Zacchaeus: Do We See, Do We Hear?

A Scripture reading this morning is taken from Luke's Gospel, the 19th chapter, and the first

! 10 verses, the famous story of Jesus and Zacchaeus. If you're following, I think in the Pew Bible, it may

! be page 878. There are a number of Bibles available, but there's also the reading there on the order of

service. Let's hear and read together in God's Word. Luke 19 from verse 1.

He, that is Jesus, entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was

a chief tax collector and was rich, and he was seeking to see who Jesus was. But on account of

the crowd, he could not because he was small of stature. So, he ran on ahead and climbed up into

a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place,

he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.

So, he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled,

he has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord,

behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything,

I restore it fourfold. And Jesus said to him, today salvation has come to this house,

since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

This is the Word of God, and to His name be the praise and the glory.

Well, let me add my welcome to those from David. But before I start, I wonder if you would let me

say at least two things. First, Janet, my wife, and I have only been coming to St. Columba's for like

the last 10 or 11 months. And that has meant that I've not had the opportunity to introduce myself to

most of you. So, and particularly those of you who are visiting, obviously I've never met you.

And so I think I know what might be going through most of your minds.

Who is this guy? You know, that's a question I regularly ask myself from time to time. The second

thing I want to say before we look at this passage from Luke's Gospel, I want to speak, I think it was,

what, maybe two or three Sundays ago when Janice and I, and I think it was 14, 15 other people were

formally welcomed as members of St. Columba's. I want to say to them, but also to any of you who

might be yourself considering becoming members of St. Columba's, I'm pretty confident that there is

absolutely no expectation that should you become a member that in two or three Sundays you'll be

expected to preach. I mean, I think that's right. Well, let's, we really do need to pray together,

so may I lead us please in prayer.

Heavenly Father, we pray that your word would be our guide,

your Holy Spirit would be our teacher,

and you, Lord Jesus,

your glory would be our

supreme concern. Amen.

Well, the

story of Zacchaeus,

Zacchaeus,

it may be a familiar story to most of us. I mean, it is

one of the greatest hits in most children's Bibles

about a wee little man who has to climb up. I'm feeling very personally associated with that by being,

I'd rather be there than here.

But for others of us, it might be a completely brand new story and a really weird one

at that.

But I think for at least two reasons, it will be helpful if we do go back to this

story. The first is, I think, pretty obvious.

The second less so.

Here's the first reason.

Do remember that whatever might be familiar

can still offer something new to you.

And I hope very much that will be the case

this morning.

Now, the second reason why I want to go to this story, and this is less obvious.

The second reason why, whether you are familiar with the story or you're not,

it has to do with what would we call it?

Either an existential or an experiential kind of discomfort.

It's that sense that, can't really put our finger on it, but something's not right with our experience

going through life in these contemporary days.

Something is out of sync, and we just can't quite figure out what that might be.

It's, well, look, let me quote an author whom I think puts his finger precisely on the problem

I'm trying to describe.

I'll try to read this section very carefully, because it's a very significant quote.

Here is

Edward Bear

coming downstairs now,

bump, bump, bump,

on the back of his head

behind Christopher Robin.

It is, as far as he knows,

the only way of coming downstairs.

But sometimes he feels

that there really is another way

if only he could stop bumping for a moment

and think of it.

And then he feels that, well, perhaps there isn't.

Anyhow, here he is at the bottom

and ready to be introduced to you,

Winnie the Pooh.

Last Sunday we had reference to Rousseau.

This Sunday we have reference to Winnie the Pooh.

We are a full service ministry here at St. Columbus.

But I wonder if you heard it.

He's wondering,

there must be a better way

if only I could figure it out.

And if we can see and hear the story of Zacchaeus,

however familiar it might be,

or however novel it might be to us,

I wonder if there's a way of seeing,

another way in life

that can bring to an end

perhaps the bump, bump, bump

of experience in your life.

An experience that you may have wondered,

will it ever cease?

