Jesus’ Mission
Do you remember the story of Zacchaeeus? It is hard to forget. If you don’t remember the entire story, I’m certain you recall the song. I will not sing that for you — because the world does not need to hear that. Instead I will remind you of the passage.
The passage comes from Luke 19:1-10. Each of the gospels presents the story of Jesus in a different way. Each Gospel contains a different structure, develops different themes, and portrays the person of Jesus in its own unique way. Luke portrays Jesus as compassionate, a friend to outcasts. This is who Luke is and what his writing contains. Luke’s author is anonymous. It is assumed that Luke, the physician and companion of Paul wrote Luke and Acts.We can tell that Luke artfully depicts Jesus’ message. He is a good storyteller. He knows how to use character and pain scenes vividly with his words.
In the city of Jericho there lived a very wealthy man named Zacchaeus, who was the supervisor over all the tax collectors. As Jesus made his way through the city, Zacchaeus was eager to see Jesus. He kept trying to get a look at him, but the crowd around Jesus was massive. Zacchaeus was a very short man and couldn’t see over the heads of the people. So he ran on ahead of everyone and climbed up a blossoming fig tree so he could get a glimpse of Jesus as he passed by.
When Jesus got to that place, he looked up into the tree and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry on down, for I am appointed to stay at your house today!” So he scurried down the tree and came face-to-face with Jesus. As Jesus left to go with Zacchaeus, many in the crowd complained, “Look at this! Of all the people to have dinner with, he’s going to eat in the house of a crook.”
Zacchaeus joyously welcomed Jesus and was amazed over his gracious visit to his home. Zacchaeus stood in front of the Lord and said, “Half of all that I own I will give to the poor. And Lord, if I have cheated anyone, I promise to pay back four times as much as I stole.”
Jesus said to him, “This shows that today life has come to you and your household, for you are a true son of Abraham. The Son of Man has come to seek out and to give life to those who are lost.”
We can see many things in this passage. About Zacchaeus, Jesus, and the crowd. For right now, I want to zoom in on Jesus. Jesus made his mission very clear.
Jesus came to seek and to give life to those who are lost. He came to save what was lost. This is Jesus’ mission.
In Matthew and Mark, this verse is quoted “Jesus came to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.” But Luke adds “Son of Man.” There is no rejection of the “righteous.”
Ezekiel 34:16 states it this way, “I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak. But I will destroy those who are fat and powerful. Will feed them, yes—feed them justice!”
The pattern of his ministry among the lost points to his true identity. Jesus came for people like Zacchaeus. Jesus came to heal brokenness. He came to restore. He came to seek and give life.
We want to rest in this Mission of Jesus. This is so important to us here at The Ravens Collective. This is Jesus’ mission. And every part of what we do here at The Ravens Collective needs to fit into this mission. I ask this all the time. Is this fitting with Jesus’ mission? If it isn’t, we aren’t going to pursue it.
We are here to create and hold space for The Ravens of the world so they are fully known and loved and find restorative healing. In this story, we see Jesus doing that. Restorative healing is all that Jesus is about. He embraced Zacchaeus. He called his name and summoned him to himself. He could have ignored him or acted like he was not important because of his status or wealth. But that isn’t what Jesus is about.
In this book of Luke, we see how this story of Zacchaeus fits well into Jesus’ encounters with outcasts before he enters into Jerusalem. We will talk about all of his encounters with outcasts later. Jesus was accused earlier as being a friend of tax collectors and sinners—which is true if you think about all of his encounters with those around him. For us to get a full picture of this encounter, let’s zoom in on Zacchaeus and who he is. What do we know about him?
Zacchaeus was wealthy. He was a tax collector. Here’s what we know about tax collectors. These men charged local taxpayers too much in order to make extra profit for themselves. Tax collectors function as the prototypical outcasts. They were assumed to be dishonest and were hated by many. Yet, Jesus befriended them. Jesus took the time to be with them. He even invited one of them to be in his circle of disciples. He loved those who were unloveable and despicable. Z fit the category of outcast and he was not well liked by anyone—most definitely not the most religious people.
