WHICH COMES FIRST, ACCEPTANCE OR REPENTANCE?
Luke 19:1-10
Rev. Paul Wrightman 7/18/21
THIS MORNING WE ARE TAKING A CLOSE LOOK
AT THE STORY OF ZACCHAEUS,
A CLASSIC STORY OF A PERSON HOPELESSLY LOST
UNTIL FOUND BY JESUS.
PLEASE ALLOW YOURSELF TO SEE THIS STORY
THROUGH THE EYES OF THOSE WHO WROTE THE GOSPELS.
FOR THEM, THE PERSON JESUS
WAS LIKE NO OTHER PERSON THEY HAD EVER KNOWN.
TO USE A PHRASE FROM MODERN PHYSICS,
JESUS WAS A SINGULARITY, A UNIQUE, ONE-OF-A-KIND BEING.
JESUS WAS SO EXCEPTIONAL
THAT MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, AND JOHN
ACTUALLY HAD TO INVENT A NEW KIND OF LITERATURE
TO DESCRIBE HIM.
WE KNOW THIS FORM OF LITERATURE AS “GOSPEL.”
IT’S AN ODD COMBINATION
OF HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, AND THEOLOGY –
ALL FOCUSED ON SHARING THE “GOOD NEWS”
ABOUT THIS EXTRAORDINARY PERSON, JESUS,
IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE READER COMES TO TRUST IN JESUS
WITH THE SAME PASSION AND COMMITMENT AS THE WRITER.
SOMETHING THAT ALL FOUR GOSPEL WRITERS HAVE IN COMMON
IS THAT THEY ARE CONVINCED THAT IF THE GOD OF ISRAEL
WERE TO BECOME A PERSON, THEN THIS PERSON, JESUS,
EMBODIES THE WAY THAT GOD WOULD TEACH AND ACT.
THIS SHARED ASSUMPTION EVENTUALLY BECAME
THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF THE INCARNATION:
THE BELIEF THAT SOMEHOW THIS PERSON JESUS
IS AT THE SAME TIME FULLY HUMAN AND FULLY DIVINE.
MATTHEW CALLS JESUS “EMMANUEL,”
WHICH MEANS “GOD-WITH-US.”
JOHN TELLS US THAT GOD CAME IN THE PERSON OF JESUS
AND “PITCHED HIS TENT AMONG US,”
MAKING IT SOUND AS IF WE AND JESUS
ARE ON THE SAME BACKPACKING TRIP TOGETHER.
THE THEOLOGY OF INCARNATION HAS THE EFFECT
OF BRINGING GOD MUCH CLOSER TO HOME, AS IT WERE.
IN JESUS, GOD BECOMES AS CLOSE TO US
AS A WISE, SOMETIMES CHALLENGING, ALWAYS CARING,
OFTEN PLAYFUL OLDER BROTHER.
ALL FOUR GOSPELS AGREE THAT JESUS WAS ACCUSED
OF ENJOYING GOOD WINE AND GOOD FOOD IN EXCESS,
AND THAT HE MADE A POINT OF HANGING OUT
WITH ALL THE WRONG PEOPLE.
THIS BRINGS US TO OUR SCRIPTURE TEXT FOR TODAY.
JERICHO WAS A LARGE, WEALTHY,
AND BEAUTIFUL TOWN IN THE TIME OF JESUS.
IT WAS ON A MAJOR TRADE ROAD
AND EXPORTED ITS DATES AND BALSAM WOOD FAR AND WIDE.
JOSEPHUS, THE ROMAN-JEWISH HISTORIAN,
CALLS IT “THE FATTEST PLACE IN PALESTINE.”
OUR TEXT TELLS US THAT ZACCHAEUS
WAS A CHIEF TAX COLLECTOR AND THAT HE WAS RICH.
TO BE A CHIEF TAX COLLECTOR IN THAT DAY
MEANT THAT ONE WOULD HAVE A BEVY
OF SUBORDINATE TAX COLLECTORS UNDER ONE,
ALL GOUGING THE PEOPLE AS MUCH AS THEY COULD,
AND ALL REQUIRED TO GIVE A HEFTY PERCENTAGE
OF THEIR PROFITS TO CHIEF TAX COLLECTOR ZACCHAEUS.
