Introduction

In a world gripped by a crisis of loneliness, the story of Zacchaeus and Jesus offers a radical alternative. This wealthy outcast, isolated by his own greed, discovers that grace precedes repentance — acceptance comes before change. Through this unforgettable encounter, Mark Fletcher explores how the gospel offers dignity and belonging to the lost, because the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.

For all of the marvels of modern technology, which mean that we are more connected than ever, in reality, in our experience, we find ourselves increasingly isolated from one another. From our high-rise city to the sprawl of nameless suburbs, something in our modern lifestyle distances us from one another. And there is a crisis of loneliness in the Western world.

The story of Zacchaeus is a Sunday school favourite, and if you know it, you might have a real soft spot for Zacchaeus. But in actual fact, it’s rather more uncomfortable and, I think, important than we imagine. I think if you want a story to summarise Luke’s gospel, you wouldn’t go far wrong if you chose this. It is an unforgettable story of a grim old crook, whose life was turned upside down the day that he met Jesus. It begins, Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through, and a man there called Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. Now, he isn’t technically a crook. He is a head tax collector. All of the other tax collectors answer to him. But he takes his cut and creams a little bit off on the top. And nobody would dream of challenging him because he works for the Roman Empire. He is part of a vast system of taxation and exploitation and oppression. And as a result, he is very wealthy. He certainly has the best house in Jericho, lots of servants, good clothes, fine food. And everyone hates him.

Because they know that he is essentially a parasite. It is their money that makes him rich. He exploits the poor. He exploits the rich, too. And don’t imagine that the Romans are his friends. The Romans don’t have any friends. And so Zacchaeus’ covetousness leaves him alienated and alone. And like we said, nobody can touch him. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t shun him and turn their backs on him and stand in his way. And it seems that that’s exactly what happens when Jesus comes to town and he wants to see him. People are like, “Oh, sorry, Zacchaeus. Didn’t see you there. Am I in your way?” And he can’t get through. And he receives these cold shoulders. And I suspect that crowds are uncomfortable places to be when you are the most hated man in town. This is a little glimpse of his whole life. I think Zacchaeus would say money is fine, but it comes at a pretty big price.

And yet he wants to get away. And he wants to see Jesus. In verse 3, it says he wanted to see who Jesus was. Why? Well, we don’t necessarily know. Luke doesn’t say. But I think there is more to this than idle curiosity. I think he has heard rumours and he wants to know if they are true. And he’s really quite determined about this. Because, well, if Jesus is who people are saying that he is, then that might just change everything. Verse 4, So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. It’s a brilliant picture, isn’t it? But it is actually astonishing if you think about it. Rich men don’t run. Not in the ancient world. Probably not in our world either. And they certainly don’t climb trees. What is going on here? My suggestion is this. Zacchaeus knows that he is living in a prison of his own making. It may be a gilded prison, but it is a prison nonetheless. And he has seen in Jesus a chink of light. The possibility of being set free from these chains that he wears. The kingdoms of this world which he has chosen to invest in have left him lonely and isolated. And now he has heard rumours of a long-promised king. Of a better kingdom. And he is certainly very keen to find out if that could be true. So there he is. Up a fig tree. Probably feeling rather foolish and hoping nobody spots him. How does that work out for him? Not that well.

Jesus arrives at the spot. And then in verse 5, Jesus looks up and says to him, Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today. And Jesus and all his disciples invite themselves for dinner. And of course that is one of the most remarkable things about Jesus. That he goes for dinner with the social outcast. The old sinner. Because he is making this point. That this guy matters to God just like everybody else. But of course all the people mutter when they see this. And say, He has gone to be the guest of a sinner. We would love to think that we wouldn’t be that judgmental. But the truth is I think all of us have categories of people that we think are beyond the reach of the gospel. That couldn’t be Christians. Jesus does not. He grants dignity to sinners. Just like Zacchaeus.

