zacchaeus part 1 (luke 19:1-10)

As a tax collector, Zacchaeus was many things. Hated as a collaborator with the occupying Roman regime; wealthy - the text even says so; shunned by the general populace; probably even distrusted by his Roman masters, as tax collectors were notoriously unscrupulous. He was even vertically challenged, and so probably even further disregarded by society.

There are many interpretations of this story, and the most popular one is mostly used by Sunday School teachers to speak of the little man who was noticed by Jesus; ergo, little people – children – are also noticed by Jesus and welcomed into the Kingdom of God.

Of course, the real scandal of the story is that Jesus welcomes rotten scumbags into the Kingdom following their response to him. It’s a story of the shocking nature of the grace of God.

Tags: zaccheaus, bible, grace, god, small