ALL TAXATION NOT RELATED TO THE TEMPLE
WAS MANAGED BY THE ROMANS,
WHICH MEANT THAT THE ROMANS HAD WORKING FOR THEM
A SMALL ARMY OF JEWISH COLLABORATORS.
THESE COLLABORATORS WERE THE MOST HATED PERSONS
IN ISRAEL AT THE TIME.
THUS, WRITTEN BETWEEN THE LINES OF OUR TEXT TELLING US
THAT ZACCHAEUS WAS A CHIEF TAX COLLECTOR AND RICH,
IS ALSO THE INFORMATION THAT ZACCHAEUS
WAS ALSO THE MOST DESPISED PERSON IN TOWN.
KENNETH BAILEY, A TRUSTED BIBLICAL SCHOLAR WHO HAS LIVED
MOST OF HIS SCHOLARLY LIFE IN THE MIDDLE EAST,
REMARKS THAT ZACCHAEUS WOULD NEVER HAVE DREAMED
OF ACTUALLY JOINING THE CROWD SEEKING JESUS,
BECAUSE HE, LIKE MANY OTHER HATED TAX COLLECTORS
OF THAT DAY, WOULD LIKELY HAVE BEEN ASSASSINATED.
BAILEY WRITES:
“WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO HIM
IF HE DARED PUSH HIS WAY INTO THE CROWD?
THE QUICK FLASH OF A KNIFE, A STIFLED CRY,
AND IT WOULD ALL BE OVER.
ONLY AFTER THE CROWD MOVED ON
WOULD THE BODY BE FOUND AND BY THEN
THE PERPETRATORS WOULD HAVE DISAPPEARED.”
(Kenneth Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes)
UNABLE TO RISK MINGLING WITH THE CROWD
PUSHING FORWARD TO SEE JESUS,
ZACCHAEUS DOES TWO THINGS WHICH NO DIGNIFIED MAN
OF THAT TIME AND PLACE WOULD DO:
HE RAN, AND HE CLIMBED A TREE.
BAILEY COMMENTS:
“MIDDLE EASTERN ADULTS DO NOT RUN IN PUBLIC
IF THEY WISH TO AVOID PUBLIC SHAME.”
THE TEXT TELLS US THAT ZACCHAEUS “RAN AHEAD.”
ZACCHAEUS IS RUNNING AHEAD OF THE CROWD
NOT ONLY TO AVOID THE RISK OF BEING KILLED,
BUT ALSO TO AVOID THE RISK OF BEING SEEN,
BEING SEEN AND MOCKED MERCILESSLY.
MANY OF THE CUSTOMS PRACTICED IN JESUS’ DAY
ARE STILL OPERATIVE IN THE MIDDLE EAST IN OUR DAY.
BAILEY IS THE MOST ASTUTE OBSERVER
OF THESE CUSTOMS AT WORK.
REGARDING THE UNTHINKABILITY
OF A POWERFUL, WEALTHY MAN CLIMBING A TREE,
BAILEY SHARED THE FOLLOWING INCIDENT:
“JOHN BADEAU, THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR IN CAIRO, EGYPT,
UNDER JOHN KENNEDY, RECORDS IN HIS MEMOIRS
THAT HE ONCE CLIMBED A TREE IN THE BACK GARDEN
OF THE AMBASSADOR’S WALLED RESIDENCE
IN ORDER TO FIX SOME LIGHTS FOR AN EMBASSY GARDEN PARTY.
THIS PRIVATE ACT BECAME KNOWN AND CAUSED SUCH A STIR
THAT BADEAU WAS SOON ASKED BY A VERY PUZZLED
[EGYPTIAN] PRESIDENT NASSER IF THE STORY WERE TRUE.
NASSER HAD HEARD THE UNBELIEVABLE TALE
AND WAS SO AMAZED HE FELT THE NEED
TO CHECK ITS VERACITY WITH THE AMBASSADOR HIMSELF.”
