1644AFC102816 – Climb to Fame and Glory
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Luke 19:1-6 – 1 He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5 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.” 6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him.
Luke 19:8 – 8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.”
¡Que la bendición esté siempre con ustedes y que Dios los bendiga, Amado! (May blessing always be with you and may God bless you, Belovéd!) Maybe it’s time for something a little different, so today we’re going to do sort of an expositional approach to this story about Zacchaeus. Let’s begin with the setting.
This story is only presented in Luke’s Gospel. It comes right after the healing of the blind (←That link will provide additional insights into this message.) Jesus is returning to Jerusalem. It’s a very long walk, and along the way many miracles are performed. He also describes what will happen to him once he gets to Jerusalem – his arrest, passion, death, and resurrection. At this point in that journey, Jesus has reached the ancient city of Jericho. You perhaps recall the Battle of Jericho in which Joshua – יְהוֹשֻׁ֙עַ֙ (Yehoshua) {yeh-ho-shoo’-ah} or {yeh-ho-shoo’-ah} – marched with the nation of Israel round the city seven times, and then the walls collapsed. This was the first city captured by Israel in Canaan. It is perhaps one of the oldest cities in the world. The word Jericho translates to ‘Moon City,” or “its moon,” an allusion to its proximity to Jerusalem. It is situated about 5 miles west of the Jordan River. It is about 7 miles north of the Dead Sea. Jericho was about 16 miles northeast of Jerusalem. “Going up to Jerusalem” (See Psalm 122:1) from Jericho was a difficult trip. Jericho is about 800 feet below sea level and Jerusalem is about 2,500 feet above sea level. The journey was further complicated by the very rugged terrain, and by bandits who preyed on travelers going to Jerusalem (Recall the parable of The Good Samaritan.) It is surprising to me to learn that Jericho was fundamentally an oasis with a nearly tropical climate. It was a well-situated town along a principal trade route from the east. Because of that, travelers passing through paid taxes to Rome to be able to pass through there. That is how Zacchaeus made his living.
Zacchaeus lived in Jericho and was a Publican, a Tax Collector working for the Romans; as Luke 19:2 states, “he was a chief tax collector and was rich.” Tax Collectors were despised by the Jews because they were collaborators with the Romans. Their reputation was worsened because they usually levied more tax than was required by Rome; they kept the extra for themselves – and grew rich. In this instance the man’s name Ζακχαῖος (Zakchaios) {dzak-chah’-ee-yos} is truly ironic because it is derived from a word that means “pure or innocent.” His name was Greek in origin, but there is reason to believe he was a Jew. (See Ezra 2:9 for זַכָּי (Zakkay) { zak-kah’-ee}.) He was curious about Jesus and wanted to see “who Jesus was.” We know from the Gospel account of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem that there were very large crowds surrounding him. For someone who “was short in stature,” that made seeing Jesus all the more difficult, so he climbed a tree. The type of tree described by Luke was a sycamore tree. Please see 1 King 10:27, Amos 7:14 for שִׁקְמִים (shaqam) { shaw-kawm’), and Luke 19:4 for συκομορέα (sykomorea) {soo-kom-o-rah’-yah}.
I’ve always thought it was odd that Luke specified that particular tree. We have sycamores in North America – there are even some here on Kauaʻi – but those are usually the Plane Sycamore or the American Sycamore. Their leaves and “fruits” look like the photo on the left:
However, the sycamore that Zacchaeus climbed was a type of ficus – a fig tree. You can see the small, round fruits – figs – along the trunk and branches. The Biblical symbolism of the fig tree goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden (See Genesis 3:7) and in stories and parables usually represents the “fruitfulness” (i.e., goodness or holiness) of Israel. So, to push the figurative language a bit, Zacchaeus climbed up into the fruitfulness of Israel so that he could see Jesus. And oh, what a surprise he got! Jesus saw him in the tree and told him to come down, then Jesus invited himself to stay at Zacchaeus’ house. The biggest, baddest, most despised man in town “was happy to welcome him.” It caused quite a stir in the city of Jericho! (See Luke 19:7) Then the story takes a sudden shift.
We don’t know how long Jesus stayed with Zacchaeus, but it was long enough to bring forth a dramatic conversion. Zacchaeus – a hated man who cheated others to enrich himself – declares, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” What did Jesus say to him to bring about this extraordinary change? Luke doesn’t give us any additional information – it is sufficient to tell us that Zacchaeus went from super-greedy to super-generous in a very short time. Jesus left Jericho to continue his journey to Jerusalem – very literally a long (about 16-18 miles), arduous, uphill trek – but the Gospels don’t tell us any more about Zacchaeus. There is more to learn, however.
There is a collection of writings called The Apostolic Constitutions. This is a remarkable resource to read. It contains eight “books” that convey the earliest ecclesiastical laws of Christianity. This is a real, searchable, historical resource that gives much insight into the early church. Scholars believe it was put together toward the end of the Fourth Century – around 375-380 AD under the supervision of Saint Pope Clement I of Rome. They were probably written in Syria, perhaps in Antioch (a strong Christian community was established there by Christians who fled persecution in Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Crete, and later was recognized by the Apostle Peter and nurtured by the Apostle Paul). In this collection of writings – in Book Seven, Section XLVI (46) – there are references to Bishops of the early church (“presbyter” πρεσβύτερος as in 1 Titus 5:19, 1 Peter 5:1, 2 John 1:1, 3 John 1:1, usually translated as “Elders” in the KJV.) In the list of the first bishops of The Church, there is this statement: “Of Cæsarea of Palestine, the first was Zacchæus, who was once a publican.”
This World-Class sinner – through the evangelization of Jesus and the Apostles – became a respected and honored member of the early Church. According to an early historian Clement of Alexandria (about AD 150 – AD 215 and not the same person as Pope Clement I) in his book Stromata, Zacchaeus’ surname was Matthias (See Acts 1:23). Matthias took the place of Judas Iscariot after Jesus’ Ascension. The later Apostolic Constitutions identify “Zacchaeus the Publican” as the first bishop of Caesarea. These accounts are not canonical – they are not approved as inspired scripture, and are considered by some to be pious legend – but they do give us some insight into the processes by which The Church grew and how Apostolic Authority figures into the ecclesiastical formation of Christian doctrine, worship, discipline, and structure. For those of us who are Biblicists and interested in history (admittedly few and far between!), these are fascinating reading. For most of us, though, we often do not look “behind the page” to see what the Bible tells us about the people, places, and events it contains.
The next time you hear the story of Zacchaeus, you will know more about the man, the way he lived, where he lived, and how his life changed. He went from sinner to Saint because he took the initiative of trying to see who Jesus was. Jesus welcomed his initiative as well as his conversion, and Zacchaeus stayed with his new-found “notoriety” (being a follower in The Way was even worse than being a Tax Collector for many of the Jews) and went on to become a leader in the Early Church – a man famous for his generosity and faith. Look for Jesus because he’s coming your direction. Find a good way to see who he is, and give heed to his instruction. It may mean getting up in a tree and going out on a limb, but – I know this from experience – it’s well worth the climb to share in the Glory on Heaven even without the kind of fame Zacchaeus garnered.
Keep praying for Ty and for Carol. You have the gratitude of their families for your dedication and care.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Belovéd!
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
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