“Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he./ He climbed up in a sycamore tree, for the Lord he wanted to see./ And as the Master passed that way, He looked up in the tree./ And He said, “Zacchaeus, you come down. For I’m going to your house today.” How many of us remember singing that song as children? I’m sure that if Lindsey got us going, most of us could join in the singing quite easily. The story of Zacchaeus is a favorite in Sunday Schools and Children’s Church, it is one many of us have grown up with!
It’s interesting that the story of Zacchaeus is told so often, that we even have a song about it, especially considering the fact that the story of Zacchaeus appears only in Luke’s gospel! Because of that, me might think this is a minor story, but even if it is, it has major consequences; far more than can be captured in a short children’s song. And to understand the full power of this story, we have to understand Zacchaeus.
To begin with, Zacchaeus was a chief among tax collectors, which is about the worst thing you could be in the eyes of the Jewish people in Jesus’ time. It was like turning traitor. Zacchaeus was a hated sinner. And I’m sure his parents never would have dreamed that he would turn out the way he did. You know why? Because the name Zacchaeus means “Pure,” or “Righteous.” He was given that name as a baby. His mother and father looked down upon him and thought he was the most precious little fellow in the world, so they named him, “Pure.” They knew and believed that God had great plans for his life so they named him, “Righteous.” And I would imagine that Zacchaeus’ parents probably did the best they could to help him to live into his name. They probably took him to the Temple. They probably taught him about God and maybe the scriptures. They probably loved him very, very much. And through their love and care, I would imagine that Zacchaeus was given just a little glimpse of the kind of love that God has for all people.
But as Zacchaeus began to grow up, he probably found that he was not growing as fast nor as tall as his peers. The word used for “short” in this passage literally means “an adult who has not grown out of a child’s body.” So Zacchaeus was probably quite troubled, perhaps even tormented by this. He probably had what many people refer to as “a Napoleon Complex.” He felt insecure about his size, and therefore felt that he had to prove just how big, and tough, and unafraid he was by other means. He was probably made fun of at school, and perhaps he ended up getting into a lot of fights because of that. Or maybe he just got beat up and led a very lonely, isolated, and ostracized existence. He had been hurt one too many times. So he built walls of protection up between himself and others. And people stayed away. The walls worked. But behind those walls was a desperately lonely and self-hating man who wanted nothing more than to be loved, accepted and understood.
How many of us can relate to Zacchaeus’ predicament? When we see people hiding behind the veil of work, or changing their looks or values just to get some attention, when someone tries to act “tough” or “smart” just to feel a sense of power; let’s remember that beneath those false appearances there is most likely a person who wants desperately to be loved, to be understood, but has been hurt way too many times.
So one night when the Roman occupation came to Zacchaeus with an offer, an offer to be somebody; a job offer as a tax man, Zacchaeus faced a tough, but inevitable decision—whether or not to sell-out to Rome. As a tax collector he would have to pay Rome a certain amount for his territory and then, of course, he would get rich by charging people for more taxes than they really owed. This would mean that Zacchaeus would collect taxes from a widow who wouldn’t have enough to pay and would therefore put her out of her house. Yes, he would have to rob, cheat and steal from many persons. He would also have to give up his religion. He would no longer have access to the Temple. And he would be hated, truly hated; not just shunned or misunderstood, but…BUT… he would be rich and he would have power.
So, Zacchaeus chose riches and power. But he would have something, wouldn’t he? He would hold power; power that he never had before, power over other people’s lives. But this power, this money didn’t make Zacchaeus feel any better about life than he had before. So here we have Zacchaeus; he is rich, but lonely and hated; he is wealthy, but spiritually impoverished, and he knows it. He was still miserable. He still knew that he was lacking that love that his parents first introduced him to as a young child. He knew he was not living the life he had been created to live. He knew that he was not being the person that he really was and was capable of being. He knew he was majoring in the minors, and so he was desperate. Desperate for God.
In fact, Zacchaeus was so desperate for God that he went and did some pretty crazy stuff! At least it was considered crazy at that time. Because Zacchaeus was small in stature, he could neither push his way through the crowd nor see over those in front. So, desperate to see Jesus, Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree. But such an act would most certainly expose Zacchaeus to even more ridicule. Here’s why: it was considered undignified for a grown man to run, and a man of his importance would certainly not climb a tree!
