Zacchaeus' Tree House? Zacchaeus' Tree House?
Remember the story of Zacchaeus the tax collector ( Luke 19:1-9)? For many of us it was one of the first stories we were taught as children. In the story Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and was passing through the city of Jericho. As he was passing through many people were waiting to see him - some because of a true desire to learn more about the man who taught and lived with such loving authority - some probably out of curiosity because of the news of his healings to include the recent raising of Lazarus from the dead in Bethany, only 15 miles away.
As Jesus was passing through, Zacchaeus, a strikingly short in stature chief tax collector (who was viewed as both a thief and traitor by the residents of Jericho because of his fraudulent collection of taxes in the employ of the occupying force, the Romans) wanted to see Jesus over the crowd so he climbed a tree to get a glimpse of Jesus. As a chief tax collector, he must have really wanted to see Jesus badly, as climbing a tree to see someone was certainly not an action that would normally be associated with a man of his role and wealth. While such action might be considered beneath him to observers, Zacchaeus did not let that stop him because he truly wanted to see Jesus.
When Jesus reached the spot where Zacchaeus was perched, he called Zacchaeus down from the tree and invited himself to Zaccheus' house. What was Zacchaeus' response to this call? Well, he immediately came down and gladly welcomed Jesus to come to his house. He didn't say, "Hey Jesus, I can hear you just fine from this comfortable perch in this tree. Why don't you just come closer and we can meet here". He didn't say "Great idea, tell you what, I want to meet you, but my house is a mess. Why don't you come back when I have a chance to clean up - so my place will be worthy of the Son of God". Nor did he say "I am so glad to see you, and as a man of wealth, I am going to build a tree house in this very tree and from it I will comfortably share with others what you share with me while I sit in this tree." No, he immediately came down and gladly welcomed Jesus to come to his house.
Well, the crowd saw both Jesus' call and Zacchaeus' response and they began to mutter to each other about Jesus lowering himself to be with a sinner such as the corrupt tax collector Zacchaeus. Hearing both Jesus' call, and I suspect the muttering of the crowd, how did Zacchaeus further respond? Zacchaeus responded by saying “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” He didn't say "Lord, from this point forward I will not cheat anyone, however, based on my current financial status, I don't think it wise to give away the things that I acquired by fraud before being called by you." Nor did he say, "Lord, I will give some of the things I don't need to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back what the law requires for the amount I took fraudulently - and I believe that amount is only two times what I stole." No, he said "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
How did Jesus respond to Zacchaeus' actions?* He told Zacchaeus that today salvation had come to his home. With this response Jesus was telling Zacchaeus that his faith had caused him to be counted among God's people. Everyone that comes to Jesus in faith and believes on him is saved by faith. In addition to responding to Zacchaeus, Jesus also responded to the people who criticized him for spending time with people with bad reputations by explaining to them that his reason for associating with them was because he (the Son of man) came to seek and to save those who are lost. Jesus cares about everyone, no matter what his or her present situation is and he wants to free (save) everyone from his or her sins.
We are all sinners, no better than Zacchaeus, the corrupt tax collector from Jericho. And like Zacchaeus, we can all turn our eyes upon Jesus and be saved. Let's answer Jesus' call in our lives immediately like Zacchaeus did, and not seek to follow Christ from the comfortable tree houses we construct in our life.
*Taken From Zacchaeus Repents ©1998 by Jim Kerlin. All rights reserved.
2:07:03 PM 
|
|
