As we continue with June with Jesus, a journey through the four Gospels, I think it is important to pay attention to how Jesus treats people. As Christians, we are to be Christ followers, therefore we must learn to treat people the way He did. We also have to understand that we are not perfect the way He is perfect, and therefore we need to rely on the Holy Spirit to strengthen us when we are weak.
In Luke 19:1-10, we read a very familiar children’s Sunday School story. As a matter of fact, I cannot think of this story without the children’s song refrain, “Zacheaus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he…” running through my head.
As an adult, I wonder how Zacchaeus would like to know that he has been immortalized as a “wee little man.” Even well intentioned children song’s writer in telling the story demonstrate truth about Zacchaeus, he was an outcast. He didn’t fit in with everyone else. But why?
We don’t know much about Zacchaeus from this text. I can only imagine what his life was like and what he endured. Maybe he was bullied by the bigger kids growing up. Maybe the feeling of powerlessness drove him to seek a powerful position. Being a Chief tax collector meant that he had the authority of the local government to take money from residents.
Taxes then were not paid the way they are today. There was no online form to fill out, or print and mail in. The tax collectors would go house to house with armed guards and collect the taxes. The Roman governor gave the Jewish tax collectors freedom to take more than the taxes as long as Rome received the required tax. So Zacchaeus and other tax collectors would require more than the tax from people.
I can imagine him knocking on the house of those who bullied him, accompanied by Roman soldiers, and feeling justified as he extorted money from them. After years of doing this he was a very wealthy man, but he was hated by most. He was an outcast.
Have you ever been an outcast? Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong or people didn’t want to be around you? It’s no fun.
Intended for Community
If we were to go back to the Garden of Eden at the very beginning, we see that God created humanity to be in relationship. Before sin entered the world, God said, “it is not good for man to be alone…”
The truth is we all feel lonely at times, but for some they feel it all the time. We can even be in a crowded room and feel invisible. Yet God wants you to be a part of a vibrant community. One pastor said that a good definition of ministry is to help people feel a little less alone in this world.
When Jesus saves you, He doesn’t call you to isolation but to community. You have to seek out other believers and develop friendships within the church. From there, you need to be like Christ and seek out the outcasts and invite them to meet Jesus.
Go Out of Your Way
We see that Jesus traveled through Jericho to meet Zacchaeus. If you were to look at the route Jesus took from Galilee to Jerusalem, you might find it odd that Jesus went out of His way to take the road to Jericho.
There were two main routes to Jerusalem from Galilee: the Road to Jericho and the Road through Samaria. The road through Samaria was more direct and shorter. The road to Jericho took longer.
Jesus and the disciples had begun walking the road through Samaria and then diverted to the longer course, even though Jesus had led them through Samaria on several occasions before.
Could His reasoning have been to endure the extra time in travel in order to meet Zacchaeus?
Remember, they walked everywhere. To divert directions was to add 1-2 days of walking to their trip. But Jesus thought it was worth His inconvenience to pursue a sinner. We see in verse 10, “the Son of man has come to seek…the lost.”
Jesus intentionally pursued Zacchaeus even though he had to go out of his way to do it. As Christ followers, are we willing to endure any inconvenience to pursue unbelievers? To pursue the outcasts?
Are you willing to sit a different table at lunch to share Christ with others? Are you willing to risk your popularity to talk to the outcast? If Jesus was to walk with you through your neighborhood or school, who would He want you to talk to?
Use Their Name
When I was in High School my buddy and I would visit different youth groups from time to time to see what kind of youth group we would like to lead one day. We both wanted to be youth pastors. One week we visited Chapel Hill Alliance’s youth group and met their youth pastor, Greg. Greg was a nice guy and I really liked my visit with their group.
A few months went by and I decided to visit Chapel Hill again. I walked in the door and Greg came up to me and said, “hi Brad!” I was shocked that he remembered my name. I would have been shocked if it was only one week later, but it was a few months. I felt validated by that and felt like he wanted me there.
That encounter shaped me as a person and gave me an example of the type of youth pastor I wanted to be, and that I continue to strive to be today.
There is power in using someone’s name. And that is what Jesus did as he pursued Zacchaeus.
Luke 19:5
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.”
Jesus not only wanted to get Zacchaeus’ attention, He wanted to win his heart. Jesus wasn’t ashamed to call Zacchaeus’ name out even in the big crowd. Jesus called the most unpopular person around by name and declared he was going to his house. How do you think Zacchaeus would have felt?
Has anyone called you by your name that has left an impression on you?
Be a Friend
Jesus not only went out of His way and called Zacchaeus by name, but He went and hung out with him at his house. He befriend Zacchaeus in that encounter.
So often we dehumanize outcasts. We don’t like the way they look, the way they smell, the way the dress, or some other arbitrary reason. When we treat them like outcasts, we show we don’t care about who they are, what they’ve been through and we deny the fact that they have been created in the Image of God.
What Jesus did for Zacchaeus was to show his value and that he mattered. It doesn’t say what they talked about, but it shows how Zacchaeus responded: with joy!
Because of his encounter with Jesus, a man who showed him dignity and care, Zacchaeus repented of his extortion and declared he was going to pay back everyone he had wronged fourfold!
Zacchaeus showed the fruit of belief and repentance as he moved away from his sin and began to give.
Ephesians 4:28
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
What an awesome opportunity we have to be the hands and feet of Jesus today, to care for the outcast and take the Good News to the downtrodden. If you are willing to go out of your way to pursue an outcast, to be personal and use their name, and become their friends, you may see God transform their life through you.
Jesus did it. Are you a Jesus follower? Look for your opportunity this week!
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