Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
Zacchaeus was wealthy, like the rich young ruler who approached Jesus but went away sad. And he was a tax collector, considered a sinner in virtue of his collaboration with the Romans. Like the ruler he wanted to see who Jesus was. But he was initially frustrated because he couldn't see him over the crowds.
Like the blind beggar whom Jesus healed Zacchaeus did not give up because of the crowd. The beggar found a way to reach Jesus by crying out to him even when the crowd tried to silence him. Zacchaeus overcame the barrier of the crowd by climbing a sycamore tree. But just as the blind beggar already had the seed of faith drawing him to the Son of David, so too had providence already been at work behind the scenes in the case of Zacchaeus.
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.
What seemed to Zacchaeus to be his own plan to see Jesus was actually the plan of Jesus to see him, "to seek and to save what was lost". Moreover, Zacchaeus demonstrated a commitment and resolve that the rich young ruler lacked. Zacchaeus made a quick response of hospitality. And he showed that even the rich need not go away sad but can indeed be saved, saying, "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". The rich ruler was similarly invited to use his riches for the sake of the Kingdom and then to follow Jesus. But his attachment to his wealth led him to hesitate rather than respond quickly, and he ultimately chose to prefer his possessions to Jesus' invitation.
What made the difference for Zacchaeus and allowed him to respond in a way that the rich young ruler could not? We can only speculate. No doubt being labeled a sinner in virtue of his being a tax collector made it more difficult for him to be comfortable and satisfied with his life as it was. The barriers that might have prevented him from having to access to Jesus seemed only to increase his desire to see him. And when he was finally found by Jesus he responded quickly and with joy. The ruler, by contrast, apparently wandered up to Jesus unhindered and considered his invitation but hesitated and ultimately went away sad. We see in Zacchaeus the mysterious workings of grace. At every stage things that seemed to be obstacles were transformed in order to serve the purpose of leading him to meet and receive Jesus. In the ruler we see one who seemed to have everything, who kept the commandments, but who found all of this to be insufficient.
The message is that there is no barrier, not riches, not our status as sinners, much less our physical stature that can keep Jesus from finding and saving us. But the rich young ruler is a reminder that there is nothing we have and no natural ability within us that can avail us. We need to respond to grace. If we remember that it isn't all about us and our efforts will can be bold enough to spare no effort on our part. Because we are responding to the one who loved us first we can do so quickly and with joy.
Responding to grace is not a one time affair. If we wish to respond well to the challenges of a hostile and secular world we will need to continue to depend on grace, just as Eleazar obviously did. He overcame what was a natural revulsion to suffering and death because of a greater trust in the Almighty.
Even if, for the time being, I avoid the punishment of men,
I shall never, whether alive or dead,
escape the hands of the Almighty.
Therefore, by manfully giving up my life now,
I will prove myself worthy of my old age,
and I will leave to the young a noble example
of how to die willingly and generously
for the revered and holy laws.
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