❖ Video
❖ Audio (Message)
Zacchaeus (Listening and Communicating, Part II)
Luke 19:1-10
Andy Nagahara
Holy Week and Easter are fast approaching. The cross and the resurrection are at the core of our faith. This is the most appropriate time to reflect on your relationship with Jesus. I want to encourage you to make time to focus on Jesus more than usual and refresh your faith.
So, the week starting today is the week immediately preceding Holy Week. So today, I’d like to share one of the events that took place just before Holy Week, as recorded in the Gospel of Luke. Actually, I think this incident is a perfect example of what I talked about last week, so I’d like you to listen to it as a continuation of last week’s discussion.
Do you remember what I talked about last week? I talked about listening to words and conveying the words that we hear. And we confirmed that the true word is God Himself, the word that comes from God, that is conveyed to us in the form of Jesus Christ, and that remains within us.
Today, I would like to pay attention to this person who heard Jesus’ words and responded to his call by uttering a resolute statement. And let us also recall the words of Jesus that are speaking to us, and let us know what words we ourselves want to convey to others in response.
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.
2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.
3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd.
4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.'”
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
1. Until Jesus spoke to him
“Zacchaeus”—that’s the name of today’s main character. This is the only part of the Bible that talks about him. Although no person with the same name appears in the New Testament, it was a common name in Israel. The name originates from a word meaning “correct” or “pure.” However, he was not someone who had earned the reputation befitting his name.
He was “the head of the tax collectors and a rich man.” A tax collector was someone who collected taxes from Jews that were to be paid to the Roman Empire, which ruled Judea at the time, adding an extra amount for their own pocket. Today’s text suggests that the amount was often inflated when it was billed. Tax collectors are feared, despised, and branded as sinners. And Zacchaeus, as their leader, was rich from the money he extorted from the people. They were deeply despised not only by religious figures and devout believers, but also by the common people.
He had heard about Jesus, whose reputation had recently been causing a stir. And when he heard that Jesus was passing through his town, he wanted to see what kind of person he was. However, the roadside was overflowing with people who, like him, wanted to see Jesus, and it seemed unlikely that the short man Zacchaeus would be able to see him. But then a brilliant idea came to him. Remembering that there was a fig tree in the direction Jesus was heading, he decided to climb the tree to get a look at him.
2. A Call from Jesus
As Jesus was about to pass by Zacchaeus, he suddenly stopped and spoke to Zacchaeus, who was in the tree.
“Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
IfJesus had simply walked by, it would have been nothing more than a story to brag about at dinner—that he’d seen Jesus, the celebrity of the moment. However, Jesus’ call became the biggest turning point in his life.
Why did Zacchaeus gladly accept Jesus’ words upon their first meeting? He was certainly wealthy, but he didn’t seem happy.
Because even if he had money, he was not respected, but rather despised and considered sinners.
The fact that he was not physically tall enough to see Jesus and his followers passing by without climbing a tree may also have cast a shadow over his heart. Zacchaeus may not have been aware of it, but I believe his soul longed for change. Perhaps this was reflected in his actions —ignoring the ridicule he must faced on a daily basis, using his physical strength to run like a child, climb a tree, and look at Jesus.
Jesus is the one who can instantly see into Zacchaeus’s unfulfilled heart. And then he offered the words to satisfy that need. “I’m going to stay at your place tonight.”
Zacchaeus probably had no one outside his family who spoke to him with such warmth. Through Jesus’ words, Zacchaeus realized that Jesus considered him a close friend whom he could trust enough to say, “I will stay the night at your house.” Zacchaeus’s heart was filled with the greatest joy he had ever known.
All who believed in Jesus as God and Lord became like Zacchaeus, listening to and obeying the voice of Jesus. You are walking with Jesus, having received his words, “From now on, I am going to make my home in your hearts.”
By the way, what were the reactions of the people around him? It is recorded that almost everyone present muttered, “Jesus is staying in the house of a sinner.” I think it’s a truly awful attitude, but the same thing is still happening today. For example, there are those who call themselves Christians who label LGBTQ people who are willing to respond to Jesus’ call and follow him as “sinners” and try to exclude them from the church.
Anyone can call themselves a Christian or belong to a Christian church, but I believe they are “Christians who don’t know Jesus” or “Christian churches without Jesus.” Whatever the reason, don’t worry if someone tells you that you’re not worthy of Jesus because of who you are. Rather, Jesus stands on the side of those who are criticized and discriminated against by people who impose their own standards on others and discriminate against others while disregarding Jesus. Jesus visits those who show interest in him and have expectations of him, without any conditions, and invites them to walk with him.
3. Zacchaeus’s Declaration
Now the scene shifts to the house of Zacchaeus, who invited Jesus inside. After enjoying a pleasant meal with Jesus and his disciples, Zacchaeus must have felt compelled to stand up and declare that he was changing his way of life.
“Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
These words represent a dramatic inner transformation in Zacchaeus. Since he did not know Jesus, he had no choice but to rely on his wealth. Since he wasn’t someone who earned people’s respect, the only way he could get revenge was by deceiving them. That was the only way he could build trust-based relationships.
However, through Jesus’ call, Zacchaeus realized that he had been living on something empty, and that even if he abandoned that, Jesus would fill his heart.
Now, how can we, who are neither as wealthy as Zacchaeus nor as wicked as those who swindle money from others, respond to Jesus? It becomes clear that Jesus does not expect us to give a uniform answer when we look at the various encounters with Jesus described in the Gospels and see how people’s responses pleased him. Yet, their essence remains the same. It is a declaration that we want to do not our own desires, but the desires of Jesus, who makes us his dwelling place. Jesus’ response to Zacchaeus’s declaration is recorded at the end.
“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 what was lost.”
When Zacchaeus heard Jesus’ words and declared that he would change his way of life in response, Jesus declared that salvation had come to his house. Jesus described this salvation as the discovery of a missing person by him. Missing persons cannot find themselves or rescue themselves. They need rescuers.
Jesus did not come only for the Jews. It is to save all people created by God. Just as Jesus called out to Zacchaeus, He also calls out to us.
To live in response to this call is what it means to live as a Christian. Christians do not judge others by their own standards. They are the ones who treat and speak to everyone in the same way as Jesus did.
(Prayer) God, we thank you for speaking to each of us individually, just as you spoke to Zacchaeus, and for leading us to a new life.
And even now, we are grateful that you continue to speak to us and that you listen to our calls.
Please guide us so that we can hear your voice and follow it without hesitation.
Also, please help us to love one another as you loved us, in response to the words you have spoken to us.
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ.
Summary
Everyone who has decided to believe in Jesus as Lord and God and to follow Him throughout their life has had an experience similar to Zacchaeus’. That experience is being called by Jesus. Responding to that call, we have been given a new life to walk with Jesus. Our future may seem uncertain and anxious, but there is no need to worry, as Jesus is with us as our protector, friend, and guide. What Jesus asks of us is to continue walking according to His exhortation to love one another, listening carefully to His words.
For Discussion
1) What kind of call did you feel that led you to decide to follow Jesus?
2) What words would you use to respond to Jesus?