Women of Welcome: Christ-Like WelcomeНамуна

A word from Kristie Anyabwile

Levi and Zacchaeus were swindlers, tax collectors whose entire job was extortion. They collected taxes on behalf of the oppressive Roman government for which they received no pay. They only made money from the overage they were able to coerce that went above what they owed to Rome. The reputation of the tax collectors stemmed from the fact that what they charged extra was not a fair wage for themselves; rather, they charged such overages that many of them lived lavish lifestyles at the expense of the people.

So when Jesus called Levi to follow him, I’m sure many would have at least questioned Jesus’s wisdom in associating with such a person, or maybe even his motives in having such a disreputable person among his followers. When Jesus was questioned as to why he ate with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus’s response showed his perspective on how he viewed people like Levi. He described tax collectors and sinners as those who were spiritually sick and in need of a physician.

Too often, when we look at people deemed outcasts in our society, we often scoff at them and roll our eyes and only see them for what they are now rather than who God calls them to be, reflectors of his image. We scoff at them. Jesus calls them to follow him. We cast them aside. Jesus engages with them where they are.

From Levi, we don’t see that he changed his job. Jesus’s goal was not fundamentally a change in behavior but a change in heart that would shape his future behavior. He saw Levi’s sin-sick condition and came as the Great Physician to heal him by bringing him to repentance. Levi expressed no interest in Jesus, but Jesus had interest in him.

Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, a supervisor of sorts who had other tax collectors accountable to himself. Maybe Levi would have been one of those whom Zacchaeus supervised. Unlike Levi who gave no indication that he was interested in Christ, yet Christ called him, Zacchaeus “was seeking to see who Jesus was” (Luke 19:3). He was curious, so curious that he ran ahead and climbed a tree so that he could see Jesus as he passed by. Though no indication is given that Jesus and Zacchaeus had any previous interactions, Jesus called Zacchaeus by name and invited himself to Zacchaeus’s home.

This angered the crowd because Jesus was the “guest of a man who is a sinner” (Luke 19:7). I guess they thought that this sinner didn’t deserve an audience with Jesus. Or maybe it was that sinners like Zacchaeus were outcasts and not the kind of persons that respectable folk would spend time with. Or maybe they wondered if Jesus was a guest in his house, might Jesus be one of them? Why grumble though? Why not see Jesus’s visit with Zacchaeus as a divine appointment, one in which Jesus might bring the word of God to Zacchaeus so that Zacchaeus’s heart would be changed? Maybe they didn’t think Zacchaeus deserved redemption.

We forget that none of us deserve God’s mercy, yet he freely offers it to those who earnestly seek him. And that’s exactly what Zacchaeus did. The result of this interaction was that Jesus granted salvation to Zacchaeus. It also points out that Jesus comes to seek and save the lost; while we see Zacchaeus’s interest in seeking Jesus, we know it to be a response to the initiating work of the Spirit. The result was a change in behavior resulting from Christ’s saving work in his life. He shared with others out of his possessions and even returned four times as much as he had defrauded others as an act of restitution.

The gospel changed Levi and made him one of Jesus’s disciples. The gospel changed Zacchaeus and made him a generous man concerned about economic justice. Through Zacchaeus and Levi, we see God at work in the lives of those who would have been least considered worthy of God’s mercy and receptive of God’s mercy. We see two men with worldly wealth, who, outside looking in, would have “had it all,” but were willing to give it up in order to follow and serve Christ. We see two men who serve as examples of how Christ’s salvation moves us to sacrifice and service.

Thoughtful Questions:

1. The crowd in this story believed that Zacchaeus did not deserve to spend time with Jesus. Have you secretly or openly expressed the thought that someone was undeserving of God’s mercy?

2. Can you think of people today who might also be considered undeserving of God’s grace or beyond the reach of grace?

3. In what ways have you received more than your fair share of something and how might you restore what you have taken and share with others?

4. What are some ways in which you can demonstrate sacrificial love and service to those in your family and community?