A Bird's Eye View

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

Audio version at http://tinyurl.com/29gfs6

A few months ago I found a old video tape of a parade. Our boys were probably no more than 4 years old at the time. They were very excited to be at the parade and to hear the loud sirens and the music of the bands.

Naturally, they were not tall enough to see most of what was going on, so that meant that I ended up holding them so they could see. Taking turns sitting on my shoulders, they ended up with the best views of the parade. Almost a bird’s eye view as they looked down on the participants.

A familiar story in the Bible is told about a man who wanted to see what was going on, but he was too short to look over the crowd.

Zacchaeus is a very familiar character to us. Most people learned about him in Bible classes and from the song written about his encounter with Jesus. We mostly remember that he was a short man who climbed into a Sycamore tree in order to see Jesus passing by.

Zacchaeus was a very wealthy man. Although no direct information is given about how he acquired his wealth, many speculate that it was because he was in charge of collecting taxes. He not only collected taxes, but he was the supervisor of others who collected as well. Many of the tax collectors were crooked and would take some of the tax money for themselves. They were universally despised in the day of Jesus and most were assumed to be crooks.

Of course, Matthew was also a tax collector, but no evidence was given that he was dishonest. Yet, the charges against Jesus often included that He was a friend of tax collectors and sinners.

Jesus, Himself, used the image of the despised tax collector to put things into perspective. In the parable of the two sons in Matthew 21:28-32, Jesus describes the fate of those who say they will obey but then will not. In verses 31-32 He says,

“Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.”

On the positive side, at least Jesus is saying that these despised people can enter the kingdom of God.

Word had spread that Jesus was coming through Jericho and Zacchaeus wants to see Him. He has at least two obstacles to overcome in order to see Jesus.

First, because of his profession many of the Pharisees excluded publicans, tax collectors, from public activities. This bias would cause people to shut him off from being included.

Second, because of his short stature he would have trouble seeing anyone pass by on the road. The crowds that lined the streets were too tall.

Zacchaeus overcomes both obstacles and climbs a Sycamore tree in order to see Jesus. We are not told what the others thought of his actions at that point. But after Jesus sees Zacchaeus, He calls him by name and tells him to quickly come down because He is going to his house.

Zacchaeus is full of joy at this point, but the crowd is not. They all complain that Jesus has chosen to be a guest of a sinner. They have complained of this very thing other times as well.

Even in the time of Jesus, some people want a savior only if he does as they wish. It should be the other way around. We should always be willing to obey and follow what the savior says.

Luke 19:10 says that the “Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost.” The religious people of that day trusted too much in themselves and despised others that appeared to be inferior. But God shows us that every soul is precious, whatever the race, sex or financial standing of the person.

Zacchaeus overcame a few obstacles to find Jesus, only to find that Jesus was looking for him as well.

On Our Daily Walk today, may we stop and contemplate that Jesus came to earth to seek us out even before we were born. May we then be full of joy to know that when we found Jesus, He also found us.

Our thought for the day: “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.