A Wee Little Man

 Greetings everyone.

We will start our examination of Luke 19 today.  It is a story that you are probably familiar with.  Verses 1-10 tell us the story of Zaccheus. Here is my translation: 

1 Jesus entered into Jericho and was passing through it. 2 There was a man in Jericho called Zaccheus. He was the chief tax collector and he was very wealthy. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but because of his short stature, he was not able to see over the crowd. 4 So running ahead in front of the crowd, he climbed up into a sycamore fig tree, so that he could see Jesus since  he was passing through. 5 When Jesus came to that spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, come down, now, because today I am staying at your house.” 6 Zaccheus came down right away, and gladly welcomed Jesus as his guest. 

7 As the whole crowd saw this, they complained, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinful man.” 

8 But Zaccheus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of all I own, I give to the poor. And anyone that I have cheated, I will give back four times as much.”

9 Then Jesus said to him, Today, salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.  10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost.” 

Jesus has entered Jericho and appears to be passing right through it.  Kenneth Bailey states that this is something that would be very disappointing to the townsfolk of Jericho, as they had likely prepared a big banquet for the noted teacher. (Bailey, 176.)

Zaccheus was the tax collector which would make him unpopular anywhere, but in the system in place within the Roman Empire, he would also be seen as a traitor to his people.  He would be absolutely hated.  According to Bailey, the way the system worked was that Rome farmed out the collecting of taxes to whoever paid for that right.  Rome set an amount and the tax collector would then tax the people, drawing his wages from what he collected beyond what Rome asked for.  A system ripe for corruption, (Bailey, 176-177.)

Now, Zaccheus wanted to see Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd.  Certainly, no one in Jericho was going to do him a favor by letting him make his way to the front of the crowd.  Knowing that he was seen as a traitor, it was unlikely that he would ask. In a crowd that would likely be hostile to him, Zaccheus might not be safe.  

In his efforts to see Jesus, he does two things that rich prominent men would not ordinarily do in public.  He ran and then he climbed a tree.  Sycamore fig trees are relatively short and easy to climb, with wide lateral branches and dense foliage.  It is possible that Zaccheus climbed such a tree hoping that no one would notice him.  So, Jesus undoubtedly surprised everyone, including Zaccheus, when he stopped and talked to a man hiding in a tree. Perhaps even more surprising, Jesus addressed Zaccheus by name.  

Jesus commands Zaccheus to come down quickly, then invites himself over to Zaccheus’s house. Zaccheus was viewed as a traitor by the rest of town.  It is important to understand that Jesus accepted the ‘traitor.’ He did not view Zaccheus the same way that the citizens of Jericho did.  

The townspeople complained about the attention that Jesus gives Zaccheus, noting that Jesus was going to be a guest in the house of a 'sinner.' If what Bailey says is right, and the town had prepared a big banquet for Jesus, we see that he forsook the big feast of the ‘righteous’ townsfolk, to be the guest of a ‘sinner.” 

Luke does not record any response from Jesus to the complaints of the people.  Instead the response comes from Zaccheus.  Jesus quickly brings Zaccheus to repentance.  He boldly makes a declaration that he would give half of what he owned to the poor and reimburse anyone that he had cheated, fourfold. Has Zaccheus cheated a lot of people?  It appears that the people of Jericho assumed he had, but now, after his encounter with Jesus, Zaccheus is repentant, and ready to make things right.  

Jesus’ invitation leads to salvation for Zaccheus and Jesus says as much.  “Today, salvation has come to this house.”  Jesus states that Zaccheus is a Son of Abraham.  Even tax collectors can be children of God.  

Turns out that Zaccheus, the tax collector and traitor, is the kind of person Jesus is actually looking for, because Jesus’ message led him to repentance.  So many others would just show up for the miracles, but without repentance. 

This passage closes with Jesus declaring his purpose: to seek and save the lost, but salvation doesn’t come to everyone, but those who respond to the message and repent. 

     Kenneth Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, Downers Grove, Illinois, Intervarsity Press Academic, 2008.