Study #2
A friend of sinners
Luke 19:1-10
Image: “The Calling of Zacchaeus who is Sitting in a Fig Tree” by Otto van Veen (dated AD 1605-1607)
Conversation
Starter
What comes to mind when you think of a “bad person”? How do you think society should treat such people?
CONTEXT
At this point in Luke’s gospel, readers have seen Jesus teach many things and heal many people: Jesus has cured the sick, given sight to the blind, made the lame walk, cast out demons, and raised the dead to life. His ministry extended even to those on the fringe of society. In the preceding episode, Jesus healed a blind beggar on the roadside. The beggar kept crying out to Jesus despite being scolded by others “to get him to be quiet” (Luke 18:39). Jesus “ordered the beggar to be brought to him” (Luke 18:40) and the blind man experienced Jesus’ miraculous healing because of his faith. The next story continues to develop the theme of Jesus’s care for the marginalized. But in this episode, Jesus meets a different kind of social outcast: a notorious sinner. Earlier in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus was slandered as “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Luke 7:34). This was a derogatory remark, but (in a deeper way) may not be far from the truth.
Scene I
THE BAD GUY
19:1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 Now a man named Zacchaeus was there; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to get a look at Jesus, but being a short man he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, because Jesus was going to pass that way.
In Jesus’ day, tax collectors were a stereotype of “sinful people.” The Jews despised tax collectors as thieves and extortioners, since they often demanded more than required to line their own pockets. Sometimes Jewish tax collectors were reviled as traitors, because they procured funds for the Jews’ oppressors: the Roman Empire.
1
What makes the tax collector in this story especially despicable?
2
Why might Zacchaeus desire to see Jesus? What does his undignified maneuver reveal to the reader?
5 And when Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, because I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down quickly and welcomed Jesus joyfully. 7 And when the people saw it, they all complained, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
3
How would you feel if Jesus received the hospitality of your “bad person”? Why do you think the people reacted like this?
Scene II
The Good Guy
8 But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I now give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back four times as much!”
4
What do you find remarkable about Zacchaeus’ action?
Zaccheaus’ dramatic change is an example of Biblical “repentance.” Repentance is a change of heart that results in a change of life. It refers to turning around – turning away from sin and turning to righteousness.
5
What do you think are requirements of true repentance? Does Zacchaeus demonstrate them?
6
How hard is it for someone’s heart to change like Zaccheaus’ did?
Scene III
The Friend of Bad Guys
9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this household, because he too is a son of Abraham! 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Jesus’ final saying is richly colored by the Old Testament imagery of God shepherding His people, the children of Abraham. Unlike the people’s bad rulers (metaphorically portrayed as “bad shepherds”), God says that He would shepherd His flock with justice and concern for the needy. “I will seek the lost and bring back the strays… I will save my sheep” (Ezekiel 34:16, 22).
7
How would you describe the condition of a lost sheep? What happens to a sheep if it isn’t found?
8
In what way are sinners like Zaccheaus “lost”?
9
What does it look like for a shepherd to “seek and save the lost” sheep? How does Jesus do this?
10
What is the result of Zaccheaus’ repentance? Would you repent of your own sins if you knew the same would happen for you?
11
Given that Zaccheaus was a chief tax collector, what does this say about who can be saved?
Conclusion
What does this story teach about Jesus?
What does this story teach about us?
PREVIEW
The salvation of Zaccheus is especially ironic in light of the religious leaders’ opposition to Jesus. Zaccheaus’ story develops a theme in Luke’s gospel that some have named the “Great Reversal” – the outside are in, and the inside are out. Social outcasts and despised sinners are experiencing salvation, while the religious elite are not. Who was this savior that was received by tax collectors, but rejected by the religious establishment? The next study explores the origin story of the Messiah: the Christmas narratives. These are among the most famous stories in the Biblical canon. For Luke’s readers then and now, they provide a powerful picture of what Jesus’ followers understood him to be.
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The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® https://netbible.com copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.