I love the story of Zaccheus. As Luke tells it, almost every sentence is rich with lesson and meaning and implication. It's the last incident recorded by Luke before Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last time. Take a look at this map, and you'll see why Jesus needed to stay with Zaccheus in Jericho.
Let's put the entire passage on our virtual paper.
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. Now a man named Zacchaeus was there; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to get a look at Jesus, but being a short man he could not see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, because Jesus was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, because I must stay at your house today.” So he came down quickly and welcomed Jesus joyfully. And when the people saw it, they all complained, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I now give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back four times as much!” Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this household, because he too is a son of Abraham! For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:1-10 NET)
The good stuff.
"He was a chief tax collector and was rich." Could Zaccheus' position in life be stated more clearly, especially in such an understated way? Six times already in Luke, the tax collectors are identified, with disdain or revulsion, the equivalent of "sinner." And in the last chapter, Jesus makes a point about the worthlessness of self-declared righteousness, by making a tax collector the good guy in contrast with a Pharisee. Little Z is a chief tax collector, which likely means he had some regional authority over other tax collectors. Take a look at the map, and note that the road to Jerusalem from Galilee ran through Jericho. Travelers paid taxes as they entered new regions. He was rich.
"... being a short man he could not see over the crowd." Oooh. A man with a power over them that most despised, and rich, too. So he was not honored with a position in the front of the crowd where he could see. He was an outsider.
"... ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree ..." Maybe I went out on a limb with that last characterization, but this behavior would seem to indicate that Little Z knew how to take care of himself, without relying on the kindness or honor of the people around him. It does demonstrate a real tenaciousness to accomplish what he wants to accomplish, and something of the draw of the Rabbi.
“'Zacchaeus, come down quickly, because I must stay at your house today.' So he came down quickly ...” The imperative in Jesus statement -- the immediate response -- the repeated phrase. Just like Levi, a tax collector: “'Follow me,' he said to him. And he got up and followed him, leaving everything behind.” What part of walking in faith don't we understand?
“... and welcomed Jesus joyfully.” Again, this is so simply and eloquently stated.
“Today salvation has come to this household...” In the person of Jesus. Or better said, by receiving the person of Jesus, and turning away from the sins of his (Little Z's) past.
“'For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.'” And so it is that the parables of chapter 15 are given flesh and bones in the life and example of Zaccheus.
The literary stuff.
In addition to the phrasing and simplicity of Luke's telling of this story, there's also the matter of the terrific juxtaposition of this story of a rich man to the story in the previous chapter of a rich man, both of which follow the parable of the prayers where the good guy is the tax collector. Take some time to compare the two stories, and see how they inform each other.
The hard stuff.
It's possible that Jesus' saying about Little Z's salvation as a son of Abraham was hard for the people to understand. Perhaps it's hard for us to understand, also, coming as it does right after Zaccheus' pledge of a good work. For the people of Jesus' day the tax collectors were the scavengers of their society -- earning their livelihood by colluding with the Romans and the Herodians, and abusing their authority to collect taxes by adding an extra cut for themselves. (I know many if not most if not all of you readers already know this, but it bears repeating.) This brought them very close to being outcasts not only in their relations with their fellow Jews, but even to be considered Jews. A second fact for the people was that deliverance or salvation was available to all who were children of Abraham, simply by birthright. Hence, their problem with Jesus' pronouncement.
What about us? Was it Little Z's works that earned salvation? And what does Jesus' equating salvation with being a son of Abraham mean? This is my understanding. God's covenant with Abraham was, in essence, this: He would be God to Abraham. This included protection, blessing, and through Abraham's descendants, blessing to all the people. Jesus' coming is the completion (partial) of God's commitment within that covenant. To be a child of Abraham is to be a part of God's kingdom -- He is God to the citizens of the kingdom. Entering God's kingdom is, in fact, synonymous with salvation. I would say that the invitation to enter the kingdom was Jesus' primary way of saying this is how you are delivered from the consequences of your sin. Turn away from your old ways, which are in essence, living in your own kingdom, and enter the Father's kingdom. In Zaccheus' announcement of what he would do in response to Jesus' call to "come down", Little Z simply demonstrated that he had stepped into the kingdom.
Why Little Z?
I was thinking about the different ways the story of Zaccheus is presented, and I know there's a children's song about him, but not having grown up in Sunday School, I don't actually remember the words. I think I've seen his story "rapped" before -- the Little Z rap. And these are kind of sweet re-tellings of the story. And this makes sense, certainly to children who understand what it means to be small and unable to see what's going on. But this is also a deadly serious story. Little Z is not just about a small man who climbed a tree to see. It's about the dramatic transformation of a despised man, who had a scummy profession, who answered the call of the One Who calls us all to come away from our unholy lives. Little Z is the fundamental story of redemption, and we don't want to miss that because we've removed the reality of who he was in exchange for the picturesque manner of his redemption. And so, Little Z is my way of poking fun at myself so I will remember that his story is also my story. Me, Little Hook.
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