Luke 19:1-10; Jesus Breaks out of the "Box" Once Again

"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. 7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 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.” 9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

Introduction

I can never think of this familiar story without the words of the children's hymn sneaking into my mind:

"Zacchaeus was a wee little man
And a wee little man was he
He climbed up in a sycamore tree
For the Lord he wanted to see
And as the Savior passed that way
He looked up in that tree
And He said, “Zacchaeus, you come down!
For I’m going to your house today
For I’m going to your house to stay."

It's a fun little ditty, despite the fact that some scholars now are "re-reading" one word in the Greek text traditionally translated "small" to mean "young" (helikia). I don't think that a re-reading is at the heart of the passage, and I won't enter that debate here. Besides, if we adopt the new "theory," there goes our song!

As one commentator says, in the story of Zacchaeus "Jesus pulls the rug from under every cliche" we have to explain him (Joel Green, Gospel of Luke, 667). We think we know Jesus as we read the Gospel of Luke. He laid out his message clearly in his synagogue discourse in 4:16-21; he mission would be to preach "release" to the captives. Then, as his ministry develops, we see release being preached. We see Luke's special emphasis on the "little" (figurative!) people, the "poor, lame, blind and maimed" (14:13). The theme of reversal of expectations (16:19-31) also pervades the Gospel. We think we "know" Jesus and thus can preach a clear, consistent and bold message about him in 2007 or 2008.

Then we run into a story like the parable of unjust steward, a man whom the "lord" commends (16:1-13), or this story, and our categories are thrown into a slightly cocked hat. In the story for today we have a few ambiguities. Zacchaeus is supposedly a member of a despised profession (tax collector), but Luke really isn't down on tax collectors (note the publican--tax collector--is the righteous one in 18:9-14). The other disciples have to give up all that they have to follow Jesus, and the rich young ruler is told to sell all his possessions and follow Jesus (18:18-30), but Zacchaeus here doesn't have to do that to be a disciple. Apparently he can keep his job.

These ambiguities are buttressed by the unexpected literary dimensions of the story. For example, Zacchaeus runs ahead of Jesus to see and seek him but, in fact, the story is about Jesus seeking and saving Zacchaeus. Blindness is emphasized in the preceding passage (18:35-43), but the right kind of "seeing" is at the heart of this passage. Then, there is the contrast between what I call the vertical and horizontal imagery of the passage. We see in our mind's eye Zacchaeus running ahead of Jesus (horizontal) and then climbing the tree (vertical) to get a look at Jesus, only to have Jesus tell him to come down (vertical) and accompany him to his house (horizontal). And through it all is the insistent sound of one little word: "Today." Just as the thief on the cross will be in paradise with Jesus "today" (23:43), so salvation comes to Zacchaeus' house "today." It lends a note of urgency to the Gospel, an urgency which is even more demanding as Jesus is now in Jericho, just down the road from Jerusalem--the goal of his journey.

Turning to the Story

The story of Zacchaeus picks up on important themes from the preceding chapter (discussion of riches; Jesus' relationship to those who are 'blind'), but takes it them in a new direction. In the next essay I will exposit the story, paying special attention to the rich possibilities of the language, while I raise questions about how this interesting story fits into Jesus' seemingly clear preference for the "poor" over the "rich."

Let's now turn to this riveting story.

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