Joking aside, we learn that Zacchaeus was a person who was able to overcome many obstacles to his faith. A number of things about his life would have made him feel incredibly inadequate. He was a chief tax collector and a wealthy man. As we saw with the contrast between the Pharisee and the tax collector last Sunday, the Jews considered this profession inherently sinful. Tax collectors were widely regarded as notorious public sinners, for their betrayal of the Jewish people by collaborating with the Roman occupation, and the widespread practice of overcharging and extortion.
In the popular mind, tax collectors were ‘unclean’ and on par with Gentiles. Being the chief tax collector would make matters worse.
Being wealthy as well, especially from dishonest gain, was also an obstacle to his faith. In the previous chapter, a rich man fails to respond with faith to Jesus, because he will not renounce his world possessions (Luke 18:18-23) and this elicits Jesus' hard saying about detachment from wealth (Luke 18:25).
We can see three sages in the conversion of Zacchaeus, his initial desire, this act of seeking, and his transformation.
Desire
Zacchaeus “was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature” (Luke 19:3). Zacchaeus was acting on his desire to try to find, or to seek or search for Jesus. This act of seeking is an important theme in Luke’s Gospel. Jesus connects this to ‘seeking to find what is lost.’ Jesus admonishes each one of us, “For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Luke 11: 10). The beginning of Zacchaeus’ journey was his desire to see Jesus as he was passing by.
Seeking
It is not enough to possess this desire. We must act on it. We experience many distractions in our lives. A person who is feeling small, and inadequate, and even despised by others, could easily seek to numb these feelings with pleasures and amusements, or to blame others and lash out with anger at the injustice.
It would take courage to act rightly and enter the silence of our inner thoughts, and embrace these feelings and choose to overcome these obstacles. Jesus is in the midst of the crowds, so Zacchaeus must choose to ‘show up and be seen’ by those who reject him. We call the courage to ‘show up and be seen’ vulnerability. Many people would mistakenly think vulnerability is foolish, and a sign of weakness. Yet Jesus says, “everyone who humbles himself we be exalted” (Luke 18:14). As Sirach reminds us “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal” (Sirach 35:21).
Zacchaeus needed the humility to face who he really was, and yet to overcome his feelings of shame by not caring what others would think about him, and instead to seek Jesus. He must go out into the hostile crowd and seek to find Jesus.
He forms a plan. He ran ahead of the crowds and “climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus.” A sycamore tree had a wide, short trunk with lateral branches that would be easy to climb. This was perfect, given the challenges of his stature. Since he was unpopular, He could not expect anyone to help him climb up into the tree.
Zacchaeus follows his awakening desire, and makes plans to see and hear Jesus as he passes by in the midst of the crowd. Yet, he is expecting to satisfy his curiosity from a safe distance.
Transformation
Zacchaeus’ encounter with Jesus takes a completely unexpected turn. When Jesus arrived at the tree he, “looked up and said, ‘Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house’" (Luke 19:5). Not only does Jesus notice him, and acknowledge him, he knows Zacchaeus by name! Jesus has supernatural personal knowledge of Zacchaeus and if that is not amazing enough, he wants to share hospitality with him. The emphatic use of the word ‘today’ and they way Jesus phrases his request even denotes divine necessity.
In obvious contrast to the rich man in the previous narrative who goes away sad (Luke 18:18-23), Zacchaeus “came down quickly and received him with joy” (Luke 19:6). Yet we are still in the midst of the crowds and they begin to grumble or murmur against Jesus, saying, "He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner" (Luke 19:6).
The crowd failed to understand the newness of the Gospel message. Many religious people understand faith as a set of rules to follow; it is all about duty and obligation. After all Zacchaeus was a rule breaker!
As St. Paul reminds us, however, “whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The New Law of the Gospel is the transformation of our heart from within. Yet if we are no longer under the law, have we abandoned the notion of sin?
The New Law of Jesus, summarized in the Sermon on the Mount, is a call to an even higher degree of excellence. It is a call to be holy as God himself is holy, and to imitate Jesus. It involves a transformation from within by the Holy Spirit and it is spontaneously lived in relationship with Jesus, and founded on his love and mercy.
Zacchaeus’ conversion illustrates the profound difference this interior work of the Spirit makes. Hearing the protest of the crowd, Zacchaeus spontaneously makes reparation for his past sins. He says, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over” (Luke 19:8).
Zacchaeus is not just following the rules. He is pursuing a newfound holiness with excellence. At the time of Jesus, it was generous to give away 20 percent of one’s possessions. The rabbis actually thought it was unwise to give more! The legal restitution for extortion was also 20 percent (Lev. 5:16; Num. 5:7), and the harsher double penalty Zacchaeus imposed on himself was only mandated for rustlers (Exod. 22:1).
The crowds would have been quite satisfied with Zacchaeus merely meeting the obligation of the law, but the Spirit has led him to a “more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31). As St. Paul reminds us, the new Law isn’t about merely following the percentages, “Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (RSVCE, 2 Corinthians 9:7).
Jesus recognizes this. He says to Zacchaeus, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:9-10).
I pray that the Lord will awaken a newfound desire in each of our hearts. He knows each of us by name. Let us do what we can to seek him. Today if you hear his voice, open the door, and invite him into your house.
Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20).
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