A Word from Joel - April 9, 2025

When 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.” Luke 19:5

For some reason, Zacchaeus is drawn to Jesus. He can’t see him over the crowd
because he is so short, so Zacchaeus climbs a tree. With the earnestness of a child, he
wants to see Jesus, but Jesus is the one who sees him and says, “Zacchaeus, hurry
and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” That word “must” is a divine
imperative in the Greek. Jesus must do this. They must dine together, and it must be in
Zacchaeus’ home, and it must be today. There’s urgency in Jesus’ words, because he
knows this isn’t just about eating a meal together. This is about salvation.
Zacchaeus is thrilled to have Jesus over, but the crowds are less so. They grumble and
say, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” God forbid that Jesus eat
with a sinner. As if he hasn’t already made it clear, that’s exactly what I’m here to do!
The truth is, we don’t know anything about Zacchaeus. We know the reputation of tax
collectors is corruption and oppression, so like the crowd, we that must be true of
Zacchaeus, but we don’t know. Hearing what the crowd has said about him, Zacchaeus
responds, “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.” The normal interpretation is that
Zacchaeus has been so moved by Jesus’ grace that he is making reparations. While
most translations put Zacchaeus’ words in the future tense, “I will give,” in Greek the
verbs are present tense: “Half of my possessions, Lord, I give to the poor, and if I have
defrauded anyone of anything, I pay back four times as much.” In other words,

Zacchaeus may not be talking about what he promises to do but what he is already
doing. What if despite he has been labeled, Zacchaeus is generous with his wealth at a
level that few of us can imagine?
Jesus says of Zacchaeus, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is
a son of Abraham.” Some understand this as proof of Zacchaeus’ change of heart, but I
think this misunderstands salvation. Salvation comes to Zacchaeus not because of his
generosity, whether past or future. Salvation comes to Zacchaeus because Jesus was
there, and wherever Jesus goes, he brings with him the gift of belonging. That’s what
salvation is: belonging. When we know we belong to God and to each other, then we
give in grateful response for what God has already given to us. Beloved, you belong to
God, not because of what you’ve done but because of who you are. May your
generosity be an overflow of a grateful heart.