So come with me to the story of Zacchaeus

who meets Jesus.

And sticking with this idea of

seeing and hearing,

four things this morning.

First, see who is here.

In other words,

who are the actors in this dramatic story?

Secondly, hear what is said.

Thirdly, see where this takes place.

And fourthly, hear what this all means.

Okay?

Those four things.

So first, see who is here.

Who are the actors on stage

in this dramatic story?

Well, to start, of course,

in verse 1 of chapter 19,

is Jesus.

He is, Luke tells us,

passing through.

He's passing through

this very prominent city of Jericho,

and he's going up in elevation

about 29 kilometers

towards the capital city, Jerusalem.

He's following a well-traveled road.

And now, the thing to bear in mind,

throughout Luke's gospel,

there is a narrative trajectory,

an arc in which Jesus is always focused

on going to Jerusalem.

So after our passage in chapter 19,

he actually does arrive in Jerusalem.

And you might know this

as his triumphal entry.

Others of you might remember it

as being sort of Palm Sunday.

But earlier in chapter 18,

just before our passage,

he had informed his closest followers,

his disciples,

that for him going to Jerusalem

is going to involve his betrayal,

his arrest,

his suffering,

his execution,

but on the third day rise again.

And his followers did not understand it.

But before he gets to Jerusalem,

Jesus reaches this city of Jericho.

But even before our passage,

in the outskirts of the city,

Jesus met a blind man,

a blind man begging by the side of the road.

And of course, you probably know the story.

What is amazing to us,

and I'm sure it was even more amazing

to the people that were there,

Jesus miraculously heals

this blind man's sight

but actually,

if you look back with me

at chapter 18, verse 38,

Luke wants us to see

something even more significant.

This blind man

spiritually sees

who Jesus is.

Verse 38,

Jesus, son of David,

has messianic,

Davidic kingship descent,

all in that tone.

Jesus, son of David,

have mercy on me.

Do you get it?

A blind beggar

sees

who Jesus is

in contrast

to the rich ruler

who physically could see

but whose wealth

blinded him

from seeing

and acknowledging Jesus.

and that astounds the crowd

because their working assumption

is it's the rich

that have the capital,

the leverage

to understand.

But this rich ruler

turns away

and that leaves them

asking the question

in chapter 18,

verse 26,

look,

if the rich don't get it,

who then can be saved?

And Jesus' answer

in verse 27

is very important

as we come to our story.

What is impossible

with men

is possible

with God.

So the stage is set.

There's Jesus.

Now,

enter stage right

is Zacchaeus,

chapter 19,

verse 2.

And Luke identifies him

by name

and that probably indicates

that either his subsequent readers

knew of Zacchaeus,

but that's another story,

or that he was well-known anyway.

And he was certainly

well-known

for his being notorious.

Zacchaeus was not just simply

a tax collector,

he was a chief tax collector

and was wealthy.

Now,

most of you will understand,

please don't think of him

as a tax collector

being comparable

with someone who works

for HMRC today,

however frustrated

you might be

filling out your own taxes.

Zacchaeus was an Israelite

who was working

for the occupying power.

So it's probably

better to see him

as a collaborator

with Rome.

Think of him, then,

as one who exercised

a manipulative,

coercive,

and exploitive

chokehold

on many of those people

in the crowd

in Jericho.

And Zacchaeus

was a chief tax collector.

In other words,

he's skimming off

his profits

from those who worked

for him.

He was a very big cheese

and he was clearly

despised

in Jericho.

And there's a rich

irony here

because the name

Zacchaeus

in Hebrew-Aramaic,

Zaki,

well,

that means,

or can mean,

innocent

or pure.

Now,

for reasons

Luke does not

explicitly provide,

Zacchaeus

wants to see

Jesus.

I think that phrase

is quite important

for us to appreciate.

He most likely

wants to see

Jesus

out of curiosity.

I don't know,

he may have heard

news about Jesus,

perhaps the reports

of the healing

of the blind man

that had been

already taking place.

