Zacchaeus who was good at cheating for money. Many of the one-percenters of Wall Street may have stunk at sports, but they thrive in exploiting the rules of the game that is capitalism. In auto racing people say “if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying,” and my guess is Wall St. says something like that too.
Such behavior is nothing new. Tax collectors in the first century were duly despised, not only for collecting tribute for Caesar, who ruled through violence, but also for skimming off the top to enrich themselves. Caesar didn’t care as long as he got his, so in a world full of pyramid schemes, there is no grander triangle than the one with Caesar at the top. The higher up that pyramid, the richer you were. And Luke tells us that Zacchaeus was a wealthy tax collector. He was also a known cheat.
I asked the kids before reading them the story how Jesus might respond to this cheater that no one liked. Wisely, the kids gave mixed opinions. Some people, knowing that Jesus was loving and friendly, thought that Jesus would be kind to Zacchaeus. Others, knowing that Jesus was holy and not a fan of cheating, thought Jesus would not like Zaccheus. One third-grader was even able to speak with the nuance of a trained theologian, explaining to everyone that Jesus would love Zacchaeus himself, but not appreciate his cheating.
After reading Luke’s story it struck me that the exchange between Jesus and Zacchaeus is mostly unstated. There is no scolding. There is no sinner’s prayer either. But there is belief, acceptance, repentance, and fruit that brings assurance of salvation.
At first Jesus sees Zacchaeus and says, “I must stay at your house today” to which Zacchaeus responds by coming down from his tree and welcoming Jesus gladly. Zacchaeus was near Jesus because he was curious. He wanted to know if the stories he heard about Jesus were true. Could God really care about despised people like tax collectors? Yes. But as with any encounter between Jesus and a sinner in Scripture, there is a change. Zacchaeus repents, not just by renewing his mind, but also by making things right. He uses his wealth to repay what was wronged. He goes above and beyond restoration by being generous with the poor with half his assets. Jesus commended Zacchaeus as a true child of Abraham, who was once lost but is now found.
Adults don’t seem to relate to Zacchaeus much. It’s not because we grew up and stopped climbing trees. It’s because we’re scared. Zacchaeus only says one thing in Luke’s Gospel: “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” (19:8).
Contrast those words to the average church member in America who gives 2.5% of their money to church and charity and 2% of that amount to global missions, not to mention resistance among many to offer aid to the poor in their own community. If we’ve cheated somebody we’d likely try to ignore them till death than apologize and ask their forgiveness. I have much to learn from Zacchaeus.
Jesus pronounced that salvation came to Zacchaeus’s house that very day, and it did in the form of Jesus. But the effects of salvation were felt far outside those walls as far as Zacchaeus’s generosity reached. Zacchaeus, the so-called wee little man, left a large footprint in Jericho and beyond. What footprint have you allowed God to make through you?
If you want increase that footprint the first steps are to seek Jesus and welcome him gladly. Everything else follows from there.
My wife joked yesterday about how Zacchaeus would not care for his legacy in America as the wee little tree climber. But once you take a closer look at his story you see a prime example of the Christian faith. Seek Jesus. Welcome Jesus gladly. Be generous. Reconcile with others.
This week our afterschool kids’ club looked at the Zacchaeus story as only told in Luke’s Gospel (19:1-10). Before reading the story I asked the kids about cheating, and several of us came up with examples of other people we knew who cheated at games. I told the kids about my shock the first time I played Uno with someone who placed 3-4 cards at once in the pile, pretending they were placing just one.
After a couple minutes of sharing cheating stories, one girl said that she’s cheated too. I looked at her and nodded my head. I said, “me too.” I then asked all the kids who among them had cheated. We all had.
I then introduced them to Zacchaeus who was good at cheating for money. Many of the one-percenters of Wall Street may have stunk at sports, but they thrive in exploiting the rules of the game that is capitalism. In auto racing people say “if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying,” and my guess is Wall St. says something like that too.
Such behavior is nothing new. Tax collectors in the first century were duly despised, not only for collecting tribute for Caesar, who ruled through violence, but also for skimming off the top to enrich themselves. Caesar didn’t care as long as he got his, so in a world full of pyramid schemes, there is no grander triangle than the one with Caesar at the top. The higher up that pyramid, the richer you were. And Luke tells us that Zacchaeus was a wealthy tax collector. He was also a known cheat.
I asked the kids before reading them the story how Jesus might respond to this cheater that no one liked. Wisely, the kids gave mixed opinions. Some people, knowing that Jesus was loving and friendly, thought that Jesus would be kind to Zacchaeus. Others, knowing that Jesus was holy and not a fan of cheating, thought Jesus would not like Zaccheus. One third-grader was even able to speak with the nuance of a trained theologian, explaining to everyone that Jesus would love Zacchaeus himself, but not appreciate his cheating.
After reading Luke’s story it struck me that the exchange between Jesus and Zacchaeus is mostly unstated. There is no scolding. There is no sinner’s prayer either. But there is belief, acceptance, repentance, and fruit that brings assurance of salvation.
At first Jesus sees Zacchaeus and says, “I must stay at your house today” to which Zacchaeus responds by coming down from his tree and welcoming Jesus gladly. Zacchaeus was near Jesus because he was curious. He wanted to know if the stories he heard about Jesus were true. Could God really care about despised people like tax collectors? Yes. But as with any encounter between Jesus and a sinner in Scripture, there is a change. Zacchaeus repents, not just by renewing his mind, but also by making things right. He uses his wealth to repay what was wronged. He goes above and beyond restoration by being generous with the poor with half his assets. Jesus commended Zacchaeus as a true child of Abraham, who was once lost but is now found.
Adults don’t seem to relate to Zacchaeus much. It’s not because we grew up and stopped climbing trees. It’s because we’re scared. Zacchaeus only says one thing in Luke’s Gospel: “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” (19:8).
Contrast those words to the average church member in America who gives 2.5% of their money to church and charity and 2% of that amount to global missions, not to mention resistance among many to offer aid to the poor in their own community. If we’ve cheated somebody we’d likely try to ignore them till death than apologize and ask their forgiveness. I have much to learn from Zacchaeus.
Jesus pronounced that salvation came to Zacchaeus’s house that very day, and it did in the form of Jesus. But the effects of salvation were felt far outside those walls as far as Zacchaeus’s generosity reached. Zacchaeus, the so-called wee little man, left a large footprint in Jericho and beyond. What footprint have you allowed God to make through you?
If you want increase that footprint the first steps are to seek Jesus and welcome him gladly. Everything else follows from there.
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