04 11 07 Luke 19 verses 1-10 Colin Finlayson
Some of you will have heard the children’s chorus about Zacchaeus which says:
Zacchaeus was a very little man
And a very little man was he
He climbed up to a sycamore tree
For the Saviour he wanted to see.
And as the Saviour passed that way
He looked up to the tree
And said ... “Zacchaeus! You come down!
For I’m coming to your house for tea”
I’m coming to your house for tea”
Probably we should stop singing that chorus, for two good reasons. First, in our society today we recognize that poking fun at short people is hurtful and wrong; secondly, because Zacchaeus is not just an entertaining story and song for children. It is not children Luke has in his sights in writing this chapter, but us adults.
Zacchaeus may have been short in stature, but he had wealth and power. He was a little man with a big reputation. He was not just well to do, he was rich and Luke is telling us about Zacchaeus in his sycamore tree because we need to hear what it costs to repent, to turn back to God, especially to repent of the kind of deliberate, committed, and sustained sinning that only grown-ups are good at.
The people would have looked upon Zacchaeus with complete contempt. Zacchaeus is doubly offensive and doubly detested. He is shunned by people because of what is perceived as his disfigurement, and loathed because of his co-operation with the occupying powers. He is a collaborator with the occupying Romans. As the "chief tax collector" of the area, he would take a percentage of all taxes raised for the Roman administration. He was the head government official in Jericho for the collection of tax and probably most other government business. He would have been regarded by his fellow Jews as a traitor, in the pay of Rome. As part of the tax, a percentage went to the tax collector, set at his discretion, heightening people's hate of the profession.
Nothing in 1st century Judea was quite so hated and despised as the Roman tax. It not only reminded the Jews that they were a subjugated people, it also represented a theological affront. To the Jewish people there was only one King, and that was God, not Caesar. So, Zacchaeus was cut off from communion with the community of God, prevented from seeing Jesus not only by the press of the crowd, but also due to social and religious ostracism caused by his job and his collaboration with the Romans.
Now obviously, Zacchaeus had heard of Jesus as a religious man who associated with social outcasts like himself, and his determination to meet with Jesus showed that he was searching for more than he currently had in life. Somehow, the Good News of the coming kingdom had already touched him. All Luke tells us is that “he sought to see who Jesus was” but he presents Zacchaeus's encounter with Jesus as the culmination of two quests.
o Zacchaeus looking for Jesus and o Jesus looking for Zacchaeus
Luke uses the same word in verse 3 for Zacchaeus's search ("he sought to see who Jesus was") as he does in verse 10 for Jesus's search ("the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost"). The artistry and depth of Luke's telling of the story is in this deliberate use of the same verb. This is not just one lonely human search going on. There are two searches - Zacchaeus seeking Jesus and Jesus seeking Zacchaeus.
The wealth and power of Zacchaeus do not bring him the peace which he needs, and it is only when his longing for real meaning in his life is fulfilled by the entry of Jesus into his home and his life that he finds that inner sense of contentment. He is once again at home in a relationship with God. The re-establishment of this relationship through Jesus dramatically changes his life, his values and his relationships. His repentance, his turning away from his sinful life and his turning to Christ is demonstrated by making amends to those he has cheated and giving much of his wealth to the poor.
For all of his money and his wealth, in many ways Zacchaeus was as poor as any other person in Jericho. He was a lonely, empty man. In the physical world he appeared to have everything; in the world of the spirit and in the world of warm caring humanity, he had nothing, and in his loneliness, and his search for meaning in life, he casts aside the dignity of a wealthy man, and climbs a tree to see and seek out Jesus.
Today’s reading is not just the story of Zacchaeus; it’s really the story of what it means to be a person whose life appears on the surface to he good, but underneath the veneer that other people see is a longing for something deeper in life with more meaning. Zacchaeus had lost his self respect, his dignity, his reverence, his character, his conscience, his conviction, his friends, his sense of right and wrong. His story reminds us that when we place our dependence for happiness on wealth, possessions, position, power and even human friends, we stand in danger of losing the things in human existence which truly bring eternal happiness.
In our society today there is much seeking after wealth and comfort and the cushioning of our human life by money, luxurious standards of living and high levels of consumption, much of which damages our physical world and causes difficulties for people in poorer countries. There is also much seeking after personal pleasure and exaltation of the view that our individual interests and enjoyment should be the primary concern in our life, much of which causes significant damage to our relationships with others. It’s not of course that comfort or pleasures are wrong in themselves, but rather our dependence on them. God has given us a wonderful world to enjoy. What is upsetting, for God as well as human beings, is that in the midst of all this seeking after wealth and pleasure there is so much sadness and unhappiness; so much pain and distress; so many broken relationships and loneliness.
Jesus looked below the superficial surface of the wealth, power and position that Zacchaeus held, and saw in his inner being, a lonely person seeking to find true meaning in life. Jesus still gets below the superficial surface of our life, understands our inner feelings and hurts and the things that we say only to ourselves inside our head. He is always seeking to share our doubts, our dreams, and our aspirations – our whole life, but that search has to be matched by our personal longing for finding deeper meaning in our life.
Zacchaeus demonstrates that comfort, wealth, power and position do not of themselves bring meaning or happiness. The story of Zacchaeus is not aimed at children. It is quite definitely an adult allegory for our times. It challenges our view of pleasure and wealth. More importantly it challenges us to get below the surface of our human existence and into the search that’s the inherent drive and experience of all human beings – the journey back into a relationship with God through Jesus. The story of Zacchaeus assures us that this is not just a lonely human search, but that Jesus himself is seeking us out and searching for each of us, stretching out his hand to lead us through that journey.
