"Zacchaeus
was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree, for the
Lord he wanted to see.”
If you are
like me, you probably sang that song in Sunday School more times than you care
to remember. But it wasn’t until I was
an adult that I realized that Zacchaeus’ physical stature wasn’t the only thing
about him that was small. Given the fact
that he was a tax collector, who collaborated with the Romans and made his
living cheating folks, Zacchaeus would have been considered, by the Jewish
people, to be a “wee little man” even if he had stood six-foot-seven!
Then came
the day that Jesus happened to be passing through Jericho. Word had it that this man could perform
miracles—some even claimed that he was the Messiah—and thus, the crowds lined
the streets, eager to see him, touch him, and cheer him on. Among the more curious was Zacchaeus, who put
aside the dignity of his public office and shimmied up a tree like a school
kid.
He did
this, of course, because he wanted to catch a glimpse of Jesus. But it also allowed Jesus to take a nice,
long look at him. “Zacchaeus, hurry and
come down; for I must stay at your house today.”
The crowd
was obviously shocked and murmured its disapproval. However, I think it’s safe to say that no one
was more surprised than Zacchaeus himself.
“He knows my name! He is calling
for me!”
Zacchaeus
hurried down to greet his guest—a changed man by the time his feet hit the ground. He promptly promised to give fifty percent of
his possessions to the poor, and compensate fourfold anyone he had treated
unfairly. It was a tall order for such a
“wee little man.” But then again,
sometimes God’s grace and mercy has an amazing way of giving us a growth spurt!
So what are
we to make of this strange story that only the Gospel of Luke reports? Well, one interpretation is that it
exemplifies the very reason that Jesus came in the first place—namely, to seek
out and save the lost!
However, I
think there may be another way to read this story. Perhaps it is meant to be a cautionary tale
for any of us who might prefer to remain at a distance, hoping to catch a
glimpse of Jesus, but not really wanting to get personally involved.
Let’s face it, being a spectator is a whole lot easier than being a participant—you just secure a safe spot and admire Jesus from afar. But remaining on the sidelines (or up in the treetops) may not be what Jesus has in mind. The reason he keeps calling out to us is because he’s not looking for admirers; he wants followers!
Let’s face it, being a spectator is a whole lot easier than being a participant—you just secure a safe spot and admire Jesus from afar. But remaining on the sidelines (or up in the treetops) may not be what Jesus has in mind. The reason he keeps calling out to us is because he’s not looking for admirers; he wants followers!
1 Comments:
Yes, I remember singing that song in Vacation Bible School! You put it all in perspective, as you always do. Thank you for doing a blog each week -- I really look forward to them.
By Anonymous, at 5:44 AM
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