Zacchaeus welcomes Jesus
JESUS MAFA. Zacchaeus welcomes Jesus, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48393 [retrieved October 28, 2022]. Original source: http://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr (contact page: https://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr/contact).
Exploring the Text: Doing what it takes to see Jesus
I love Zacchaeus' attitude in this story. Jesus is coming to town and Zacchaeus needs to see him. He doesn't just want to see Jesus, it isn't a passing curiosity, he needs to see Jesus. The problem is that there is an obstacle in the way. This particular obstacle is a crowd of people that he can't push past and he can't see over. He could have given up. He could have decided that seeing Jesus wasn't worth the effort. Instead, he decides to do whatever it takes to see him. Zacchaeus runs to get ahead of the crowd and climbs a tree to make sure that he can see Jesus. In doing so, Zacchaeus sacrifices his dignity and his reputation. It would be considered unseemly for someone like Zacchaeus to run and to climb a tree for any reason. Zacchaeus was willing to break convention to see Jesus though. Jesus, of course, rewards Zacchaeus' desire to see him by spending the evening at his home.
Zacchaeus challenges us. He desired, he needed to see Jesus and he was willing to sacrifice his dignity and his reputation to do it. How much do you want to see Jesus? What are you willing to sacrifice to see him?
David W. Dalton
I love Zacchaeus' attitude in this story. Jesus is coming to town and Zacchaeus needs to see him. He doesn't just want to see Jesus, it isn't a passing curiosity, he needs to see Jesus. The problem is that there is an obstacle in the way. This particular obstacle is a crowd of people that he can't push past and he can't see over. He could have given up. He could have decided that seeing Jesus wasn't worth the effort. Instead, he decides to do whatever it takes to see him. Zacchaeus runs to get ahead of the crowd and climbs a tree to make sure that he can see Jesus. In doing so, Zacchaeus sacrifices his dignity and his reputation. It would be considered unseemly for someone like Zacchaeus to run and to climb a tree for any reason. Zacchaeus was willing to break convention to see Jesus though. Jesus, of course, rewards Zacchaeus' desire to see him by spending the evening at his home.
Zacchaeus challenges us. He desired, he needed to see Jesus and he was willing to sacrifice his dignity and his reputation to do it. How much do you want to see Jesus? What are you willing to sacrifice to see him?
David W. Dalton