Zacchaeus, Come Down, Immediately

Luke 19:1-10

Key Verse 19:5

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." 

Today we would like to think about the beautiful love relationship between Jesus Christ and a thirsty soul by the name of Zacchaeus. The Bible says, “What a man desires is unfailing love.” Proverbs 19:22a Statistics indicates that not all have found this love. But Zacchaeus found it. How did it happen to him? It happened this way.    

First, Jesus was passing through

Look at verse 1. Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. Zacchaeus was living in the city of Jericho. And Jesus “entered” the city! The expression “Jesus entered Jericho” then means that the chance for Zacchaeus to meet Jesus was fast approaching. To him, and certainly to many, it was once in a life-time chance. And “Jesus was passing through the city.” A golden chance was about to pass him by. 

Second, a man by the name of Zacchaeus

Look at verse 2. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.

In Hebrew the name “Zacchaeus” means “clean and pure” (or simply “righteous”). Yet, he became a chief tax collector which the people of Jesus’ day categorized as one of the worst, if not the worst possible sinner. They regarded a tax collector as worse than a prostitute, because tax collectors sold their identity as a chosen people, “for money”. 

Proverbs 23:23 says, “Buy the truth and do not sell it.” But Zacchaeus sold his identity as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, for money. 

Zacchaeus’ name represents the kind of person Zacchaeus was born to be. Zacchaeus’ occupation and the material wealth he secured out of it refers to the kind of person he became. 

When one person I know was in his junior high school he wanted to be the greatest man in human history. So when his school teacher asked him, “What is your dream?” The man said, “I want to become a great man.” The teacher responded saying, “What you say is kind of vague. Be more specific. What kind of person do you want to be?” The boy thought about it for a while and said, “I don’t know.” 

Most likely from his young adulthood, Zacchaeus must have desired to be a great man. Indeed he became a great man, but not the kind God has in mind, but the opposite kind: he became a “great” sinner. 

Third, Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was.

Look at verse 3a. He wanted to see who Jesus was… It is interesting to note that a man who sold the truth has now become desirous of “knowing” the truth. Jesus is the sum total of all the truths. In fact in John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the truth.” Having sold the truth for some quick benefits he became he felt filthy inside. Because he felt dirty, no one had to remind him saying, “You are a jerk” for he knew his sinful condition better than others. And for this his soul was in torment.

Zacchaeus’ example indicates an important truth about a sinner like Zacchaeus. That is, no matter how sinful one has become, the desire to know the truth is still there. In fact with all other conditions being equal, the more sinful one has gone the thirstier of God’s truth one will get. What a man like Zacchaeus needs the most is a good shepherd who can teach him God’s truth. 

But thank God. In his mercy, God sent Jesus as the good shepherd. As the good shepherd Jesus faithfully proclaimed the message of God’s kingdom. And he entered the city where Zacchaeus was living. 

Being a chief tax collector using the business network Zacchaeus heard of all the good deeds of Jesus. He then thought that the man named Jesus might be the Messiah. He might have been secretly praying that the chance for him to meet Jesus would come. And Jesus was passing through Jericho. Upon hearing the news he ran to the place where he thought Jesus might be coming. But by the time he arrived at the general area, already it was crowded with people. Being a short man, and because of the crowd he could not see Jesus.  

Fourth, so Zacchaeus ran ahead, and climbed a sycamore fig tree

Look at verse 4. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

Verse 4 describes the way Zacchaeus overcame adverse circumstances. First of all he ran ahead of others. Then Zacchaeus climbed a sycamore fig tree. Most likely the average height of the Jewish people of Jesus’ day was more or less the same as in our generation, like more or less between five and six feet. We do not know how short Zacchaeus was. Let us assume that he was five feet. We can imagine that the tree he climbed was very easily more than 10 feet tall. So having climbed a tree and perched there he came to have a far better view of Jesus than all the rest. In a way he became like a man who secured the royal box at the Walt Disney Concert Hall for free and enjoys the show eating popcorn. 

Fifth, on reaching the spot, Jesus looked up and said to him. 

Look at verse 5. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." Here most likely “the spot” refers to the place right underneath the tree where Zacchaeus was. The expression “When Jesus reached the spot” indicates that Jesus did not pay direct attention to Zacchaeus until he reached the spot. It is quite likely that the sight of Zacchaeus perched on a tree must have caught Jesus’ attention from afar. And because Zacchaeus made quite a scene like a Chinese Panda hanging on a bamboo tree, and because Jesus is a friendly person, Jesus could have waved his hands to Zacchaeus from a distance. 

But the passage indicates that Jesus did not do that. But on reaching “the spot” all of sudden, Jesus “looked up.” Jesus’ eyes met Zacchaeus’. I think at that particular moment, Zaccaheus’ heart raced like that of a rabbit. And he almost fell from the tree. At that moment, thoughts flashed in his mind like “Oh, my God. What should I do? Should I say, “Hello, Jesus!”? Or “Should I apologize saying, “Oh, Jesus, I am sorry.”  He really wanted to say something, but he could not move his tongue.  But thank God. Jesus quickly saved him out of trouble. And like a good old friend, Jesus said, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 

This passage proves that Jesus is the Son of God who came from God to meet the kind of need all sinners have.  