Have you ever been so excited or fired up about something that you broke social taboo and didn’t even care? I think we see this happen with kids quite often. I remember when I was about seven or eight years old, I was visiting my grandparents in North Carolina. I had been there for a few days with my parents and my sister, and it was time to go. I, however, was not ready to leave. I was enjoying the time playing with my grandparents and doing fun things in Lake Junaluska, so I announced that I would not be going home, that I would be staying with my grandparents a few more days. Now, as you know, it’s not exactly appropriate to invite yourself to stay at someone’s house, and normally my grandparents would have been thrilled at such an announcement. But that is not always the case when we invite ourselves over to other people’s homes, and in particular instance, my grandparents had to tell me that I couldn’t stay because my grandmother was sick and needed some rest. You get the point, though. My parents had taught me that it was impolite to invite myself over to someone’s home or party, and I knew that I shouldn’t be announcing that I was going to stay longer at my grandparents’ home. But I was just so excited about the thought of spending a few more days there that I couldn’t contain myself.
And Zacchaeus was so excited about the thought of simply getting a glance of Jesus that he couldn’t contain himself either! So despite a history of ridicule and ill-will from the crowd that now surrounds him, the grown man Zacchaeus runs ahead and climbs a sycamore tree. The walls had come tumbling down. Zacchaeus needed love and acceptance, and he knew that if he could just SEE Jesus, he would experience that. A few years before, he had sold out to the Roman government. Now he was “sold out” for Christ!
How many of us are sold out for Christ? I think we Christians today still build up walls around ourselves. Except now those walls often look like churches. And we don’t want to talk about our faith too much because that’s taboo. So we hunker down in the crowd and hope that no one notices us. But the story of Zacchaeus reminds us that when we do such things, we miss our opportunity to see Jesus. The story of Zacchaeus is a tale of unexpected twists and reversals. Zacchaeus thought he was seeking to see Jesus, but in reality Jesus was seeking Zacchaeus too. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
So when Jesus comes along, he not only greets Zacchaeus sitting there in the tree (which would have made Zacchaeus more than happy); Jesus actually tells Zacchaeus that they are going to dine together that day, in Zacchaeus’ house! I would imagine that nothing could have been farther from Zachaeus’ mind than that this Jesus from Galilee would choose to stay at his house! I mean, in the crowd there must have been hundreds upon hundreds of upstanding citizens. Jesus knew that Zacchaeus was a sinner; a thief, a liar, and a cheat. But, out of all the priests of the Temple, out of all the well-to-do and respected citizens—Jesus chose to dine at the home of the most hated and reviled member of this community.
So Jesus goes to Zacchaeus’ house, and there is a lapse of time. They shut the door and the crowd milled around outside and gossiped, but no one knew what went on inside. Jesus had dinner with Zachaeus, but Jesus didn’t stay the night. Finally the door opened, and there stood Zacchaeus! Something radical had happened to this man! He admitted that he had been robbing the poor and promised to give half of his goods to the poor and to restore fourfold to those whom he had falsely taxed. Yes, something had happened inside Zacchaeus, and he was a new man!
And what would have happened if Zacchaeus had not run ahead of the crowd and climbed the sycamore tree? What if Zacchaeus had not torn down those walls of insecurity and self-doubt and social customs? We know very well what would have happened. Zacchaeus never would have met Jesus. He never would have dined with Jesus. He never would have experienced the saving love of Christ.
Lloyd C. Douglas wrote this about what might have occurred inside Zacchaeus’ house: “Zacchaeus,” said the carpenter gently, “what did you see that made you desire this peace?”
“Good Master—I saw—mirrored in your eyes—the face of the Zacchaeus I was meant to be!”
Have we seen—mirrored in Christ’s eyes—the face of the person God meant for us to be? Jesus said to Zacchaeus: “Today salvation has come to this house…For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” Jesus is still entering and passing through the Jericho’s of this world…places like Soddy Daisy, Hixson, Chattanooga…you name it! Jesus is seeking the lost and hoping to dine with them. So today, as we come to this Table to dine with Jesus, let us remember that he is seeking us and all the lost souls of this world. Let us tear down the walls that keep us from being the people that God would have us to be, let’s show others the love of Christ, and let’s ALL join together in the Lord’s heavenly banquet!
