The group agreed that we all love the story of Zacchaeus, the short tax collector, who climbs a tree to be able to see Jesus as Jesus made his way through Jericho. We love the story because of the curious details. The tree was a sycamore tree. We love the humor. We have this image of this small man, who was hated by all, sitting up in a tree. Everyone could see him in that tree. There's no doubt people had a great time seeing him make a fool of himself. And Zacchaeus was willing to make a fool of himself. Finally, we love the wonderful sense of grace that concludes the story. Jesus tells Zacchaeus to come down from the tree and that Jesus will go to his house (a huge honor) and have dinner with Zacchaeus.
The note of grace is striking in the story. Rabbis would not have had dinner with a person like Zacchaeus. As a tax collector, particularly the chief tax collector, Zacchaeus would have been placed on the outside of the community. He would have been shunned. He was working for the Romans, the occupying army. Zacchaeus would have been viewed as a traitor. Zacchaeus response to Jesus coming to his house was one of joy and repentance. In that encounter, Zacchaeus was a changed man. If he had cheated anyone, he would repay them four times (Roman law for theft) and give 1/2 of all he had to the poor. This is in contrast to the rich man in the last chapter, who was a righteous man, who would not consider giving all he had to the poor and walked away from Jesus. Jesus tells the crowd that he has come to seek and save the lost.
Beyond Jesus having dinner with Zacchaeus, Jesus also invites and challenges the larger community to take Zacchaeus back into the fold. This is a pattern throughout the gospel. Jesus has those cured of leprosy showing themselves to the priests so that they might be welcomed back into the community. Jesus tells those who are gathered that Zacchaeus is also a son of Abraham. This can be a powerful moment of grace. A contemporary example would be an individual, who is released from prison (in other words having paid their debt to society) and being welcomed with open arms into the local community. When this happens, lives are changed, lives are redeemed. This is the gospel at work.
Peace,
Pastor Summer
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