(1) Jesus knows our name

It is surprising that although Jesus never met Zacchaeus in person, he called Zacchaeus by name. How did he know his name? During one of the group Bible studies, one friend of mine said that most likely Levi the tax collector must have tipped Jesus. It was quite possible. But in view of other Bible episodes such as Jesus displaying the supernatural knowledge about the life story of the Samaritan woman (in John 4) even without asking or getting tipped by anyone, it is also possible that Jesus’ knowledge was of supernatural origin. Speaking of the same truth, the Apostle John says that Jesus is the good shepherd, and the good shepherd knows his sheep and calls them each by name and leads them out. What is more surprising is what the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 1:4, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” 

(2) Jesus welcomes sinners who desire to have a fellowship with him. 

Jesus said, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today. This reminds us of what Isaiah said in Isaiah 65:24, “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” In Zacchaeus’ case, when he met Jesus his first love (and last love), he was so joyful that he could not even open his mouth to say anything. Yet Jesus answered his call [for everlasting love] even before Zacchaeus picked up the phone to make his request. 

“Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” What Jesus said here also reminds me of a pop song by a pop singer named Mandy Moore. The title of the song is “One sided love”. A friend of mine bought the song over the Internet for 99 cents. I do not like the melody. But I like the lyrics because they explain the kind of love everyone desires. Let me recite the lyrics:   

I know you've tried your best; But that's not good enough for me; Understand, nevertheless; Love's gotta go both ways [This is true. Zacchaeus loved Jesus. And for sure Jesus loved him back even far more than Zacchaeus expected.] Well you push me to the left; Then you push me to the right; But you gotta meet me in the middle; If you wanna make this right [This is also true. “You gotta meet me in the middle.” Jesus met Zacchaeus right in the middle. In fact Jesus hit the core of the heart of Zacchaeus, the heart where he was ever so secretly hiding the desire for eternal love.] But you gotta believe.... So here it is, here it is, baby here it is.... I wanna help you out, tell you what it's all about; What I feel, what I need, how's it gonna be; So what you wanna do, what you really wanna do; 'Cause I've decided everything i want from you; One sided love is never gonna work [This is true. If it were only Zacchaeus who ever so dearly yearned for the fellowship with Jesus the embodiment of true love, and if Jesus never understood and responded to the desire for this love, how could the desire for love in Zacchaeus’ heart be fully met?] So let me tell you something; That' I'm sure you've never heard of Tender love and care; In case you're unaware, So I tell you what; Let me tell you where it's at; Hit me with your best shot [The lyrics say, “Hit me with your best shot.” In the passage Jesus hit Zacchaeus with Jesus’ best shot, and the shot was, “Zacchaeus come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”] I'm giving you a second chance [In Zacchaeus’ case, he did not have to give Jesus a second chance, for Jesus never misses a chance, and thereby never makes us disappointed.] But you gotta understand; If you don't know how to love me I will find someone who can [Oh, no. Jesus surely knows how to love a thirsty soul, that once you’ve tasted His love, you will never ever have to find someone else.]

The love story described in the passage proves that the love Zacchaeus found in Jesus is truly the love which is unfailing. Psychiatrists developed an interesting test called “the 100 question love test”. These questions are designed to tell whether or not you are in love with the one whom you love. Here are some of the questions: 

Have you ever done something that seemed ludicrous at the time to impress them? [I think Zacchaeus did something very ludicrous and it truly impressed Jesus.] When you sleep, are they in your dreams? [I am certain that on hearing the news about Jesus, Zacchaeus must have dreamt of Jesus numerous times.] Can you see them spending the rest of their lives together? [I think certainly since he met Jesus, Zacchaeus chose to abide in Jesus’ love from eternity to eternity.] Can you say things to them you would not say to anyone else? [Yes. This is what Zacchaeus did, for he 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."]

If your closest friends were making fun of him/her, would you stand up for that person? [This is exactly what Zacchaeus did: his fellow Jews made fun of Jesus saying, “Look. He has gone to be a guest of a sinner.” But he stood up and defended Jesus calling Jesus ‘Lord!’” 

Could you never lie to them? [Most likely Zacchaeus lied to millions of different people, but to Jesus, he told the whole truth about himself. The expression “if I have cheated anybody out of anything” means he admitted that he cheated many.]

Do you have trouble remembering your life before them? [I think Zacchaeus did, because otherwise he would not have said what he said to Jesus, for he officially made an announcement to live a life that is giving to others rather than the life that is taking and taking all the time all for himself and himself alone.] Do presents from them seem more enjoyable than any other gift, even before you know what they are? [Zacchaeus sensed that the love that comes from the fellowship with Jesus has eternal value, that he was willing to give up even half of his possessions only to please Jesus.] Would you be willing to embarrass yourself in front of others just to see them smile? [This is what Zacchaeus did: in order to just see the face of Jesus, he made himself embarrassed in front of everyone.] Do you feel like you have spent your life looking for this person? [No question about it.] Do you feel like you can read their mind? [I think just as Jesus read Zacchaeus’ mind, so also he read Jesus’ mind.]  Do you get butterflies in your stomach every time they come into the room? [I think Zacchaeus gets butterflies each time he thinks of the moment he first met Jesus.] Are they, in your opinion, the most interesting/fascinating person on Earth? [Sure] Do they make you happy? [A resounding yes] Do you believe in destiny now, or more than you did before, because of them? [Of course] Have you married them? [Amen]

Sixth, “This man too is a son of Abraham.” 

Look at verses 9-10.  “Jesus said to him, "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." Most of the Jews of Jesus’ day categorized Zacchaeus as worse than the Gentiles. In this way people rejected Zacchaeus. But Jesus declared that he too is a son of Abraham. In this way Jesus accepted Zacchaeus and included him in the fellowship with God the Father and all who are saved through faith in Him.

One word: Zacchaeus, come down immediately 

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