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Bible Passage: Luke 19:1-10
Zacchaeus was a wee little man. If being short is considered a problem, it was the smallest of his problems. He worked for the Roman government as a tax collector and he cheated the people. Even with these problems, he was interested in Jesus and Jesus was interested in him. But the people watching his incident in the sycamore tree and Jesus’ interaction with him were a little upset. They said “…What business does he (Jesus) have getting cozy with this crook?” (Luke 19:7 -The Message). Other Bible versions simply call Zacchaeus a sinner.
What right did Jesus have to eat at Zack’s house? All the people there would be sinners. Jesus answers this objection with the claim, “For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost.” It’s a good thing Jesus would eat with sinners. There weren’t any other kind of people in Jesus’ day. There were folks who thought they were perfect, but they weren’t.
It’s sort of like today. We’ve got people in this world that think Jesus isn’t interested in them because of some extremely judgmental church experience. Some think Jesus wouldn’t want them because of how the media portrays all Christians, you know, as hypocrites. I sit here today and say it’s untrue. There are plenty of Christians who love and accept people no matter their status or lack thereof. Jesus did this and I see this as a growing trend in the Christian world. More and more congregations are modeling themselves after Zach’s house than as a sanctuary for perfect people.
You’re right, this idea of loving people no matter what hasn’t always been the case, but I sense a change is coming.
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