BAILEY CONNECTS THIS INCIDENT
TO TODAY’S SCRIPTURE TEXT BY CONCLUDING:
“IN THE MIDDLE EAST, POWERFUL, PROMINENT MEN
DO NOT CLIMB TREES, EVEN IN THE PRIVACY
OF THEIR OWN WALLED GARDENS.
ZACCHAEUS BREAKS WITH HIS CULTURE
BOTH BY RUNNING AND BY CLIMBING A TREE.
HE HOPES DESPERATELY THAT NEITHER ACT WILL BE OBSERVED
AND CAREFULLY CHOOSES A TREE WITH THICK FOLIAGE,
SOME DISTANCE FROM TOWN.”
SINCE OUR TEXT IS SILENT ON THE MATTER,
WE CAN ONLY SPECULATE AS TO WHAT PUSHED ZACCHAEUS
TO RISK PUBLIC RIDICULE
AND ENGAGE IN SUCH OUTRAGEOUS BEHAVIOR.
THE ONLY REALITY POWERFUL ENOUGH
TO LEAD ZACCHAEUS TO RISK PUBLIC RIDICULE
WAS THAT THE MEANING, PURPOSE, AND CONTENTMENT
IN HIS LIFE HAD BROKEN DOWN TO SUCH A DEGREE
THAT HE WAS DESPERATE.
HE WAS DESPERATE TO MAKE A NEW BEGINNING.
AND HE HAD HEARD SOME THINGS
ABOUT AN ITINERANT PROPHET NAMED JESUS
WHICH MADE HIM THINK THAT PERHAPS IN HIS PRESENCE
A NEW BEGINNING FOR HIM WOULD BE POSSIBLE.
SO, LIKE MANY OF US, WHEN WE FINALLY ADMIT THAT OUR LIFE
HAS BECOME IMPOSSIBLE AND UNMANAGEABLE,
AND FINALLY ACCEPT OUR NEED OF A “HIGHER POWER,”
ZACCHAEUS CHOSE TO TAKE THE RISK OF REACHING OUT
TO A PERSON AND A WAY OF LIFE WHICH HE SUSPECTED
COULD RESTORE HIM TO WHOLENESS.
AND THEN THE VERY WORST THING
THAT HE THOUGHT COULD HAPPEN HAPPENS.
HE IS SPOTTED UP IN THE TREE BY THE CROWD.
THE SCENE IS NOT THAT OF THE HAPPY ENCOUNTER
SO OFTEN PIORTRAYED ON SUNDAY SCHOOL FLANNELBOARDS,
BUT ONE OF REAL DANGER FOR ZACCHAEUS.
AGAIN, BAILEY DOES A MASTERFUL JOB OF CAPTURING
WHAT IS TAKING PLACE BETWEEN THE LINES OF OUR TEXT.
HE ASKS THE QUESTION:
“BUT HOW DID JESUS LEARN ZACCHAEUS’S NAME?”
AND PROCEEDS TO ANSWER HIS OWN QUESTION:
“THE NATURAL EXPLANATION FOR JESUS’ AWARENESS
OF ZACCHAEUS’S NAME AND HISTORY
IS THAT ALL THIS INFORMATION IS GATHERED BY JESUS
FROM THE CROWD THAT IS INSULTING
THE HUMILIATED COLLABORATOR CAUGHT UP A TREE.
THE “POLECAT” IS AT LAST TREED!
THIS ENCOURAGES THE CROWD TO FLING AT HIM
ALL THE CHOICE INSULTS THEY HAVE WANTED TO USE
FOR YEARS IN HIS OFFICE, BUT COULD NOT.
IN ZACCHAAEUS’S OFFICE THEY HAD NAMES AND FACES,
AND HE WAS THE ONE WITH POWER.
OUTSIDE, UNDER THE TREE, THEY ARE ANONYMOUS
AND ANYONE CAN SHOUT FROM THE CROWD
USING ANY FOUR-LETTER WORD THAT COMES TO MIND.
