Lessons from Zacchaeus
Zacchaeus was a wee little man,
And a wee little man was he.
He climbed up in a sycamore tree
For the Lord he wanted to see.
And as the Saviour passed that way,
He looked up in the tree,
And He said, “Zacchaeus, you come down!
For I’m going to your house today!
Beneath the catchy tune and actions of this old children’s song is a powerful message about how Jesus engaged with the world around Him, especially those on the margins. Zacchaeus was not the most popular bloke in Jericho. As a chief tax collector, he was seen as ritually unclean by religious Jews and a traitor and sinner by his people—someone many would cross the street to avoid (Eyo, U.E., et al. (2024). Jesus did not avoid Zacchaeus. He walked across the 6-lane freeway of social and cultural divide to call Zacchaeus by name…and invited Himself over for dinner! We know the rest of the story.
There is some interesting research investigating the metaphor describing church as a club within a club within a club (Herzog & Wedow, 2012). It suggests the church can become insular, focused more on internal relationships, traditions, and activities to nurture the flock than on engaging with those outside its walls. This highlights the risk of the church functioning like an exclusive social group, where only those who know the “rules” or fit, in feel welcome, while newcomers or outsiders may feel excluded or overlooked. Jesus destroyed any such sense of exclusivity, helping people feel anything but excluded and overlooked. So, what does this mean for us?
It is easy to stick with our church family and friends and keep to our Christian bubble (I am not suggesting that is what we are doing), but Jesus calls us to find time in our busy lives to engage with the world—to reach out to those we meet every day, whether neighbours, colleagues, or the unpopular. Like Jesus, we are called to cross the road or walk across the room to seek out and befriend those outside of the Christian bubble or on the fringes of society itself.
Let us not miss the Zacchaeus in our life. As we go about our week—at the shops, at work, at school, in the park or gym—think deeply on how we can make ourselves open to those divine appointments? They can be so simple and so short, yet we never know whose life might be changed.
Herzog, P. S., & Wedow, R. (2012). Youth group cliques: How religious goals can disguise discriminatory group dynamics. Review of Religious Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/S13644-012-0050-9
Peter Edwards
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