Luke: Zacchaeus and the Tree of Shame

Luke 19 v 1-6

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

In the last post, I wrote about the sycamine, the sycamore-fig. And how this symbolically represented Adam and Eve’s attempt to cover their shame. Luke revisits this symbolism in the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19.

The Tax Collecter

Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector. In the 1st Century Roman Empire, the Jews paid their Roman taxes via local tax collectors. Zacchaeus was in charge of these local tax collectors in Jericho. Not only were the tax collectors skimming the top off the tax revenue, but so too was Zacchaeus.

Climbing the Tree

Luke describes Zacchaeus as a short man. So when Jesus turned up at Jericho, he was too small to see through the crowds. He decided to climb a nearby sycamine-fig. When Jesus saw him, He asks Zacchaeus to come down and said He wanted to go with him to his house.

He accepted Jesus’ request to join him at his home. This changed his life. So much so, he returned all the money he stolen, four times over.

He Turned Away

Symbolically speaking, when Zacchaeus first encountered Jesus, he was confronted by a barrier between them. It was a crowd, a multitude of people who knew Zacchaeus’s sins. He was effectively excluded from Jesus as God is holy and His holiness will not tolerate sin.

Zacchaeus, realising his problem, decides to take the matter into his own hands. He turns his back on Jesus and runs ahead. He turns his back on God and comes up with his own plan. He runs from God’s presence.

Climbing the Tree

He finds a tree and begins to climb. He strives to elevate himself above the crowd. Clambering higher so he can see God. Rather than trusting that Jesus will encounter him, he tried to exalt himself to connect with God.

However, even at this height, the leaves created just another barrier to see Jesus. The leaves of the fig-sycamore covered him much like the leaves covered Adam and Eve’s shame. Zacchaeus’s view of Jesus was still impeded.

We cannot truly encounter God in our own strength. We can try all kinds of spiritual practices and techniques, but we cannot reach God. No matter how high we might ‘climb up the tree’, the leaves will not allow us to see Him fully.

It is only through God’s gift that we can truly encounter Him. Not through our own strength, or our own plans.

Jesus Sees Zacchaeus

Jesus sees Zacchaeus amongst the leaves and tells him to come down immediately. The way Jesus says this makes me think that there was no need for Zacchaeus to climb the tree. This was not the right place for him. His place was in his home with Jesus.

Maybe it’s because the only true occupant of the tree is Jesus. He died on the Cross, the ‘Tree of Shame’, to take our sins and shame upon Himself.

Foreshadowing

Another element of this story is that later in the chapter, we see Jesus enter Jerusalem for the last time. Is Luke using this story to foreshadow the moment Jesus ascends His own tree, but this time to be crucified?

Pure in Heart

A final point to make is the symbolism of Zacchaeus’s name. His name means pure. He was not pure at the the start of the tale, but by the end he exemplified the Beatitude; Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God (Matthew 5 v 8).