Tree Climbing

 

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”  Luke 19:9-10

 The story of Zaccheus reminds me a little of A Christmas Carol and Ebeneezer Scrooge. Zaccheus was hated and despised, and for good reason. In the eyes of his neighbors, he had collaborated with the enemy, the Roman government. He worked for them, their oppressors, and collected the people’s taxes. But he didn’t just do that, he added a little on the top for himself. He had cheated them all for years and kept the profits for himself. But God didn’t see fit to send three spirits to open Zaccheus’ eyes to his deplorable condition and desperate need for a Savior. No, God sent the Savior Himself!

 We don’t know what God had been doing in Zaccheus’ heart leading up to this day, but something had to be at work there to have him be so desperate to see Jesus as He passed by. The crowd was thick and Zaccheus, as we all know from the children’s song, was a wee little man. And you can be certain that no one was going to part ways and allow him in front to see. After all the hurt and harm he had caused his community no one there was looking out for him. But Zaccheus had to see Jesus. There was something in his heart that made it an absolute. Can’t you just see him, trying to worm his way through the crowd and being pushed back and rejected time and time again? Scanning the area for something he could climb up on so that he could at least see Jesus. He wasn’t even asking for a conversation, an encounter. He probably didn’t see himself as worthy of that. He just wanted to lay eyes on this incredible teacher, the one everyone was talking about. Finally, his eyes alighted on a tree, a sycamore tree. Now, Zaccheus was not a hard-working, physically active man. We don’t know if he was slight of build or girthsome, but we do know that the type of job he had was more academic in nature. Tree climbing is an activity typically embarked upon by youths, and for good reason. It requires a great deal of lean muscle to body mass ratio and a fair amount of a sense of invincibility. Zaccheus likely had neither of these, nor did he have someone to give him a boost. But where there’s a will, there’s a way, and Zaccheus was not to be dissuaded on this of all days. Perhaps it was his desperation alone that propelled him up that tree trunk, but somehow, he made it up there, and in time to see Jesus pass by!

 Can you imagine his absolute amazement when Jesus called him out? The shock that Jesus knew his name, would care to address him personally, him who was most hated and loathed in the community! And then to hear that Jesus was going to come to his house! If Zaccheus was anything like me, he instantly ran through the list of things that were messy and unkempt in the house as he had hurried out that morning, but no matter, Jesus was coming! Somehow, it would all be ok. Then the murmuring started. He wasn’t the only one surprised by Jesus’ choice to engage with him and come over to his house. Everyone around him was talking. They were talking about him. They were calling him a sinner and actually complaining about Jesus going to visit him. This was his moment. This was his chance. All of his life had come down to this. Would he continue as he had his entire adulthood to ignore what the people said about him, to stuff it down and use it as fuel for his financial retribution against them? Or would he choose something different today? Would he choose Jesus, as Jesus had chosen him?

 Yes! I’m so happy to share that Zaccheus did choose the path of humility. Right then and there he turned his back on the accumulation of wealth that had so consumed him. He gave half his possessions to the poor and promised repayment by 4x to all those he had cheated. Now, he must have had a great deal of money to be able to do this! Think about it. If he had cheated 100 people out of $10 each, he was promising to repay them $40 each, or $4,000. How on earth did he come up with that much more in the first place? Only God, and I suppose Zaccheus, knows, but that was his declaration. Whereas the rich young man that Jesus talked to in Mark 10:17-31 went away sad because he could not let go of his great wealth, Zaccheus made the better choice and picked Jesus over money.

Here's the Thing: I’m not saying money is evil or we should all give everything away, but if you are choosing money over Jesus, you’ll never find happiness in it. Zaccheus did not buy his salvation by repaying his debts, he chose Jesus over the god of money that he had worshipped his whole life. Finally, Zaccheus was truly free and had everything he had ever wanted but could never have bought. Is there anything standing between you and following God? It could be money, or family, or any number of things. Today is your day, Jesus is calling you and wants to come to your house. Will you greet Him? Will you accept His visit with joyful wonder and anticipation? Will you lay down whatever it was that was keeping you from Him and trust that he is so much better? You’ll never make a better choice in your whole life!

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