7. He Loves the Oppressors

“Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich.” [Luke 19:1-2]

Zaccheus was a real dirtbag. Being a tax collector in ancient Israel meant taking part in the worst kind of betrayal. It meant working for the enemy, selling out your family and your friends to make a buck and getting rich off of their misery. While the people of Jericho were growing thinner under Roman oppression, Zaccheus was growing fatter, over-taxing his friends and neighbors and pocketing the excess. While they were putting their children to bed hungry, Zaccheus was gorging himself on meat and wine. Every time he passed through the marketplace in new shoes and robes, he was passing by mothers haggling for just enough grain to keep their families from starving. He was a dirtbag and he was rightfully despised. 

For whatever reason, Zaccheus decided he wanted to get a look at Jesus as He was passing through Jericho. The problem was, he was short and detested. If he was short and respected like most rich men were, the crowd would have made way for him. But this crowd was more likely to silently knife him in the back. So he decided to do something really embarrassing and was hoping no one would see him. He ran ahead of the crowd, climbed into a low, leafy tree and hid. Middle Eastern men wouldn’t have been caught dead running or climbing a tree. But Zaccheus got caught by Jesus.  

Luke tells us that Jesus was passing through Jericho. This means that he had rejected the town’s presumed hospitality and was headed straight through to Jerusalem, where he would celebrate the Passover Feast the following day. The important people of Jericho were already a little insulted by Jesus turning down their invitation. By the end of the story, they ended up being a whole lot more than just a little insulted. Because, not only did Jesus reject their hospitality, he decided to have dinner and spend the night at Zaccheus’s house. Zaccheus!! The little worm of a man who had been starving their children. He was the bad guy, the bully, Jesus wasn’t supposed to go to his house, he wasn’t even supposed to acknowledge his existence. Or if he did, it should have been to publicly shame him for being a greedy sell-out.

Although last week’s story of the blind man in Luke 18 and the story of Zaccheus in Luke 19 are separated by a chapter break, they sit right next to each other and they belong together (the Bible wasn’t originally written with chapter and verse numbers, they came much later). Jesus encountered the blind man, our friend, Bartimaeus, on his way into Jericho. He encountered Zaccheus, the despised tax collector, on his way out of the city. Both of them were outcasts in need of a Savior. One was oppressed and the other was the oppressor, and Jesus saw them both.

By befriending Zaccheus, Jesus took the town’s wrath that had been directed at Zaccheus, and transferred it to himself. And when Zaccheus encountered Jesus’ selfless love, it changed everything. He told Jesus that he was ready to give it all back, he’d repay everyone he had wronged. Jesus had essentially (if not temporarily) dismantled the corrupt tax system in Jericho. And He didn’t do it by taking on Roman magistrates or going head to head with the economic or political system. Jesus conquered the darkness by doing what He always does, He stood in front of a broken man and took the wrath that he deserved. He laid down His life for a hurting man who desperately wanted a way out the darkness he had brought on himself. The battle against darkness was won in a simple meal around a table. It was won with love. Very soon after His encounter with Zaccheus, Jesus would climb up on a cross and lay down His life for His friends, once and for all.