And one of the things that is most notable about this story is the way in which grace precedes repentance. That acceptance comes first. And that is the thing that brings the change. We work the other way around. We say to people, “Mend your ways and you will be welcome.” But Luke is reminding us that the church is rehab for sinners, not a social club for saints. And it is in granting him that grace, that dignity, that Jesus opens the door to change. How does it work? Well, I think what is always significant about Jesus is the way that he looks so insightfully at people. That he sees Zacchaeus as he really is. In verse 9 he says, 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 the lost. So Jesus is saying two things about Zacchaeus. First, that he is lost. Jesus sees beyond the wealth and the luxury and sees that Zacchaeus, though he may not look like it, is in fact lost. We think of lost souls as the vulnerable, and the addicted, and the impoverished. But the tragedy of somebody like Zacchaeus is that lostness isn’t obvious. It’s hidden. He’s hiding behind his money. And so nobody knows how lost he is. It is a private tragedy. Mother Teresa once said, “Loneliness is the most terrible poverty.”

So Jesus sees that Zacchaeus is lost. But he also sees that he is a child of God. And of course this is the gift that the gospel of Jesus offers. That we are helped to rediscover our true identity. Instead of the masks that we hide behind. And that true identity might be more humble. More ordinary. Might be a small part of a bigger whole. But it’s part of something infinitely greater than we could ever dream of. To be a child of God is to be part of the family of God. It is the greatest privilege we could have. Jesus sees Zacchaeus’ lostness. But he also sees that he is a child of God. And is worthy of redeeming. And I think that those two things are necessarily true of all of us to a greater or lesser extent. This is the gospel. We are more lost than we realise. And we are more loved than we can imagine. So everything changes for Zacchaeus at this moment. It’s a wonderful turnaround. And he shows us something of what redeems us. And what repentance looks like. Because repentance isn’t just to be sorry. It literally means to turn around. To put things right. And this is verse 8. Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay them back four times as much.” It’s a remarkable moment, isn’t it? We talked last week about the need for Christians to take the lead in living simpler lifestyles. Well, Zacchaeus does that in dramatic fashion. And he understands that if God’s love is this generous, then he should be that generous in the same way. The one who has been forgiven much, loves much. And what’s lovely is that his spiritual revolution brings economic justice. Can you imagine the scene? The queue of people outside his house. The jubilation as Jericho receives a tax rebate that it never dreamed of. How about that for a picture of what the kingdom of God looks like? People dancing down the street. Spontaneous parties breaking out as people suddenly discover that justice is possible. And Zacchaeus? Well, he ends up finally financially significantly diminished, but socially and eternally transformed. And he goes down in history. Nobody would ever have heard of Zacchaeus the petty crook. But we all know about Zacchaeus. And one detail which I think is always interesting is, how do we know his name? Because we didn’t know the rich ruler’s name last week. How do we know Zacchaeus’ name? How did Luke know Zacchaeus’ name? And I think the most likely explanation of that is that he was part of the early church. That he would tell the story of his conversion. He would give his testimony of the time he embarrassed himself by climbing a tree to see Jesus. And his life was turned upside down.

Zacchaeus would say that wealth is insignificant compared to dignity and belonging. The philosopher Alain de Botton said, “The more dignity is widely and freely available in a society, the less people will want to be rich or famous.” And our survival-of-the-fittest world alienates us from one another as we try and get one over on each other. And wealth and power, which seem so glamorous and exciting, actually in the long run turn out to be squalid and boring. And trap us in self-centred isolation. By contrast, in our imagination and the imagination of our culture, holiness, the way of Christ, is dull. But in reality it is joyful and abundant and life-giving. And opens us up to others and to the wonders of God. The way of Jesus is the way of grace and generosity. The gospel of Jesus offers us dignity and belonging. And the vulnerability and honesty that it demands of us opens the door to all of those things which make life worth living. And it builds a new kind of community. That Jesus brings forgiveness and restoration and justice. And the grace with which God has treated us, we are in turn expected to treat one another. To give back in our relationships to one another. We are called to live these lives of simple goodness and generous love. To find our true self as part of God’s family. And our true belonging as children of God. For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. And that is each of our story. Jesus never gave up. Until he had brought us home. And no matter how lost you are, Jesus will come searching for you. To bring you back as a child of God into God’s family. That’s who we are called to be. That’s what it means to be church. This is the story of Zacchaeus. An old crook whose life was turned upside down the day that he met Jesus. May that be our story too. Amen.