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Jesus was passing through Jericho. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him   Luke 19: 1-2

Zaccheus -- Cover Art for the groups Day Four

A CHIEF Tax Collector!  Big, powerful, rich, but short in statre. Oh, how I love this story!  The crowds knew Jesus by this time. He was famous; a traveling celebrity. And even those who were not particularly religious, even those whose temple membership dues had probably lapsed wanted to get a glimpse of the traveling Galilean, Jesus.

Zacchaeus has become the darling of Sunday School lessons because the he was short. So short, he had to climb up in a tree so he could get a decent look at Jesus. It’s almost comical, and yet youngsters are captivated by Zacchaeus because they can relate to being short and they can relate to climbing trees.

What we don’t remember from Sunday School, however, is that Zacchaeus was very rich and he was a tax collector and it is those details to which we must attend.  A rich tax collector: despised by the locals, shunned by the religious authorities, and envied by all. And this is the man Jesus stops and talks to. This is the man Jesus chooses to eat dinner with. Scandalous! Can you imagine the rolling eyes? The murmuring? The belligerent sniffles?

That’s how it is with Jesus.  Jesus doesn’t just pay attention to those who are sitting right in front of him, clamoring to walk right next to him. Jesus looks around – up into trees even – to spot the ones who might not deserve an audience with him.