So there's the stage,

Jesus,

Zacchaeus,

but there's a third

element of actors

on the stage.

It's there in verse 7.

And they play

a very significant role,

the crowd.

Actually,

they play a bigger role

than we might first

anticipate.

Do you notice

the crowd earlier

kept the beggar

from Jesus?

And the crowd now

seems to be

blocking the view.

Do you know how it works

in a crowd?

You know how a crowd

stands together

and they kind of

quietly block

someone out.

So there could be

a double entendre there.

He could not see

Jesus because of the crowd.

And remember,

this crowd

would very much

have included

the very people

whom Zacchaeus

and his boys

exploited,

extorted,

and bribed.

Their crowd

was definitely

not Team Zacchaeus.

So that's who's

on the stage.

But now secondly,

hear what is said.

Verse 5.

When Jesus reaches

the spot,

the sycamore tree,

Zacchaeus had climbed

up to see Jesus.

Jesus looked up

and saw him.

And here's the first

thing said.

Jesus called him

by name.

By name.

Zacchaeus.

Now,

did Jesus know

of Zacchaeus

by reputation?

Had he heard the crowd

kind of muttering

about this guy?

Or was it that

he supernaturally

just knew

who this man was?

Luke doesn't tell us.

What he does say,

what's more significant

than how Jesus

knew his name,

is that he used

his name.

Because remember,

to use a person's name

is very special.

I mean,

I don't mean

when Alexa

greets you

in the morning

or when those

telephone marketers

ring you up

as if they are

your best mate.

No,

this is very special.

The author,

David Brooks,

describes using

someone's name

carefully

as being

other-centeredness.

You're actually

taking the focus

away from yourself

and you're interested

in another person.

Psychologists

tell us that

if the name

is of another person,

you use it well,

that can be

making a bridgehead

to creating trust.

And studies show

that hearing our name

used by another

affects us

in a very positive way

neurologically.

And Jesus calls him

by name,

and get this,

which not only

Zacchaeus hears,

but the crowd

also hears.

Zacchaeus,

hurry up and come down

for I must stay

at your house today.

Now,

stop for a moment.

There are three things here.

First,

a whole set

of cultural conventions

being played out,

but in an unusual way.

There's a huge reversal.

Jesus

invites himself.

Normally,

it's the other way around.

The host

invites the guest.

So something significant

has happened

just there.

Secondly,

staying at your house

is shorthand.

It's a cultural shorthand

for a very important

acceptance,

apparently in the

ancient Near East,

and even to this day,

so I'm told,

to be welcomed

into another person's home

for what was called

table fellowship

is hugely significant.

Because this would have

been a public display.

It's not a private

supper party.

This is a public display

in which the host

and the guest

are publicly

acknowledging one another.

There is,

if you will,

a degree of intimacy.

And then thirdly,

Jesus uses

an intriguing expression.

Do we hear it?

I must

stay at your house

today.

There is a

necessity

which is compelling

Jesus.

And we'll come back

to that shortly.

So,

Zacchaeus happily

and immediately

comes down from the tree

and receives Jesus,

catch the phrase,

joyfully.

But

not all

are happy.

Let's not miss

what happens as well

in verse 7.

All the people

saw this,

this social inclusion,

this public interaction,

and they grumbled.

He has gone

to be the guest

of a man

who is a sinner.

Again,

verse 7.

And the Greek word

that Luke uses

for grumble

is a very strong verb.

It suggests

a very strong

and harsh denunciation

and disapproval.

The people,

you see,

are scandalized.

And again,

culturally,

we may not

necessarily appreciate this.

Jesus

is publicly

associating himself

with a notorious person.

And he is actually

sharing

in the shame

of Zacchaeus.

Now,

as we keep going,

Luke may be

compressing his narrative

somewhat

because whether

Jesus and Zacchaeus

were talking

on the way

to Zacchaeus' house

or at the end

of the meal

in sort of

the dialogue

that happens there,

something else

is said

and we need

to hear it.

It's there

in verse 8.

