Zacchaeus and the Sycamore

Zacchaeus and the Sycamore

or “I was up a tree when the Lord found me.”

Rev. Mike Browder

September 26, 2010

The story of Zacchaeus is one of the most unforgettable stories in the Bible. Jesus was walking through Jericho on his final trip to Jerusalem. Jericho, which, according to archeologists, may be the oldest continually inhabited city in the world, was also the richest city in Jesus’ homeland. It was a vacation resort, called the “City of Palm Trees.”

One of the most nefarious citizens of this city was Zacchaeus. He was a tax collector. Nobody likes the tax man even today, but in that day, tax collectors, or publicans, offered corrupt bids to get a franchise from the Romans. They had to pay the Romans the agreed amount, but any extra they could cheat or harass form their fellow Jews they could keep for themselves. They grew very wealthy on their own ill-gotten gain. And the rest, the legal part of the tax, went to pay for the hated Roman soldiers who held them in slavery.

So Zacchaeus, who had out-cheated the others to get to the top,… was the chief tax-collector, the most corrupt of the lot. He was probably the most hated man in Jericho. He had evicted widows and sent debtors to jail. He may be the model for the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18. The fact that he was short added to his need to “lord it over other people” with his power.

And here is the real irony: Zacchaeus’ name means “Pure and Righteous.” Can you imagine that? Do you think that didn’t give people a laugh? That Mr. “Pure and Righteous” was the most corrupt sinner of all. So, this bigshot was a pathetic little man. And he was not happy. You can be successful in this world. You can be very wealthy and not be happy. Especially if you do not have God in your life.

Zacchaeus saw the commotion when Jesus was coming. But, because he was so short, he could not see what was happening. And so he went and climbed up in a tree. Children love the Zacchaeus story. They love it because he was short like them. They love it because children like to climb up in trees. And small children often cannot see the parade unless they can find a high place to watch. I remember when I was a child, standing on Broad Street and watching the Christmas parade. My father, who was a big strong man, would put me up on his shoulders so that I could see the parade.

Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus. He must have been intrigued by what he heard about Jesus. Maybe he had seen Jesus heal the blind man Bartimaeus in Jericho (Lk.18). In his commentary, John Calvin says that the Holy Spirit was already working on Zacchaeus, leading him to Jesus. That’s what we Methodists would call Prevenient Grace. Zacchaeus was seeking Jesus. And remember what Jesus promises (in Mt 7): “Seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” My friend, when you seek Christ, you too will find him.

So, there was Zacchaeus, up in the tree, thinking he was hidden, safe to observe Jesus from a distance. My friend, you are never hidden from God! You may think you are, but you are not. Jesus walks by. And he looks up. And he sees Zacchaeus hiding up there in the tree. What a sight! I’m sure Jesus let out a chuckle when he saw this little man hiding up in the tree.

And Jesus called Zacchaeus by name. In his commentary, John Wesley says:

“What a strange mixture of passions must Zacchaeus have now felt, hearing one speak, as knowing both his name and his heart!” Wherever you are hiding. Jesus sees you. He knows you. He knows your heart. And he is calling you by name. Won’t you come to him?

The way we come to Christ is through repentance. Repentance means both a change of heart and a change of life. And that’s what Zacchaeus did. Some scholars have wondered whether Zacchaeus was the publican Jesus describes in Luke 18, who cried out, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner!” Zacchaeus went up that tree a lost sinner, but he came down a saved child of God!

The Bible says that Zacchaeus went up a Sycamore tree. That is a great symbol. We hear that name “Sycamore” a lot in these parts. But, the tree in the Bible is not the Sycamore we have here in Virginia. Rather it is a mulberry fig tree. The thing about this tree is that it has several crops and provides fruit all year long. Jesus said, “By your fruits, ye are known.”

It is no good to have a change of heart unless your life changes too. Zacchaeus changed his life immediately. The Old Testament law had penalties for cheating another person. You are supposed to pay them back twice as much. Zacchaeus says, “Anybody I cheated, I am going to give them back four times as much!” Twice what the Law requires. And beyond that, he says, “I am going to sell half of what I own and give the money to the poor!” The tense of the Greek verb means not “I am going to do all this in the future one day.” It means, “I have already starting doing it right now.”

