Salvation

Luke 19: 1-10 (October 24, 2010)

1) The Text

19 He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” 6So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 8Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” 9Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

2) The Context

In the previous chapter, Jesus was asked by a rich “ruler” (18:18) what he must do to inherit eternal life. When Jesus told him to keep the Ten Commandments, he said that he has done so since his youth. Jesus then adds: “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me” (18:22). He finds it hard to give up his wealth.

Now we meet Zacchaeus, a tax farmer working for the Romans and therefore also rich – a despised person and an outcast from Jewish society. He is curious about Jesus (v. 3). Jesus senses his presence up in a “sycamore tree” (v. 4). He even invites himself to Zacchaeus’ home! (God extends hospitality to all people.) The crowd grumbles (v. 7), for Jesus has crossed social and religious barriers: good people don’t associate with sinners. Zacchaeus, unlike the rich ruler, is prepared to give generously, and to recompense anyone he has defrauded, as the Law requires. (The Law required that a stolen sheep be replaced by “four”, v. 8, sheep.) “Salvation has come” (v. 9) to Zacchaeus’ house, indeed to his whole household: Jesus chose to stay with him, Zacchaeus accepted him and has changed his life. Being saved is the same spiritual experience as inheriting eternal life and entering the kingdom of God. In spite of the crowd’s grumbling, thinking him “lost” (v. 10), the tax (or toll) collector is a “son of Abraham” (v. 9), a true member of God’s people.

3) Interpretation

By the end of this Chapter, Jesus will have entered Jerusalem and the last week of his life before he is arrested, tortured and executed. In this passage he enters Jericho near Jerusalem. Zacchaeus is a CHIEF tax collector. This probably means he has been given a contract by the hated Roman authorities (for an agreed set price) to collect taxes from a large region. He would employ others to actually do the collecting. Zacchaeus is also rich. The fact this is mentioned in addition to the fact of him being a chief tax collector suggests that some chief tax collectors were not wealthy.

Zacchaeus is NOT popular. Not only does he collect taxes for the oppressive Roman occupiers; in everyone's eyes he has wealth that does not properly belong to him. That is, no matter how legitimate and honest he might have been, the fact that he has acquired wealth (as compared with having it from his family) means that someone else has lost wealth. Zacchaeus is despised for this, and not trusted.

Climbing a tree would be a highly unusual, foolish, and immodest thing for a rich person to do. Zacchaeus would now be openly mocked as well as despised and distrusted. But it would be obvious to Jesus that here was someone exceptionally interested in him. Jesus honors Zacchaeus' foolish behavior by announcing that he will eat with him. Eating with anyone was a sign of social approval. Zacchaeus is aware of the honor being bestowed on him by Jesus and is made happy by it.

But the crowd disapproves. Jesus has presented them with a tough choice. They despise and distrust Zacchaeus; but Jesus is honored and lauded by them. Since Jesus goes to eat with Zacchaeus, if they want to continue to hold Jesus in high regard, they will have to accept Jesus' opinion of Zacchaeus and also grant honor to Zacchaeus and stop despising him. Or they will have to change their regard for Jesus - and their hopes that he was going to do big things next week during the Passover in Jerusalem.

The response of the crowd, shifting from approval to disapproval of Jesus, foreshadows what lies ahead for Jesus in the week to come: "Hosanna!" during his triumphant entry to Jerusalem, and then "Crucify him!" during his trial. To counter the crowd's opinion of him, Zacchaeus responds by pointing out the good works he already does. The actual verb tenses here for "give" and "pay back" are present tense, and NOT future tense as shown in most English translations (including the one above): "will give," "will pay back." Zacchaeus is not promising to change his behavior, he is pointing out the good he already is doing. That is why there is no mention of any repentance at this point. Jesus acknowledges Zacchaeus' good works and solidifies his honoring of Zacchaeus by declaring that salvation has come to his house, and that Zacchaeus is indeed "one of us," a son of Abraham. Thus Jesus restores Zacchaeus into the social fabric of Jewish life in Jericho.

Notice that Zacchaeus does NOT repent of his occupation; he does not give up being a chief tax collector. Like all of us, Zacchaeus remains compromised, impure, sinning. Thus, one possible moral of this story is to realize that salvation does not require, nor result in, perfection. Salvation in this lifetime is not about the end state. Salvation is the process, the healing and reconciling that is needed for creating right relationships within which compromised, impure, and sinful people - like us - can live within, in response to, and toward, the realm of God.

4) Thought Exercise

What is involved in the process of salvation?

Is there a state of perfection we can strive for?