Zacchaeus stands up

and says,

Behold,

Lord,

half of my goods

I give to the poor.

And if I have

defrauded anyone,

which he had,

if I defrauded

anyone of anything,

I restore it

fourfold.

Now,

first,

Zacchaeus declares

right then and there

because the verbs

are present tense.

It's not,

I intend to do this

in the future.

He's saying,

no,

right here and now

I'm going to engage

in this restitution.

See,

Zacchaeus

is following

at the time

the highest

Jewish

ethical standards.

The Jewish word

was teshuva,

which is a repentance

that required

not only

contrition,

saying I'm sorry,

but it actually

involved an active

restitution

on his part.

But here's the thing.

Commentators tell us

that Zacchaeus

exceeds

goes over the top

in his act

of repentance.

Zacchaeus,

and keep this in mind,

Zacchaeus'

practical

act of repentance

would have had

economic

implications

in Jericho

itself.

Some of the very

crowd who are

probably listening

to this meal

would have heard

him promise that.

He is responding

to those harmed

by the very

Roman imperial

abusive system

of which he

was a chief

participant.

But I think

secondly,

Zacchaeus

is responding

to Jesus

himself.

Jesus is the

one who looked

up the tree

at him.

Jesus is the

one who called

him by name.

Jesus is the

one who initiated

table fellowship

and gave this

warm inclusion

when others in

Jericho

excluded.

In other words,

the radical root

cause of

Zacchaeus'

change

and repentance

was Jesus.

So,

Jesus responds

to Zacchaeus.

Verse 9,

today's salvation

has come to

this house

since he is

also a son

of Abraham.

Jesus affirms

Zacchaeus'

actions.

In other words,

Jesus is saying,

yes,

this guy has

done complete

teshuva,

repentance.

He's met the

highest Jewish

standards.

But,

Jesus goes

further.

He publicly

declares that

Zacchaeus is to

be included,

not any more

excluded.

He, too,

is of the

seed of Abraham,

the patriarch

to whom

Yahweh had

promised

countless

dissentants.

And if we

hear what's

being said,

if we hear

it rightly,

well,

to quote

Daryl Bach

in his

commentary,

quote,

just because

one is a

sinner

does not

cancel

one's

right.

To appeal

to God's

mercy.

Thirdly,

and this

one,

I really hope

I'm not

over-egging

the custard

here,

see where

this takes

place.

So,

first,

see who's

on stage.

Secondly,

hear what's

said.

But now,

thirdly,

see where

this is

taking place.

Now,

we'll need

to go back

to our

Old Testament

and you

may remember

that in

the Old

Testament,

as Moses

died,

his successor,

Joshua,

is commanded

to lead

the people

of Israel

across the

River Jordan

into the

Promised Land.

And I know

this is hugely

complicated,

and if you have

any questions

about why

Israelites were

told to

conquer cities,

Corey will

answer those

questions for

you.

And if we

had time,

we should be

pleased to know

that we don't,

we could look

at Judges

Judges 4 · chapter mention

chapters 4,

5,

and 6,

and how

the people

of Israel

conquered

Jericho.

But here's

the thing,

it was not

through their

military prowess

at all.

It was

through the

seeming

weakness

and foolishness

of marching

around the

city six

times,

and on the

seventh circuit,

blowing trumpets,

I mean,

as you do.

And it was

through that

the walls

of Jericho

fell and the

city was

conquered.

But,

bear with me

on this,

we might

overlook two

other critical

features of

this bizarre

Old Testament

narrative.

First,

if we had

time,

we'd look at

the end of

Joshua chapter

Joshua 5 · chapter mention

5,

and there

at that point,

Joshua meets

a man standing

before him,

and this man

has a sword

in his hand,

and Joshua

asks the man,

are you for

us or for

our adversaries?

No,

the man

replied,

but I am

the commander

of the Lord's

army.

Now I

have come.

And Joshua

immediately

falls down

on his face

and worships

this man.

And this man

says to him,

Joshua,

take off

your shoes,

the ground

on which you

are standing

is holy.

