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ZACCHAEUS, COME DOWN IMMEDIATELY

Luke 19:1-10
Key Verse: 5

“When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’”

By Daniel Villar

In the movie The Mission, we see the story of a man, Rodrigo Mendoza, who captured indigenous Guarani people in the Paraguayan jungle to sell them as slaves. His life took a first change when he killed his brother in a duel, after finding him in bed with his fiancée. However, despite being acquitted of the crime, he is consumed by remorse and guilt. Father Gabriel, the priest in charge of the mission whose Indians Mendoza captured and sold, challenged him to start a new life by going with him to his mission. When they arrive, Mendoza is so moved by the fact that the Guarani forgive him for everything he has done that he is set free from his guilt and gladly devotes his life to serving them. That’s a very brief description of the beautiful transformation that can take place when a sinner is offered forgiveness and acceptance. If you’ve seen the movie, you can probably remember the heart-moving images of Mendoza’s repentance and his loving care of the Guarani. This passage tells us about another sinner who repents, but only in ten verses. Through it, let’s see how God’s love for all sinners manifests itself in Jesus.

1.            Zacchaeus the tax collector (1-4)

Jesus had already been on his way to Jerusalem for some time, knowing that his time had come to be tortured and crucified. He was only passing through Jericho, but his short stay ended up being quite eventful. This passage is about a man named Zacchaeus who got to meet Jesus in a way that very few people did during his earthly ministry. So who was Zacchaeus? He was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. Tax collectors were considered traitors because they collaborated with the occupying Roman forces. They also generally abused their tax-collecting authority to extract considerable revenue for themselves. Zacchaeus had chosen a career that made him an outcast. For some reason, the possibility of becoming very wealthy and powerful had seemed more important than what people would think of him or simply being a good Jew. Zacchaeus was very ambitious and very able, but he was also very selfish, and that was his problem. That was what defined him. Thanks to his selfishness and great ability, he had everything that money could buy. But there was still something else that he wanted. Let’s read verse 3 together. He wanted to see Jesus, but there was an obstacle. He got around it by running ahead of the crowd and climbing a tree to be sure that he would be able to see Jesus when he walked by. Zacchaeus was a very selfish man, and he was also extremely determined to get what he wanted. He didn’t care much about what other people thought, and this time it served him well. He was notorious, so by climbing up a tree next to a large crowd, he was exposing himself to humiliation and to having all sorts of objects thrown at him.

Why would Zacchaeus go to such lengths to see who Jesus was? He must have heard things about Jesus: his miraculous healings, the preaching of the coming of the Kingdom of God, but also how he accepted public sinners who repented. Zacchaeus didn’t have God, because his selfishness separated him from God. He had run after money all his life, but we see that his money did not bring him happiness because he was so desperate to see Jesus. Jesus had been approaching people just like him to offer them reconciliation with God and a new life direction. This was exactly what Zacchaeus wanted.

Zacchaeus was a public sinner, but in his heart was a deep desire to see Jesus, and faith that it would be worth the whole effort. When we set our heart on doing something, obstacles and difficulties tend to discourage us and can even make us give up, but then they also test how strong our desire and determination really are. We learn from Zacchaeus the courage to challenge difficult situations to show ourselves to Jesus and meet him. He had very serious problems and had really been living a life of sin. But what’s important is that he had a true desire to meet Jesus, and faith that he would really receive something from the experience. Let’s see what happened to him.

2.            “Zacchaeus, come down immediately” (5-10)

Let’s read verse 5 together. Jesus called Zacchaeus down from his tree and invited himself over to his house. What?! The people expected Jesus to rebuke him for his greed. Why would Jesus want to stay at his house? Did he not know what kind of man Zacchaeus was, or was he hoping to enjoy the luxury of his mansion? No, Jesus knew exactly who he was and extended an invitation to Zacchaeus, an invitation to meet him and spend time with him. Zacchaeus immediately accepted and gladly welcomed him into his house. For Zacchaeus this invitation was an offer of love and acceptance, and this is what moved him to welcome Jesus with gladness.

Jesus’ gesture of calling Zacchaeus down from the fig tree was unexpected and simple, but it shows us that Jesus welcomes absolutely anyone who is willing to come to him. It’s important that Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector because he was among those who were considered the dirtiest sinners by the Jews. We can see this in the way that the crowd responded. Let’s read verse 7 together. The people couldn’t accept that Jesus was welcoming Zacchaeus. To them, he was just a sinner. He had chosen to make himself dirty by betraying his people and exploiting them. They only had contempt and hatred for him, and all he deserved was their condemnation.

The point, however, is that Jesus is completely different from ordinary people, because God’s ways are completely different from man’s ways. He says this in Isaiah 55:8,9: “’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” How are God’s ways different from our ways? In the way that he chooses to not condemn those who do evil but freely offers them forgiveness. God says in Isaiah 55:7 “Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” God’s way is to call all sinners to himself, no matter how much evil they have done or how much they have perverted themselves, to restore them and grant them forgiveness.

