Luke 19: 1-10 KJV
1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. 4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. 6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. 8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. 9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Zacceus is the Greek version of the Hebrew name “Zaccai.” Zaccai can mean pure or transparent, or the righteous one…except Zaccheus was neither pure nor transparent, nor was he considered righteous by the inhabitants of Jericho. He wasn’t just a tax collector; he was the head of all the tax collectors in Jericho and the surrounding area. The implication that he had taken from men by false accusation comes from his own lips, but I assure you, in the court of public opinion, Zaccheus’ sinful reputation far exceeded his actual sin. Zaccheus was rich, his money bought him power and influence, but he most likely experienced little respect or love from his neighbors.
Zaccheus’ reputation preceded him, but so did Jesus’s reputation. And when Zaccheus heard that Jesus was coming, he joined the crowd to see him. Except all of Zaccheus’ money couldn’t buy him longer legs. In order to see Jesus, he sought out a higher vantage point.
For a moment, consider life in Zaccheus’ shoes. You have all of your physical needs met, you want for nothing to satisfy your flesh, but you are surrounded on all sides by people who have little use for you. You are safe and protected by your resources, but in the streets you are vilified. And here you are in this crowd, surrounded by distractions, noise, shouts, and misinformation. Rumors of this, rumors of that, and you know how the rumor mill works, but now you hear that there is a man called Jesus, and what you hear of Him is impossible: he opens blind eyes, heals the sick, raises the dead, and does not put up with hypocrites. You want to see Him for yourself. Who is this Jesus? Is He everything people say He is? Is He less? Is He more? But this crowd, this sea of people, and there are distractions here and noise there and these people don’t like you anyway…they aren’t going to move aside or help you get closer, and you are trapped in this sea of human flesh, pushed back and forth but never getting closer to your goal…
And you see a tree. KJV identifies it as a sycamore, but this isn’t an American sycamore, this is what is known as a sycamore-fig tree. It’s taller than the crowd, and full of fruit. A sycamore fig doesn’t produce one crop like other fig trees, it produces multiple rounds of fig after fig that taste similar to mulberries. It’s strong, it’s tough, it withstands the climate and the wind and the heat to produce this fruit. Its trunk is wide, gnarly, and EASY TO CLIMB. And its branches are strong, able to hold the weight of a man who is trying to get above the crowd and the distractions and the gossip and the misrepresentations and the preconceptions and the reputations to see JESUS for who HE really is….
Consider the tree to be a representation of the Church. It represents local congregations who are standing strong in the face of natural and manmade adversity, producing fruit, and existing to be a hoist to anyone who would climb up out of the world; anyone seeking to see Jesus for who He is. And to whosoever will, the Zacchaeus who climbs the tree will be seen by Jesus for who he was created to be, the pure one, made white by the blood of the lamb, and Jesus will say, “make haste, and come down (not back into the world, but to ME!) ; for to day I must abide at thy house.” Jesus desires a harvest worthy of His name, and He wants to abide in the house that is man himself. He will not force His way in, He wants to be received Joyfully! And when He is received, when man repents from his sin and his offenses and his very self, when The Holy Spirit of Jesus enters man and man begins to speak the words of God from within using an unknown tongue, that a man would hear with his own ears that God is within him, then truly, Salvation has come to that house!!!
Once I was Zaccheus in need of a tree. I was surrounded by chaos, distraction, noise and more noise, in a crowd of people where I could not even see a way forward, let alone Jesus. One Sunday morning I climbed up the stairs and into this tree called Cornerstone, and I saw Jesus for who He is. He saw me in my need, and He came to abide in this house, and I got up from the altar completely transformed. Salvation came to this house that day! And I am so thankful that this tree was here when I needed to climb it.
Twelve years later, Jesus has taken me from being a backseat benchwarmer to pouring my heart out to you. He’s not done with me yet, I still have a long way to go, but I know where I’m not anymore, and I’m blessed because of it.
But I must admit, it took a while for me to get out of the Zaccheus mentality, the need to climb the tree and find Jesus, and get into the tree mentality.
Because I’m part of the tree now. As a Church member, you are part of the tree. No one here can be the tree by themselves. No one here can support the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual weight of a man alone, no matter how short he is. We are all the tree. We are collectively branches in that tree. It is necessary that we come together in unity and in one accord, to be the tree.
He’s not done with me yet, I still have a long way to go, but I know where I’m not anymore, and I’m blessed because of it.
Pray for Zaccheus, whoever he is now, whether he is personally known to you or a stranger you have yet to meet, whether he is here among us or a stranger on the other side of the world, that he will see the tree and start to climb. But also pray also for the tree, that it will be strong enough to stand and support, and not split under the weight and fall apart, and spill its precious fruit on the ground. Consider the prayer of Jesus when He prayed for the Church:
John 17:20-26
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. 24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. It was Jesus’ desire that the Church be unified. Pray for this unity to emerge, in a season where men are falling away and the love of many is waxing cold.
Consider this prayer of Paul for the congregations:
Ephesians 3:14-20
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
With lifted hands like branches, may the Church continue to glorify Jesus until He comes again!