And that,

for some of

us,

will ring

bells to

what earlier

the angel

of the Lord

at the burning

bush said

to Moses,

so who is

this man

whom Joshua

meets?

Well,

bear with me

one more,

we're almost

finished.

Secondly,

you see,

the Lord

instructed Joshua

as they're

going around

Jericho

to have the

priests carry

the Ark

of the

Covenant.

Now I know

you can think

of Indiana Jones

and that's okay,

but it's this

massive big box

that symbolized

to the Israelites

the Lord's

faithfulness

and his

sovereign power

to protect

them,

even though

they might be

rebellious and

idolatrous.

So the walls

of Jericho

fell due to

Israel's reliance

on the commander

of the Lord's

army and the

Ark of the

Covenant.

Now,

here's where I'm

trying to go

with this one.

Where did

Zacchaeus

meet Jesus?

Jericho.

And at

Jericho,

whom did

Zacchaeus

meet?

With whom

did Zacchaeus

have table

fellowship?

To whom

did he

listen?

He met

Jesus,

yes,

but Jesus

is the

commander

of the

Lord's

army.

Jesus

is the

Ark of the

Covenant

in the

flesh,

flesh,

and it's

through

Jesus,

this

son of

man,

who breaks

down the

walls in

Zacchaeus'

life.

Now,

fourthly and

finally,

we've seen

who is on

the stage,

we've heard

what they've

said,

we've seen

where it

has taken

place,

but finally,

what does

this all

mean?

And the

answer is

immediately

straightforward.

it's

verse 10,

and Jesus

is the

one that

tells you

what this

all means.

For the

son of

man came

to seek

and to

save the

lost.

There it

is.

That's what

this story

means.

The son

of man,

that's an

identifier that

Jesus frequently

used to

describe both

himself and

his ministry.

I think

it's actually

a reference

back to an

Old Testament

prophecy in

the book of

Daniel,

where at

one point,

Daniel sees

all of

history,

all the

powers of

this world

brought before

the Ancient

of Days for

judgment.

And just as

it seems that

the Ancient

of Days is

to render

forth this

judgment,

it stops

the judgment,

and judgment

is given

to one like

a son of

man,

and he is

the one

who has an

everlasting

kingdom.

kingdom.

And this

son of

man is

the one

that meets

Zacchaeus,

who calls

him by name,

who publicly

includes him,

and whose

grace and

mercy produce

in Zacchaeus

this extraordinary

repentance.

Oh yes,

the son of

man will

one day

come back

and judge

all humanity,

all of

history,

but at the

moment,

he comes

to seek

and save

what is

lost.

And that's

why he

says to

Zacchaeus,

I must

stay at

your house

today.

So do

we see

and do

we hear

what's being

said to us

this morning?

Let me see

if I can,

as I end,

which as you

know,

preachers,

when they

say when

he's going

to end,

that means

you've got

a long

way to go.

But do

we hear

it?

Or have

we lost

confidence?

Have we

actually lost

confidence that

Jesus has

come to

seek and

save the

lost?

Are there

family members?

Is there

a spouse?

Are there

close friends

for whom

you have

been praying

for years

and years

that Jesus

would rescue,

and yet it

seems that

there's been

nothing

happening?

Will I

hold on

to this

assurance

that Jesus

you have

come to

seek and

save the

lost?

Even today?

Think of it

as well.

Are we

willing,

even this

morning,

are we

willing to

think of

our own

repentance

in our

life?

I don't

mean for

some of

us the

repentance

that we

exercise

when we

first came

to faith?

I mean

the

repentance

of moment

by moment,

day by

day.

Or are

there areas

of our

life that

we're so

scared to

relinquish

and so

stubborn to

relinquish

that we're not

interested in

exploring repentance

at all?

Or do we

fall into the

trap of

thinking,

well,

okay,

if I

repent now,

the Lord

will love

me even

more?

Do I

actively seek

the ministry

of the

Spirit to

help me

repent,

prompt me

to repent,

and enable

me to

repent?

