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Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house." So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner." Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
- Luke 19:1-10
Yesterday, we read that Jesus took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again." But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken. Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight." Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he was rich. In yesterday's reading, we read that the events took place as Jesus approached Jericho. Here Jesus enters and passes through, and we recall that Jericho was notorious in its time as a place of iniquity and was commonly associated with sinful living. Here is perhaps a highly notorious citizen in this notorious town: a chief tax collector for the Romans, who is exceedingly rich as well. Not only would he be considered a terrible sinner, but also a betrayer of his own people as a collaborator with the occupying Romans. It seems that one really couldn't get much lower than that in terms of what a "notorious sinner" would look like in Christ's time and place.
And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. My study bible tells us that there are multiple spiritual interpretations that give a universal significance to this encounter. Theophylact sees the crowd symbolizing sins: "Crowded in by a multitude of passions and worldly affairs, he is not able to see Jesus. My study bible also cites St. Ambrose as giving several parallels for today's reading: First, Zacchaeus' being of short stature is indicative of the fact that he's short on faith and virtue. Second, Zacchaeus has to climb a tree because no one attached to worldly matters can see Jesus. Finally, that Jesus intended to pass that way shows that Christ will approach anyone willing to repent and believe. It's almost a parallel to the story of the Gadarene demoniac, in some sense, where Jesus deliberately goes with His disciples "to the other side" (of the Sea of Galilee) in order to find this one man amidst so much trouble, and so many who are not believers.
And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house." So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner." It's remarkable that Jesus zeroes in on Zacchaeus; Jesus knows where He is going and what He is doing. This must be an incredibly startling encounter, and it's done in front of the crowds. The Pharisees have already openly criticized Jesus for eating with and being in the company of tax collectors and other sinners, and here it's as if Jesus deliberately affirms His mission to all in the sight of everyone on this route to Jerusalem.
Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." My study bible tells us that Zacchaeus uses the term give for his free and generous offering to the poor, and the term restore for what he owes to those he had cheated. What he restores is not a gift but rather required by the Law (Exodus 22:1). As Zacchaeus is doing both, says my study bible, he's not only fulfilling the Law but also shows his love for the gospel.
And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." My study bible says that the title son of Abraham indicates that Zacchaeus had become like this patriarch of Israel. Counted righteous by faith, Zacchaeus became generous toward the poor, and was united to the people of God. Early records of the Church say that Zacchaeus went on to be a bishop.
In some way, the story of Zacchaeus gives us a picture of the whole gospel of the Kingdom, that Jesus has come to seek and to save that which was lost. John tells us that for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, not to condemn the world but so that the world might be saved through Him. Zacchaeus is basically everything to look down upon: a notorious collaborator, and one who does so to the extent that he's very rich. His short stature basically adds to the picture of someone "diminished" in the eyes of the people. It's almost comical that this man has climbed a tree to see Jesus, except that we realize that there's a true desire there, something that drives him to desire deeply to see this Man who passes through Jericho on His way to the Cross in Jerusalem. The tree Zacchaeus climbs can also be seen as a parallel symbol to the Cross, in which Zacchaeus himself comes to his own cross, and gives up the life he's led and is transformed in repentance so that he will openly return anything he has taken falsely, and give half of what he has to the poor. That's the work of the cross, that kind of transformation of our lives, and our willingness to give up to God what God calls upon us to do. It's the work of the Cross of Christ to bring such transformation to the world, healing to those who are sick, salvation to those who were otherwise "lost." Particularly in this Gospel of Luke, we are taught over and over again this lesson, this meaning to the mission of Jesus in the world. And that has to be a kind of code for our lives. On Saturday, we read Jesus' teaching about how wealth can make it so hard to enter the Kingdom, but repeatedly we've also had His words affirmed that "the things which are impossible with men are possible with God." This is the story of the mission, the whole purpose for all of us: that whatever's lost in us and in our lives is to be reclaimed by Christ, transfigured, brought into a new place of meaning and relevance -- and what has to be let go is left behind in order to "follow Him" into this Kingdom. The picture of transformation that we see here isn't so much a story of what we all need to do, but rather a picture of what it is to be really saved: our lives transfigured, redeemed, made well. It doesn't matter, in that sense, what particular things we need to do that He will lead us to do; for each of us, that cross will mean different things as all lives are unique. But, like Zacchaeus, we are called to house Him within ourselves, that He may come in and dwell with us and make us a part of His life. His presence calls us to a repentance of whatever it is we need to change and however it is we need to change, and that's His mission that keeps calling us home to this place of change, of climbing our own crosses or doing whatever we need to do to "hear" and "see" Him, and to do what we need to do with Him as guest. Every day, we can think about living this way, and how His love calls us to His presence with us and within us.
