Zacchaeus Was a Wee Little Man

When I was growing up, we would often sing this little song about Zacchaeus in Sunday School:

Zacchaeus was a wee little man
And a wee little man was he.
He climbed way up in a sycamore tree,
For the Lord he wanted to see...

The story of Zacchaeus is one of the fun stories that comes out of Jesus’ ministry. The idea of a wee man perched like a bird in a tree (and being found out) is the stuff of humor.

Charles Spurgeon, the famed London preacher, also established a Pastor's College that exists to this day. A famous feature of the college experience was "the question oak," a large tree on Spurgeon's estate where, in good weather, students would gather on Friday afternoons to ask questions of Mr. Spurgeon and then deliver extemporaneous sermons. On one memorable occasion, Spurgeon called on a student to give a message on Zacchaeus. The student rose and said: "Zacchaeus was of little stature, so am I. Zacchaeus was up a tree, so am I. Zacchaeus came down, so will I." And the student sat down as the students, led by Spurgeon, applauded.

We can have fun with the story of Zacchaeus, but we must remember that the story teaches us some important truths. So Jerod Walker will preach this Sunday on Zacchaeus’ encounter with Christ. Jesus’ encounter with him is Jesus' last personal encounter before his arrival in Jerusalem and the events leading to his death.

Significantly, the final line in the Zacchaeus story contains the summary line of the purpose of Jesus' ministry: "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:10). Saving the lost is what Jesus is all about. Saving the lost is also primary in the mission of the church.

When Jesus went to eat dinner at Zacchaeus’ house, there was some muttering about him being the guest of a sinner. There has often since then been muttering in the church about people who become friends of “sinners,” but they are the very people Jesus calls us to. After all, we must always remember that we are all sinners.

It is appropriate that a planter of a new church will preach on this passage for us Sunday, because new churches are all about reaching those who do not yet know Christ, who have not yet found forgiveness of their sins from Christ. Join me in letting the story of Zacchaeus capture you, not just the fun story for children and the story that brings us a cute little song. Let it capture you to the extent that you make a concerted effort to reach out to those in our world who are “sinners” like Zacchaeus.