Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man
Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector. This was not a secret or subtle thing, but made others regard him as a public sinner and a traitor. Here was a man collecting the money to pay for the very government that oppressed and controlled Israel, and who was not afraid to take above and beyond what was necessary so that he himself was a wealthy man. Yet it seems clear that his wealth was not enough to give him peace, not enough to fill in the hole in his heart that isolation from those around him must have created.
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
Zacchaeus could have simply given up. The crowds here were just one more element of the isolation he felt. His own shortness must have been like the physical expression of all of the limitations of his life to that point. Neither his riches nor his position provided the entry point to sate his interest about Jesus.
One wonders what it was about Jesus that captured the attention of Zacchaeus. Could it have been the very attitude about Jesus toward riches, that they were not only not the answer, but a potential difficulty and liability? Could it have been the fact that Jesus had been friendly to other sinners, even other tax collectors (see Luke 5:27)?
Whatever it was that made Jesus so compelling to Zacchaeus it made Zacchaeus unwilling to give up so easily. Here at last, perhaps, was hope. Here finally a solution to the emptiness and isolation he felt. What he could not overcome with money and position he would instead overcome by humility and openness.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
We might say that climbing this tree was an act of faith, faith that his hope in Jesus would pay off. It implied that Zacchaeus thought that seeing Jesus himself would be more worthwhile than preserving his own dignity by remaining with his feet planted firmly on the ground. It is in some way archetypal of many conversions which often involve humbling oneself, or at least taking oneself less seriously, in order be open and in range as Jesus passes by. What will happen then? The potential convert has already relinquished control. It might, his ego insists, be the case that not only the crowd but even Jesus himself laughs at his efforts. But what actually happens is quite different. Humble faith is rewarded.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
"Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house."
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
As Jesus looked up at Zacchaeus, knowing his name, comprehending him in his entirety, all of his past shame and present struggle, and yet loving him, Zacchaeus experienced the truth spoken of by Solomon in the book of Wisdom.
For you love all things that are
and loathe nothing that you have made;
for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.
It was only on the basis of this love that was already his, that preceded any change in him or effort he made, that Zacchaeus was able to transform his life. He was so moved by this love that he could not help but change, going above and beyond what strict justice alone would have required.
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
"Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over."
Like so many people after an encounter with Jesus, Zacchaeus found his place in a new and bigger story. His response was characterized by the eager haste and joy of those who knew themselves to be known and to be loved by God. Zacchaeus knew from this that he was no longer isolated and no longer defined only and entirely as sinner and tax collector. But Jesus made the point explicit.
Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
Zacchaeus may well have doubted that he was a descendant of Abraham in any meaningful way after his life as a tax collector, one who was consider a traitor to that very people. But Jesus was about his business of restoring the Kingdom and regathering the tribes. And no one need be excluded.
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost.
Just as in the parables of the lost sheep and of the lost coin so too was there joy in heaven over this one small statured sinner who repented. He was like the prodigal son who had finally found the Father's embrace, found that which alone could fill the hole in his heart, the answer to his deepest longing.
For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate (see Luke 15:24).
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