“How could he give so much away?” you ask. First, he had a lot of wealth to give. And second, he had given himself completely to God. Not only had he trusted Christ with his heart, he had also trusted God with his life, including his money. Here is a lesson for you and me. We have so much. We have a lot of things that we don’t even need. We are able to give, if we want to. How much of yourself have you trusted to God? How much of your money have you trusted to God?

Does your life really belong to the Lord? People who don’t really know Christ are looking at you to see the answer to this question. The world is probably not listening to you, but they are looking at you. They are watching. To see if you really “walk the walk” or if you just “talk the talk.” The world may not be listening to you, but they are looking at you. What does your life say about Jesus Christ?

Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “Come down out of that tree. I want to come to your house for dinner.” This was a bold act. It was the original “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” Jesus did not go to the mayor’s house. He did not go to the house of one of his most trusted believers. He went to the house of this terrible sinner. The Jewish law code actually forbade him from doing this. People’s tongues were really starting to wag. How dare he do this?

But Jesus reminds them of his purpose. He says, “I have come to save the lost.” I am sorry to say that, as the church, we are always forgetting this: that our primary purpose is to save the lost. In fact, if you asked us, we would probably say that the purpose of this congregation, First United Methodist Church, is to take care of and be a wonderful place for the members who are here. But, according to Jesus, our first responsibility is to save the lost. How dare he say such a thing! I can see us murmuring right along with that crowd in Jericho.

And think of the terrible consequences of Jesus’ declaration, that we are here to save the lost. We might actually have to go where the lost are. We can’t always sit safe and protected in our lovely building, hoping that beautiful, winsome and affluent people will seek us out at our church, and want to be part of us. We want attractive new people to come in, and do all the work so we can finally rest. But don’t try to change anything. We’ve got the doors open just praying that loads of attractive of people will come in and make us just like we were 50 years ago!

But, if we do what Jesus says, and win the lost: We might actually have to befriend people who are some of the dregs of this world. We might have to share meals with them and spend time with them. Can you imagine anything so disagreeable? [Weighing scales: Sit here and wait for the beautiful people to show up, or go out and be friends with the dregs.]

And to win the lost, we will need to tell people about Christ. We will need to share our faith. I want to be focusing on that subject in the year ahead: How do we share our faith with other people?

Well, it’s a great story, Zacchaeus. It’s about a cute little guy in a tree. It’s about a villain who is saved by the grace of God and the love of Jesus. It’s about how we murmur, when we think about what it really means to save the lost. And it’s about our calling to share Jesus Christ in our words and in our actions. Let us pray.

O God, Thank you for the story of Zacchaeus. That little man in the tree, whom Jesus loved and brought to salvation. We thank you for the example of his repentance, and how his life was truly changed. Lord, let each of us, who are sinners like Zacchaeus, find Jesus and his salvation. And may our lives too, be changed so much that others can see the love of Jesus in us. And Lord, we know there are people in the world today, even people who are downcasts, who may be hidden from us at first sight, but who are nevertheless still looking for the love of Jesus Christ. Dear Savior, show us how to share our faith with them, both in word, and in deed. Amen. + + +

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.

And as the Savior passed that way,

He looked up in that tree,

And He said “Zacchaeus, you come down!

For I’m going to your house today!”

One day a guy from Hopewell, a guy from Chester and a guy from Disputanta were being chased by a policeman. Of course, the guy from Disputanta was the one who got caught. Do you know how it happened? They decided to go up 3 different trees and hide. The policeman went to the first tree and said, “Is there anyone up there?" The guy from Hopewell went, "Meow!" The policeman said to himself, "Oh, its just a cat stuck up in a tree!" Then he went over to the second tree and said, "Is there anyone up there?" The guy from Chester went, "Bark! Bark!" The policeman shrugged and said to himself, "OK, I guess its just a dog stuck up in a tree!" Then he went over to the third tree and said, "Is there anyone up there?" The guy from Disputanta went, "Acorn! Acorn!"