And let

me ask

another

question,

if I

may.

Have we,

and I

include myself

in this,

have we so

spiritualized

Christian

discipleship

as to

make

obedience

to Christ

only a

private,

personal,

internal

kind of

thing?

I mean,

from what

commentators

tell us,

Luke seems

to have a

particular

interest in

how Jesus

relates to

both the

rich and

especially to

the poor.

But am I?

Am I

interested in

that?

Look,

this story of

Zacchaeus is

more than

about economic

social justice,

but it's

not less.

And,

look,

I for one

have no

idea what

economics is

about,

although I'm

told economists

don't have any

idea either.

And I,

for one,

am very

reluctant to

say this

is the

definitive

Christian

position on

social justice.

But look,

if we are

saying to

ourselves,

Jesus is

Lord over

every square

centimeter of

existence,

justice,

then surely

there must

be some

form of

public and

social theology

which includes

some forms of

justice.

But do we

want that?

Look,

I ask these

questions because

for some of us,

some of the

time,

it feels like

we're bumping

our heads.

And we want

a better way.

And figuratively,

we want the

bumping as we're

going down the

stairs to stop.

could this be

the way?

But finally,

and this is my

real finality

here,

let me,

can I just

speak to maybe,

maybe it's just

a few this

morning.

Could I ask

you to dare

to imagine

the story

is true?

I mean,

what if,

just for a

moment,

what if there

really is someone

who willingly

sees you

and knows

fully who

you are?

And what if

the same

one knows

you so

fully that

he's calling

your name,

not to crush

you with

condemnation,

but to

welcome you,

to include

you into

the intimacy,

I'll use the

word friendship,

which a meal

itself suggests.

What if the

one who lowered

the walls of

Jericho so

powerfully,

graciously,

has come

to bring

down the

walls

that are

keeping you

from him?

Imagine if

there really

is someone

who not

only seeks

the lost,

but actually

can save

the lost.

What if he

does this by

calling you

down from

the tree

because he

himself is

going up a

particular tree?

there's a

poem by

the 17th

century

English poet

George Herbert

in which he

imaginatively

pictures Jesus

hanging on the

cross,

speaking to

all those

who are

watching him

die.

And one

line in

particular reads

like this,

O all ye

who pass by,

behold and

see,

man stole

the fruit,

but I must

climb the

tree,

the tree

of life

to all,

but not

for me,

was ever

grief like

mine.

See,

the tree

that Jesus

climbed,

no one

else could

climb,

the tree

of shame

and substitutionary

death,

namely the

Roman cross

on which

Jesus died.

What if

he did

this?

This is

what I'm

asking you

to at

least

imaginatively

consider.

What if

he did

this to

save and

rescue people

and not to

bring them

into some

inner mystical

sense of

well-being,

but actually

to restore

them in

relationship

to God,

Father,

Son,

and Spirit,

and to

restore people

to a new

community

in preparation

for a new

creation.

And what if

he wants

is for a

heartfelt trust

and active

repentance,

not because

trust and

repentance

earn his

love and

acceptance,

but his

love and

acceptance

initiate

such

repentance?

Could it

be this

morning?

Possibly.

This story

from Luke's

gospel is

the precise

means by

which Jesus

is right

here and

now seeking

you so

as to

save and

restore you.

Actually,

to seek and

save all of

us.

To stop

this existential

and experiential

bumping,

to bring in

a new and

better way.

what if

what if

we don't

have to

climb any

kind of

tree to

see Jesus

because

he

has come

down to

us and

calls us

down to

see and

hear him.

Let's pray

together.

Amen.

Lord Jesus,

in your

kindness and

mercy to

us, we

who often

wander and

are so

confused and

are so

tired, you

who are the

son of man,

you who are

the seeker and

saver, please

work your

gracious and

yet also

sovereign power

to rescue

the likes of

us, to

keep us

going, and

to bring in

the fullness

of your

sovereign

intention.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.