CLOSELY LINKED in Luke’s gospel is the story of a short tax collector so eager to see Jesus that he climbs a tree to see over the crowd, and the following distressing prophecies of Jesus. It seems an odd pairing to make, this story of Zacchaeus counterposed against Jesus’ dire prophecies and cautions of end-time events. Both occur in Luke’s fateful rendition of Jesus’ activities during the Passion Week. Jesus spent much of his time going in and out of the Holy City, teaching near the Temple during the day, and returning to Bethany in the evenings; the days are filled with tension, so by nightfall he needs rest.
Jesus had ridden into Jerusalem on the donkey prophesied by Zechariah (Zech. 9:9) during the Feast of Tabernacles, entering through the East Gate. This gate was called the Golden Gate later by Christians, but was known to the Jews of Jesus’ time as the Mercy Gate. Palm branches were waved towards him, and thrown on the stone-paved streets before him, leading upward towards the Temple. In clear fulfillment of Psalm 118, the crowds hailed him as a conquering king, shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matt. 21:9) Jesus’ week opened with the adulation of the crowds. By the end of the week the crowds, no doubt including some who this Friday praised him, by the Friday before Passover would be demanding his death. “Crucify him!” they shouted. “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” (Mark 15:13:14)
In the days between the adulation and the condemnation, Jesus continued in the confrontations that would assure his own arrest, conviction, and crucifixion. These same events, however, would seal the fate of the nation and its people. He clashes with the Pharisees over Roman taxes. “‘Why are you trying to trap me?’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.’” (Mark 12:15-17) He physically assaults the merchants in the temple. “‘It is written,’ he said to them, ‘My house will be a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers.’” (Luke 19:46) These altercations all lead to his arrest and ultimately crucifixion by the end of the week—something that he knew was coming. He condemns them, however, quoting the prophecy that reveals what will befall the nation. “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes?’ Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” (Matt. 21:42-44)
In the midst of these tensions in Jerusalem, Jesus made a trip to Jericho, a distance of about fifteen miles; going there would take up the better part of a day, and preclude a return to Bethany for the evening. Was his visit impromptu, or did he have a specific purpose? This story is only recorded in Luke, and there is nothing in context before or after—excepting perhaps a vague connection to the Pharisees’ question to Jesus about taxes—to indicate why he went there. “A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him.” (Luke 19:4) Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus badly enough to climb a fig tree for a vantage point, and when Jesus was passing by, “he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today. So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.’” (Luke 19:5-6)
The story includes Zacchaeus, who was a tax collector, and therefore much-hated by the Jews, making a promise seemingly based in repentance. “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.” (Luke 19:8) Not only despite of, but perhaps especially because of the muttering of the Pharisees, who accuse Jesus of being “the guest of a ‘sinner,’” (Luke 19:7), Jesus says, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.” (Luke 19:9), And he adds, significantly, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10)
We don’t know why Jesus went to Jericho, but he did. And he did so between the Feast of Tabernacles and the Passover, at a time when Jerusalem was at its yearly zenith of religious activity, and at a unique time when he would become the centerpiece of that activity. Maybe he just needed to get away from it all and take a much-needed pause. But here’s something we might think about. All four gospels record their own unique view of the Passion Week, but only in Luke do we have the story of Zacchaeus, the short man who ran to climb a tree just to see Jesus, and who responded, apparently in repentance, to Jesus’ presence. And Jesus speaks of his salvation, “Today salvation has come to this house.” (Luke 19:9)
There is no record in any of the other gospels of anyone else being saved during this time. Was Jesus so sensitive in Spirit during the incredible events of this week that he would know to go to Jericho so just one more could be saved, the last one that he would engage with in this way before he was crucified? Peter’s later thought, inspired by Holy Spirit, comes to mind, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Pet. 3:9)
If the Lord has that much tender care and compassion for the ones he came for— ‘to seek and to save what was lost’ —then we can trust him during the times he warned of, times which may be happening right now. His promise is this: “They will lay hands on you and persecute you, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.” (Luke 21:12)
Father, whether the time is short or long, we know we have this day to be witnesses of not only your mercy and grace, but also your power. Each day, Father, give us the words of testimony that are particular to your will, and may you and your kingdom be glorified by them.
Q. Is my own focus clearly on my Father’s kingdom, and my service therein?
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