ONE INSULT STIMULATES OTHERS,
QUICKLY DARKENING THE ATMOSPHERE
AND LIKELY PRODUCING A WHIFF OF ANTICIPATED VIOLENCE.”
IT IS PRECISELY AT THIS SPOINT –
AT THE POINT OF A NEAR-LYNCHING –
THAT JESUS INTERVENES.
GIVEN JESUS’ PASSION FOR JUSTICE AND HATRED OF OPPRESSION,
ONE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT JESUS WOULD SAY SOMETHING
TO ZACCHAEUS LIKE THE FOLLOWING:
“ZACCHAEUS, YOU ARE A COLLABORATOR!
YOU ARE AN OPPRESSOR OF THESE GOOD PEOPLE.
YOU HAVE DRAINED THE ECONOMIC LIFEBLOOD OF YOUR PEOPLE
AND GIVEN IT TO THE IMPERIALISTS.
YOU HAVE BETRAYED YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR GOD.
THE COMMUNITY’S HATRED OF YOU IS FULLY JUSTIFIED.
YOU MUST QUIT YOUR JOB, REPENT,
JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM FOR CEREMONIAL PURIFICATION,
RETURN TO JERICHO AND APPLY YOURSELF TO KEEPING THE LAW.
IF YOU ARE WILLING TO DO THESE THINGS,
ON MY NEXT TRIP TO JERICHO I WILL ENTER
YOUR NEWLY PURIFIED HOUSE AND OFFER MY CONGRATULATIONS.”
SURPRISINGLY, THIS IS NOT AT ALL WHAT JESUS SAYS TO ZACCHAEUS.
LIKE THE FATHER OF THE PRODIGAL SON
IN THE PARABLE THAT JESUS TAUGHT
NOT LONG BEFORE THIS INCIDENT,
JESUS DOES NO CORRECTING AND MAKES NO DEMANDS.
LIKE THE FATHER OF THE PRODIGAL SON,
JESUS INVITES ZACCHAEUS TO A PARTY,
TRUSTING THAT THE ACCEPTANCE AND THE GRACE
IMPLIED IN THE INVITATION WILL WORK THEIR MAGIC
AND GIVE ZACCHAEUS THE NEW BEGINNING THAT HE LONGS FOR.
AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS.
IN THE PRESENCE OF JESUS ZACCHAEUS BECOMES A NEW PERSON.
THE CROWD, OF COURSE, GRUMBLES, ANGRY AT THE SEEMING EASE
WITH WHICH ZACCHAEUS HAS BEEN FORGIVEN
AND RESTORED TO THE HOUSE OF ABRAHAM.
ON THE SURFACE, THEY CANNOT FATHOM HOW JESUS
WOULD TAKE UPON HIMSELF THE MULTIPLE UNCLEANNESSES
OF EATING AND SLEEPING IN THE HOME
OF THE BIGGEST SINNER IN TOWN.
ON A DEEPER LEVEL, HOWEVER, I SUSPECT THAT THE CROWD
IS EVEN MORE DISTURBED BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT
IN THE PRESENCE OF JESUS WHAT WAS CONSIDERED UNCLEAN
IS UNCLEAN NO LONGER.
UNCLEANNESS SIMPLY WILL NOT STICK TO JESUS,
OR TO ANYIONE CONNECTED TO HIM.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS STORY?
FIRST, IT HELPS US TO STRAIGHTEN OUT OUR THEOLOGY.
CHRISTIANITY IS OFTEN PRESENTED AS A RELIGION
THAT DEMANDS REPENTANCE ON THE PART OF A BROKEN PERSON
BEFORE GOD WILL STEP IN TO HELP.
AS THE STORY OF ZACCHAEUS ILLUSTRATES,
THIS IS TOTALLY INCORRECT.
THE FIERY, JUDGMENTAL MESSAGE OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
DEMANDS THAT A PERSON REPENT BEFORE GOD WILL FORGIVE.
THIS IS EMPHATICALLY NOT THE WAY OF JESUS.
