Saturday, Day 22
Readings for today:
Matthew 20:29-34
Mark 10:46-52
Luke 18:35-43
Luke 19:1-10
Luke is the only one who bothers to tell us about Zaccheus, yet this is one of the most familiar stories from my childhood. We sang about him frequently in Sunday School:
Readings for today:
Matthew 20:29-34
Mark 10:46-52
Luke 18:35-43
Luke 19:1-10
Luke is the only one who bothers to tell us about Zaccheus, yet this is one of the most familiar stories from my childhood. We sang about him frequently in Sunday School:
“Zaccheus was a wee little
man, and a wee little man was he. He
climbed up in a Sycamore tree the Savior for to see; and as Jesus passed that
way he looked up in the tree and he said, ‘Zaccheus! You come down, for I’m
going to your house to eat. I’m going to set you free.’ ”
Zaccheus believed and
obeyed. Jesus did what He promised. Happy ending. I like happy endings.
Today is a day of happy endings in our reading. But in their real world, Zaccheus’ role as tax collector – not just tax collector, but chief tax collector – meant he was a Jew employed by the Romans to bilk his own people out of their hard-earned money. As long as the Romans got their required amount, the tax collector could add whatever amount he wanted to what they required, for his own gain. Talk about riders and pork projects! Men who accepted that kind of filthy job were greedy and not the kind of guys you’d want to be related to.
In 2010 when I originally wrote this, I was concerned about how high taxes would go in our country with the trend toward leveling the playing field with Socialism. (As of 2017, that concern has only been proven to be valid.) When you consider their plight from that vantage point you can begin to understand some of the fears about Roman rule. (Except that they didn’t have a welfare state benefiting the Jews at all in mind, so there was no underlying supposed intended good for ‘all the people.’) The Jews who were employed by the Romans as tax collectors were despised by their fellow Jews – so when they accused Jesus this time of eating with a sinner – that was practically a compliment in comparison to what might have been stated.
Zaccheus, short in stature, and therefore unable to see over the heads of those around him, wanted to see Jesus so badly that he climbed a tree just to get a glimpse. I wonder what hope he held...but whatever it was, he got more than he could ever have asked or imagined. Jesus met him at the level of his need. When Zaccheus promised to give half his possessions to the poor and pay back four times what he had taken, he was undoubtedly giving up everything – trading his ill-gotten wealth for a clear conscience and full heart. I really do love this story.
Our other story today is one of those prime examples of the proof that the Bible is true. We are gifted with 3 versions of the story. Was it going into town or going out of town? Was it one blind beggar – or two? The collective memory on this one is a little like hearing different perspectives of an auto accident – but for me it adds to the proof that the Bible is true is because if the Bible was just an intentional concoction by multiple authors to deceive, they would have done a better job of lining up their stories. In spite of their differences all of the authors share the one thing that leaps out most to me: Jesus question – “What do you want me to do for you?” It seems that the answer to that question would be obvious. He was blind! But, Jesus looks on the heart. Blindness wasn’t the only issue. The blind weren’t just inconvenienced by blindness – they were defined by it.
He asks us that as well. “What do you want me to do for you?” I, for one, intend to answer that question! Lord, there are some things I want today – desperately want. Let me tell you....” And like the formerly blind man in the story.... I will follow!
Humor for today:
A man was walking along a Washington beach beside the shore of the Pacific Ocean, and came upon a very interesting old-looking corked bottle. When he finally succeeded in pulling out the cork a very large and formidable genie appeared. The genie thanked the man profusely, explaining that he had been a captive of the bottle for over 1000 years, and that to show his gratitude the man could have any one wish he chose.
The man, who was terrified of flying, had always longed to see Hawaii, so he said, “I’d like to have a bridge that goes from here to Hawaii.”
The genie looked at him in disbelief and said, “That’s a really hard one. Can’t you think of something else?”
The guy thought for awhile, then said, “O K – I’d like to understand my wife.”
To which the genie immediately replied, “How many lanes did you want that bridge? Four, six or eight?”
Today is a day of happy endings in our reading. But in their real world, Zaccheus’ role as tax collector – not just tax collector, but chief tax collector – meant he was a Jew employed by the Romans to bilk his own people out of their hard-earned money. As long as the Romans got their required amount, the tax collector could add whatever amount he wanted to what they required, for his own gain. Talk about riders and pork projects! Men who accepted that kind of filthy job were greedy and not the kind of guys you’d want to be related to.
In 2010 when I originally wrote this, I was concerned about how high taxes would go in our country with the trend toward leveling the playing field with Socialism. (As of 2017, that concern has only been proven to be valid.) When you consider their plight from that vantage point you can begin to understand some of the fears about Roman rule. (Except that they didn’t have a welfare state benefiting the Jews at all in mind, so there was no underlying supposed intended good for ‘all the people.’) The Jews who were employed by the Romans as tax collectors were despised by their fellow Jews – so when they accused Jesus this time of eating with a sinner – that was practically a compliment in comparison to what might have been stated.
Zaccheus, short in stature, and therefore unable to see over the heads of those around him, wanted to see Jesus so badly that he climbed a tree just to get a glimpse. I wonder what hope he held...but whatever it was, he got more than he could ever have asked or imagined. Jesus met him at the level of his need. When Zaccheus promised to give half his possessions to the poor and pay back four times what he had taken, he was undoubtedly giving up everything – trading his ill-gotten wealth for a clear conscience and full heart. I really do love this story.
Our other story today is one of those prime examples of the proof that the Bible is true. We are gifted with 3 versions of the story. Was it going into town or going out of town? Was it one blind beggar – or two? The collective memory on this one is a little like hearing different perspectives of an auto accident – but for me it adds to the proof that the Bible is true is because if the Bible was just an intentional concoction by multiple authors to deceive, they would have done a better job of lining up their stories. In spite of their differences all of the authors share the one thing that leaps out most to me: Jesus question – “What do you want me to do for you?” It seems that the answer to that question would be obvious. He was blind! But, Jesus looks on the heart. Blindness wasn’t the only issue. The blind weren’t just inconvenienced by blindness – they were defined by it.
He asks us that as well. “What do you want me to do for you?” I, for one, intend to answer that question! Lord, there are some things I want today – desperately want. Let me tell you....” And like the formerly blind man in the story.... I will follow!
Humor for today:
A man was walking along a Washington beach beside the shore of the Pacific Ocean, and came upon a very interesting old-looking corked bottle. When he finally succeeded in pulling out the cork a very large and formidable genie appeared. The genie thanked the man profusely, explaining that he had been a captive of the bottle for over 1000 years, and that to show his gratitude the man could have any one wish he chose.
The man, who was terrified of flying, had always longed to see Hawaii, so he said, “I’d like to have a bridge that goes from here to Hawaii.”
The genie looked at him in disbelief and said, “That’s a really hard one. Can’t you think of something else?”
The guy thought for awhile, then said, “O K – I’d like to understand my wife.”
To which the genie immediately replied, “How many lanes did you want that bridge? Four, six or eight?”
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