Being in the presence of Jesus challenged Zacchaeus to change his relationship with God and this changed his values and behaviour. Here today, in the presence of Jesus, may each of us be able to open the longings of our hearts for a deeper meaningful life to him. As Christians, and as a Church, we have a Godly view of wealth and power which should continually challenge us, and with which we can and should challenge the world seeking share our wealth and bring about real justice. Equally important, we have the Good News to share with other people, that inner peace and true happiness can still be found in relationship with Christ.
May God bless our work as individuals and as a church as we seek to communicate these two eternal truths.
Some of you will have heard the children’s chorus about Zacchaeus which says:
Zacchaeus was a very little man
And a very little man was he
He climbed up to a sycamore tree
For the Saviour he wanted to see.
And as the Saviour passed that way
He looked up to the tree
And said ... “Zacchaeus! You come down!
For I’m coming to your house for tea”
I’m coming to your house for tea”
Probably we should stop singing that chorus, for two good reasons. First, in our society today we recognize that poking fun at short people is hurtful and wrong; secondly, because Zacchaeus is not just an entertaining story and song for children. It is not children Luke has in his sights in writing this chapter, but us adults.
Zacchaeus may have been short in stature, but he had wealth and power. He was a little man with a big reputation. He was not just well to do, he was rich and Luke is telling us about Zacchaeus in his sycamore tree because we need to hear what it costs to repent, to turn back to God, especially to repent of the kind of deliberate, committed, and sustained sinning that only grown-
Nothing in 1st century Judea was quite so hated and despised as the Roman tax. It not only reminded the Jews that they were a subjugated people, it also represented a theological affront. To the Jewish people there was only one King, and that was God, not Caesar. So, Zacchaeus was cut off from communion with the community of God, prevented from seeing Jesus not only by the press of the crowd, but also due to social and religious ostracism caused by his job and his collaboration with the Romans.
Now obviously, Zacchaeus had heard of Jesus as a religious man who associated with social outcasts like himself, and his determination to meet with Jesus showed that he was searching for more than he currently had in life. Somehow, the Good News of the coming kingdom had already touched him. All Luke tells us is that “he sought to see who Jesus was” but he presents Zacchaeus's encounter with Jesus as the culmination of two quests.
o Zacchaeus looking for Jesus and o Jesus looking for Zacchaeus
Luke uses the same word in verse 3 for Zacchaeus's search ("he sought to see who Jesus was") as he does in verse 10 for Jesus's search ("the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost"). The artistry and depth of Luke's telling of the story is in this deliberate use of the same verb. This is not just one lonely human search going on. There are two searches -
The wealth and power of Zacchaeus do not bring him the peace which he needs, and it is only when his longing for real meaning in his life is fulfilled by the entry of Jesus into his home and his life that he finds that inner sense of contentment. He is once again at home in a relationship with God. The re-
Today’s reading is not just the story of Zacchaeus; it’s really the story of what it means to be a person whose life appears on the surface to he good, but underneath the veneer that other people see is a longing for something deeper in life with more meaning. Zacchaeus had lost his self respect, his dignity, his reverence, his character, his conscience, his conviction, his friends, his sense of right and wrong. His story reminds us that when we place our dependence for happiness on wealth, possessions, position, power and even human friends, we stand in danger of losing the things in human existence which truly bring eternal happiness.
In our society today there is much seeking after wealth and comfort and the cushioning of our human life by money, luxurious standards of living and high levels of consumption, much of which damages our physical world and causes difficulties for people in poorer countries. There is also much seeking after personal pleasure and exaltation of the view that our individual interests and enjoyment should be the primary concern in our life, much of which causes significant damage to our relationships with others. It’s not of course that comfort or pleasures are wrong in themselves, but rather our dependence on them. God has given us a wonderful world to enjoy. What is upsetting, for God as well as human beings, is that in the midst of all this seeking after wealth and pleasure there is so much sadness and unhappiness; so much pain and distress; so many broken relationships and loneliness.
Jesus looked below the superficial surface of the wealth, power and position that Zacchaeus held, and saw in his inner being, a lonely person seeking to find true meaning in life. Jesus still gets below the superficial surface of our life, understands our inner feelings and hurts and the things that we say only to ourselves inside our head. He is always seeking to share our doubts, our dreams, and our aspirations – our whole life, but that search has to be matched by our personal longing for finding deeper meaning in our life.
Zacchaeus demonstrates that comfort, wealth, power and position do not of themselves bring meaning or happiness. The story of Zacchaeus is not aimed at children. It is quite definitely an adult allegory for our times. It challenges our view of pleasure and wealth. More importantly it challenges us to get below the surface of our human existence and into the search that’s the inherent drive and experience of all human beings – the journey back into a relationship with God through Jesus. The story of Zacchaeus assures us that this is not just a lonely human search, but that Jesus himself is seeking us out and searching for each of us, stretching out his hand to lead us through that journey.
Being in the presence of Jesus challenged Zacchaeus to change his relationship with God and this changed his values and behaviour. Here today, in the presence of Jesus, may each of us be able to open the longings of our hearts for a deeper meaningful life to him. As Christians, and as a Church, we have a Godly view of wealth and power which should continually challenge us, and with which we can and should challenge the world seeking share our wealth and bring about real justice. Equally important, we have the Good News to share with other people, that inner peace and true happiness can still be found in relationship with Christ.
May God bless our work as individuals and as a church as we seek to communicate these two eternal truths.