THERE IS NOT A SINGLE INSTANCE IN ALL FOUR GOSPELS
IN WHICH JESUS ORDERS A PERSON TO REPENT
SO THAT GOD CAN THEN FORGIVE.
THERE ARE NUMEROUS EXAMPLES,
LIKE TODAY’S STORY OF ZACCHAEUS,
LIKE THE PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON,
LIKE THE MANY INSTANCES IN WHICH JESUS
OFFERS ACCEPTANCE AND FORGIVENESS
BEFORE A PERSON EVEN ASKS FOR THEM,
IN WHICH JESUS’ BASIC OPERATING PRINCIPLE
THAT ACCEPTANCE PRECEDES REPENTANCE
BECOMES UNMISTAKABLY CLEAR.
FOR JESUS, GOD’S LOVE, GOD’S GRACE, AND GOD’S ACCEPTANCE
TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER EVERYTHING ELSE,
EVEN SOMETHING AS IMPORTANCE AS REPENTANCE,
SAYING “I’M SORRY” TO GOD AND EXPRESSING
THE HEARTFELT DESIRE TO TURN ONE’S LIFE AROUND.
INDEED, JESUS FIRST ACCEPTS A PERSON LIKE ZACCHAEUS –
SEEKS HIM OUT, AFFIRMS THE FACT THAT HE, TOO, IS A PERSON
CREATED IN GOD’S IMAGE –
PRECISELY SO THAT HIS ACCEPTANCE --
HIS UNCONDITIONAL POSITIVE REGARD –
CAN BECOME THE FERTILE GROUND
OUT OF WHICH ZACCHAEUS IS ABLE TO GROW A NEW LIFE.
IN OTHER WORDS,
FOR JESUS ACCEPTANCE PRECEDES REPENTANCE,
PRECISELY BECAUSE JESUS KNOWS THAT
ACCEPTANCE IS THE ONLY REALITY
THAT CAN INSPIRE A PERSON
TO WANT TO CHANGE HIS OR HER LIFE FOR THE BETTER.
FOR JESUS, GOD’S LOVE IS ALWAYS FRONT AND CENTER.
IT IS NOT OUR REPENTANCE THAT INSPIRES GOD’S LOVE,
BUT GOD’S LOVE THAT INSPIRES OUR REPENTANCE.
A SECOND THING THAT THE STORY OF ZACCHAEUS HAS TO TEACH US
IS THAT THE DESIRE TO BE WITH JESUS IS A RISKY DESIRE.
IT IS RISKY BECAUSE IT MAY INSPIRE US TO DO THINGS
WHICH ARE CONSIDERED TO BE UNDIGNIFIED OR OUTRAGEOUS
BY OUR CULTURE.
AND BEING WITH JESUS IS EVEN MORE RISKY
BECAUSE IT MAY INSPIRE US TO CHANGE,
AND TO CHANGE FOR THE BETTER.
ABIDING WITH JESUS MAY CAUSE US TO RUN THE RISK
OF BEING CALLED TO BECOME BETTER PEOPLE THAN WE ARE.
ABIDING WITH JESUS MAY ACTUALLY EMPOWER US
TO BECOME THE UNIQUE IMAGE OF GOD
THAT EACH OF US – EVEN ZACCHAEUS THE TAX COLLECTOR –
IS CALLED TO BECOME.
IN CLOSING, ZACCHAEUS IS A WONDERFUL STORY
FOR ALL WHO ARE SEEKING GOD.
JUST AS JESUS TELLS US IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
THAT IF WE SEEK WE WILL FIND,
THE STORY OF ZACCHAEUS ILLUSTRATES HOW THIS PRINCIPLE
WORKED ITSELF OUT IN THE LIFE OF ONE PARTICULAR SEEKER,
AND CHALLENGES EACH OF US TO TAKE THE RISK
OF ABIDING IN THE PRESENCE OF JESUS,
ALLOWING OURSELVES TO BE CHANGED FOR THE BETTER,
AND ACTUALLY BECOMING THE UNIQUE IMAGE IF GOD
THAT EACH OF US IS CALLED TO BE.
AMEN.