This is what Jesus’ ministry was about. He approached those who were considered most dirty by the Jews: tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, adulterous women, criminals and Gentiles; to show them that God was eager to forgive and accept them if they turned away from their evil ways and believed in him. Jesus’ life reveals God’s infinite love for all sinners, including those who are rejected and condemned by everyone. The ultimate demonstration of this is Jesus’ death on the cross. He was willing to accept humiliation, torture and death by crucifixion knowing that all of it was necessary to atone for the sins of mankind. He even prayed for those who killed him as he was dying on the cross. This all comes from the love that God has for sinners; and this love cannot be found apart from Jesus.

This love cannot be found in the world, because in the world people condemn those who sin against them. There is therefore no healing or forgiveness, and since everyone is a sinner the world is overrun by evil and suffering, with no hope. This attitude is illustrated by the muttering of the people, who condemned Zacchaeus as a sinner. Jesus instead called out to him and welcomed him into his life. Zacchaeus had surely never been shown such love and acceptance, and this had an immediate impact in his life. Let’s read verse 8 together. At that moment, he decided to completely turn away from the selfishness and greed for money that had guided his life, and to be reconciled to those he had cheated.

Zacchaeus’ story is so beautiful because it clearly shows us how powerful Jesus’ love is. It transformed Zacchaeus, from a public enemy to a man who would pursue justice and generosity. This was wonderful for both him and the people of Jericho. However, Jesus emphasized something else. Let’s read verses 9 and 10 together. Zacchaeus had received salvation, the gift of eternal life, even though he had lived a life of sin. This was possible because Jesus would pay for his forgiveness by dying on the cross a few days later. It didn’t matter what Zacchaeus had done or what people thought of him, Jesus was pleased to give him salvation because of his faith. He had the desire to meet Jesus, and when he met Jesus he welcomed him gladly. This made him a son of Abraham. Jesus also took this opportunity to make it clear why he had come. The primary purpose of Jesus’ coming was not to perform miracles, or even to teach his followers how they should live, but to seek and to save what was lost.

Zacchaeus had been lost: he had hurt people by his selfishness and had been hurt by their condemnation. But Jesus had come seeking him to bring him back to God and had found him. Zacchaeus then only had to accept Jesus’ invitation. The fact that Jesus came to seek and to save what was lost reveals God’s heart for humanity: God is longing to find all those who remain lost because of sin. The world is a dark place plagued by selfishness and condemnation, but everyone can have hope in being forgiven and receiving eternal life, because Jesus came to seek and save what was lost.

For most of my life, I saw myself as a pretty good person. I didn’t cheat or mistreat people, and I hated those who, like Zacchaeus, did so out of their selfishness. My parents were always able to amply provide for all my needs, and I received the best education that one could want. However, I was lost not knowing God, and I tried to find happiness through immoral pleasures and academic success. Towards the end of high school, I started learning about Jesus and began to consider myself a Christian. As I read the Bible, I felt convicted by Jesus’ commands that I actually am selfish. By my own goodness, there was no way that I could love my neighbor as myself, or give everything I have to serve others. When I came to Columbia for college, I was invited to Bible study and I accepted, thinking it would be interesting. What I learnt through Bible study was that God did not condemn me for my sins; instead he offered me justification and salvation through Jesus. I was moved that God loved me so much, but I was still unwilling to let go of my immoral life. It took me time to fully open myself to Jesus to let him reign in my heart and in my life, but God was showing me that with his love he was offering me a blessed and happy life in fellowship with Him if I would let go of my sins. Through studying Daniel 1 at the beginning of my sophomore year God showed me that I would be blessed by making the decision to no longer defile myself by what I did.  So I particularly decided to stop drinking, and doing anything that would be wrong in God’s eyes. I was filled with peace and joy, knowing that I could now freely live in fellowship with God and with his people with no fear of condemnation. God had always been seeking me: He worked things out in my life so that I could come to know Him in his time, and He waited patiently for me. He wanted me to come to Him even though I defiled and corrupted myself with my sins, and He bore with my slowness and all my mistakes. I surely can’t deserve or earn this kind of love, but I can accept it with gladness and let it transform me.

God opened my eyes to see that I could live my life and offer everything He gives me to share his love with others. He has granted me more success than I could have hoped for in my 4 years at Columbia, and even admission to Columbia’s graduate economics program. This success gives me great joy, but on its own it can’t bring lasting happiness. What does give me happiness is the assurance that Jesus accepts me as I am and loves me unconditionally. Because I accept this, I’m also free to no longer live a self-centered life, but to instead offer myself to be God’s agent to seek out those who are lost to lead them towards salvation. Columbia is full of hard-working and ambitious people like Zacchaeus; and this really applies to economists. I pray that my life may bear witness to the love and salvation I have received from Jesus, that other lost students may also come to want to see Jesus.

This passage teaches us about God’s love for sinners: while the people of Jericho could not see past Zacchaeus’ selfishness, Jesus saw him as a son of Abraham, someone ready to receive the gift of salvation. By accepting Jesus’ offer, Zacchaeus underwent a beautiful transformation. Let’s read verse 5 together one more time. In the same way, Jesus calls each of us by name to come to him and receive the gift of salvation and forgiveness for all our sins. When we welcome him and are willing to show ourselves to him as we are, he fills us with the joy and peace of knowing that he accepts us and has already saved us. We can then see how his love works in our hearts to make us live lives that glorify him and bear witness to his love.

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