Zacchaeus, Revisited

It's Sunday, another day of church, family lunch at Cracker Barrel, and home for relaxation, naps, and reflecting on the morning's message. Interestingly, Pastor Dan ended his sermon today with a reference to Zaccheaus, whom I mentioned in my previous blog. And even if he hadn't, my mind was making the connection throughout the service (yes, my mind wanders frequently during Sunday sermons). The message today was about Jesus' mission being a rescue mission, because He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). That's exactly what He told Zacchaeus, and exactly what so many of us forget. See, we (universal we) as Christians too often think that Jesus came to seek and spend time with the found, the ones that have it all together. We think that Jesus wouldn't spend time with sinners, so we'd better get all our ducks in a row.

This summer, there was a story that was pretty big in our local papers about a lifeguard named Tomas Lopez. Tomas was patroling his area when someone alerted him to a swimmer in distress about 1500 feet away from his station. Immediately, the young man sprang into action, ran to the place where the swimmer was and put his training into action. He saved the man's life, and for doing so, his boss gave him the boot. Tomas was fired because he rescued a swimmer who got into trouble outside of the lifeguard patrol zone. There was a clearly posted sign that said “swim at your own risk,” and the man chose to swim there. When a problem arose, according to the boss, he should have been left alone to sink or swim on his own. You made the choice to swim there, so you deal with the repercussions seems to be the message the company wanted to portray.  But Tomas did not stop to think about borders.  He saw a man who needed rescuing, he went to where the man was, and he rescued him.

Can I just say that I am so glad that Jesus is more like Tomas Lopez and not like the policy makers and modern day Pharisees in the church. I consider myself a good person most days. I don't commit the “big sins” that the sign wavers seem to think are a one way ticket to hell. But still, every day I swim outside of the perfect-Christian zone. By His perfect and loving grace, Jesus does not stay within those borders and watch me drown. He does not tell me I have to make my way to the right side of the line before He can save me.  In fact, He patrols the very places that the religious bosses would call off limits. Again and again, His word tells us that He loves sinners. He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). It's not the healthy man who needs a doctor, but the sick (Mark 2:17). While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). It doesn't matter to Jesus whether the person He rescues is one foot away from the line or a million miles away; there is no place His grace cannot reach. We just have to be willing to admit that we need His help, to call for help, and to submit to His perfect rescue plan.

Lessons I Learn From Stories I Tell My Kids #1

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.

This little song we sing to kids in Sunday School teaches the lesson that even little people are noticed by God. It makes them feel better about themselves knowing that even though they are small, God does not overlook them. What can we get from the story? Well, certainly the same lesson applies to us as adults. Notwithstanding our differences in stature, there are differences in status that also make us feel that we are small and insignificant in comparison to others who are pursuing the Lord right beside us. Maybe you don't have the willpower to do a daily devotional or Bible study at this point in your life, so surely God will not use you as mightily as your friends who do, right? Wrong. Maybe you are still struggling with some sort of sin or addiction, so God will overlook you in favor of those who seem to have it all together, right? Wrong. The truth is that no one has it all together, no matter how well they are dressed and smiling for Sunday morning services (Ecclesiastes 7:20) . The truth is that we all struggle with something, whether it is as obvious as a physical addiction or as unnoticed as pride (Romans 3:23). The truth is that many people study the Bible daily and don't get as much out of it as those who make the intentional effort to live out what they already know of God's character and His plan for their lives (James 2:8). The fact is that God uses imperfect people, because that's all He has, and the more we are willing to admit our imperfections and our inability to correct them on our own, the more useable we are.

Which leads me to my second observation on Zacchaeus: he was not a good guy. He was not just a short little cutie who was so eager to see Jesus that he climbed a tree. He was a tax collector, which in those days meant he was a corrupt official, a thief, and a bully. Tax collectors were known for strong-arming those from whom taxes were being collected in order to gain not just the taxes owed, but a little something extra for themselves. In fact, that's pretty much how they made their living. So Zacchaeus was a hated little guy in his own community, and with good reason. Yet Jesus took the time to notice him, to point him out, and to spend time with him. Can you imagine being Zacchaeus, up in that tree, just trying to get a better view of this man that everyone was making such a big fuss about? When Jesus called to him, “you come down”, his heart must have jumped into his throat! Like a child who's been caught stealing from the cookie jar, he probably thought: He's seen me, He knows what I've done. I'm in for it now.

Jesus didn't have to say a word. Immediately, Zacchaeus repented of his sins because he knew who Jesus was and what He represents. He offered to give half of his possessions to the poor and pay back those he had wronged with interest. But Jesus hadn't come to chastise Zacchaeus; He didn't even want to talk about the bad things he'd done. He wanted to spend time with him and invest in his life, which is something we can do even if just for a short visit over a cup of tea. He was certainly pleased with the change in Zacchaeus, not because of the little man's fear but because of the positive changes that would be seen by those who despised him. The people would see that even the slightest encounter with Jesus can cause the lost to begin to find their way. (Luke 19:10).

The lesson: If Jesus could be a friend to Zacchaeus, whom everyone else despised and whose sins were obvious for all to see, why would we think that our sins have placed us out of His reach? What makes any of us think that our past or even our present struggles are greater than God's love? I wonder how it would feel to just sit and have tea with Jesus, not so that He could lecture me about all my sins, but so that He could spend time getting to know me and letting me know how much He genuinely cares not about what I've done or who I've been, but about what I could do if I just let Him in my life and trust who He is.