zacchaeus part 3 (luke 19:1-10)

The surprises keep coming as Zacchaeus announces that he’s going to give away half his possessions to the poor, and pay back anyone he’s cheated four times the amount he cheated them. I wonder if he could believe what he was saying! How many times can we think of saying something that seems unbelievable to our own ears, especially when we’re in the company of someone we look up to, and who has surprised us with something they’ve said or done to make us feel special?

And yet another surprise – Jesus stands up (maybe) and announces to all and sundry that salvation has come to this house and that this man can call himself a son of Abraham along with the most religious and genealogically correct Jew in the land. It’s as though Jesus has pardoned the filthy collaborating tax collector in response to Zacchaeus’ own response to Jesus inviting himself into Zacchaeus’ life.

I suspect that Zacchaeus had no idea how the day was going to pan out. He just wanted to see the celebrity. But I further suspect that Jesus knew who Zacchaeus was, and wanted to use the occasion to make a point – along with making a hated man happy.

Tags: zaccheaus, bible, grace, god, hospitality, surprise