Hello my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
It’s Friday and I wonder what that means for you. If you are a family with kids in school, maybe you call these “Fabulous Fridays”, as my grandchildren do, because tomorrow you can sleep in and enjoy some family time together. Or if you live in a Muslim country, Friday afternoons are times of special prayers and visits to the Mosque. In fact, because Ramadan began at sundown Wednesday of this week, these are very special days of fasting and prayer for people in Muslim countries around the world. Or perhaps you live in a Jewish neighborhood, and therefore Friday evening Shabbat begins and that’s always very special.
Let’s rejoin Jesus and His friends as they have begun their journey toward Jerusalem in anticipation of a very special Passover/Easter weekend, two weeks from now. Coming from the southeast, the road they’re traveling leads them to the historic town of Jericho.
Did you know that town is still flourishing today and with permission from the Palestinian Authority, you can visit Jericho, one of the oldest cities in the world. In the days of Jesus, it was an honor if your family lived in Jericho, for all Jewish adults often recounted to their children the remarkable story of Joshua and their ancestors walking around this great city with very high walls, not once, but once per day for 7 days! And on that 7th day, not once but 7 times and on the final walk the people shouted with a loud, victorious celebration of God, and loud instrument, and do you remember what happened?
The walls of Jericho collapsed, and the people rushed in and conquered Jericho as their first city in the Promised Land. That story is found in Joshua 6, and the power of God unleashed that day was celebrated often in Jericho.
Matthew, one of the disciples, tells us Jesus and His group stopped in Jericho that day, on their way to Jerusalem. Dr Luke is the only Gospel writer who tells us about a very special experience that day in Jericho.
Seems there was a wealthy tax collector who was very short in height. He’d heard about Jesus but had never met or even seen Jesus. This day, Zacchaeus was not to be denied that opportunity. Hearing that Jesus was entering town, Zacchaeus watched to see which road Jesus would take, then ran ahead and climbed up into a tree which would give him a perfect viewing place as Jesus would pass by.
What Zacchaeus didn’t know, of course, was that Jesus had awakened that morning and I believe in His prayer time with His heavenly Father, Jesus discerned Jericho would be a place of some very special encounters on that day.
Let’s walk along with the jostling, happy crowd. See the children running around and adults pressing in close to see and maybe touch Jesus, and can you hear the questions being shouted at Jesus? He’s popular! Everyone has heard the stories. People were watching closely, what miracle might Jesus do today in Jericho?
Short Zacchaeus was a strategist. That’s how he made a very good living. He knew how to make a plan and work it to his advantage. He would absolutely get a good view of Jesus and most likely not even be seen by the crowd or Jesus… or so he thought. Luke describes what happened: “When Jesus reached the tree, He looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately, I must stay at your house today!” (Luke 19:1-5)
Look at him, that little, short man up in the tree like a cat. His eyes are wide and now everyone is laughing and pointing at Zacchaeus. They hate this man for he had cheated almost all of them in their taxes and now he who thought he’d hide in a tree to get a look without being seen, is not only seen but Jesus actually called him by name, even though they’d never met! And more, Jesus said He wanted to come to Zacchaeus’ house for lunch! Oh my!!
Zacchaeus scrambled down out of that tree and came to Jesus, delighted to finally meet him, but stunned and VERY embarrassed. He was not accustomed to being the focus of laughter and suddenly Zacchaeus felt VERY short in the crowd and very vulnerable, so all he could do was invite Jesus home for lunch!
But oh, that really troubled all the people. How could this wonderful man Jesus, who helped so many by healing the sick want anything to do with liar, cheater, tax collector Zacchaeus? Oh maybe, Jesus was going to spank him! You know, maybe Jesus would go into the house with Zacchaeus and strike him with leprosy or strike him blind, or beat him to within an inch of his life? I wonder if several people pressed forward in the crowd shouting, “punish him Jesus, he’s a terrible man. Do you need our help Jesus, we’d love the chance to beat up on that Zacchaeus’ Maybe some shouted, ‘strike him blind’!
Soon Jesus disappeared in the doorway of Zacchaeus’ house and all the people could do was wonder what might happen and listen for the screams they perhaps hoped would be Zacchaeus begging for mercy! Evidently some, if not all of the disciples of Jesus, went with them, and I’ve often wondered if Zacchaeus and Matthew recognized each other from tax collector gatherings they might have attended together in years past?! If so, what do you suppose would have been the conversation between Zacchaeus and Matthew that day?
Dr Luke tells us nothing about what they ate, or exactly who came into the house, or how long they were in that house. But he does tell us a miracle happened in the heart and mind of Zacchaeus! Luke writes: “Zacchaeus stood up and said to Jesus, ‘Look Lord, here and now I give 1/2 of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything I will pay them back four times the amount!” (Luke 19:8)
Listen to the shouts and screams, the whistles and clapping! Outside the crowd heard it but had no idea what it could mean, until someone perhaps came running out and shouted, ‘you won’t believe what has happened to Zacchaeus and what he has promised Jesus that he will do to change his life and bless our town!’ May I ask you my friends, how has your life changed since you’ve met Jesus? How has your new life blessed your family and your town?
Luke tells us that Jesus stood up inside that house, perhaps put his arm around short Zacchaeus, and made a remarkable statement: “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 19:8,9)
Most tax collectors at that time were Jewish men who had renounced their Jewish heritage and sold themselves to Rome by becoming a deceitful traitor, often harshly collecting exorbitant taxes from their fellow Jews. As a result, they were not permitted near the Synagogue and certainly not the Temple in Jerusalem. They were banished from any participation in any Jewish festivals and were considered worse than Gentiles, but here Jesus has proclaimed that Zacchaeus has been restored as a man in good standing into the family of Abraham. God has forgiven Zacchaeus for his terrible sins and reconciled him back to God and therefore the people of Jericho should treat him as a brother in the Jewish family!
Isn’t that exactly what happens every time a person trusts Jesus to be their Savior anywhere in the world? God reconciles that person back to Himself even though their sinful nature had turned them into enemies of God. (Col. 1:21,22) God forgives that person their sin because Jesus paid the full sin debt price with His death. (Romans 6:23) And God calls that person to consider themselves adopted members of God’s family!
Is this story a picture of you, my friends? And how has your life changed since you’ve been redeemed and restored by Jesus? I wonder if that day in Jericho, tax collector Zacchaeus stood up and sang a song like this one. . .
Today’s Scripture is Luke 19:1-10.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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