Z was a very short man. The crowd at this time was massive and he was unable to see Jesus. But that’s all he wanted. Do you wonder why? My thoughts circle around the thought of maybe he felt lonely. Maybe he just wanted to also feel seen. So, Z climbs a tree to see him. He cast aside all regard for his own dignity by climbing a tree in order to see Jesus. Think about it. I’m 29 years old, fairly fit—and I don’t think anything could get me to climb a tree. I mean, He should have arrived early. That’s what I would do. But I am also 5’7 — so shortness has not been an issue for me. But this means something, doesn’t it? I mean something was present with Jesus. It meant something to climb to great heights to see Jesus. And that desire to see Jesus was not condemned. But I can just imagine the facial expressions of those around. Why would you call on and reach out to this guy? He is not that important. It’s very interesting to see this as well.
Jesus would later challenge him. In another situation, Jesus challenges a rich ruler to give all he had and sell it to the poor. This saddened the rich ruler. But Z, of similar situation, would be the opposite. He joyfully promisees to sell half of his possessions. He agrees to do half but not full. But that isn’t the issues. It is Z’s heart underneath it. He has the eagerness to do what is right for the poor
The story of Z is coupled with the healing of the blind beggar—both occur as Jesus passes through Jericho. Both wanted to see. And, in both stories, the crowd serves as an impediment to the one who desires to see.
In this scene, Z is playing the role of the blind man. He desires to see Jesus but cannot because of the crowd. So, Zacchaeus was unable to push his way through the crowd. He had one purpose in mind. To see Jesus. Z ran ahead and climbed the tree. He exposed himself to ridicule. It was considered undignified for a grown man to run and a man of importance certainly would never climb a tree. Urgency was present. Jesus is urgent in sharing his message.
He says “I must stay at your house…no “May I stay at your house?” It was immediate. He didn’t ask to schedule it in. It needed to happen right now.
Jesus was also breaking barriers. By staying at his house, Jesus was crossing the barrier of ritual purity. A tax collector would be rendered unclean by entering houses and inspecting goods. By entering his house, Jesus was acknowledging that the chief tax collectors dignity and standing in the community. Jesus would brought honor upon any house he entered. This was revealing special honor upon Zacchaeus by offering hospitality. Jesus offered Zacchaeus, who merely wanted to see Jesus, an opportunity to be recognized prominently. But Jesus was breaking barriers and this was not unseen by the Pharisees.
There is one character we have not yet discussed. The crowd.
The Pharisees and the crowd could not see what Jesus saw. All they could see is their predetermined judgement and opinion of Zacchaeus. He is a sinner and nothing more than that.
This is the good news that is proclaimed is for all of us. This is the time to open our eyes and see what God is doing all around us. In this scene, we also see something else. We see the crowd. One of the impediments to the progress of the kingdom is the enslaving prejudice that we know who people are and that they cannot change. The crowd whispers about how he is a rich collector. They deem him as unredeemable. They consider not worth anything.
We see how beautiful the heart of God is here. God doesn’t see what the crowd sees. God sees the heart. We see how God can lead a rich man into the kingdom of God.
God can raise up children of Abraham from stones or even from among tax collectors.
The true hero of the story is Jesus, not Zacchaeus. The last line returns to the issue of what this scene has revealed about Jesus: The son of man came to seek out and to save the lost.
Ultimately, the story of Zacchaeus is a tale of unexpected reversals. A wealthy tax collector embarrasses himself by running and climbing a tree. But that doesn’t matter to Jesus. Jesus’ ministry to the outcast and rejected reaches the rich as well as the poor, tax collectors as well as harlots. Jesus has sought out and saved the one who was lost. It shows us that no one is too far gone.
Zacchaeus thought that he was seeking to see Jesus, but in reality Jesus was actually seeking him. Salvation can even come to the house of tax collectors.
Yet Jesus stopped for a single person—Zacchaeus. Today came for Zacchaeus. He was so eager to see Jesus that he ran and climbed a tree. Today can be filled with joy and hope because God is still at work bringing the kingdom and because words of grace can still be spoken and forgiveness can still be experienced.
The result of Jesus’ hospitality to him is genuine repentance. Repentance means to change.
The desire in his heart was big and he was not unseen by Jesus although he was probably the most repelled person in that crowd. Jesus picked him out. Jesus saw him. Jesus didn’t ignore him. Jesus loved him and called him to himself.
He does the same thing with you and me. What about us? How do we feel in our hearts? Is our desire as big as this wealthy man?
