Disillusionment
When I was a kid I could not wait for summer break. Summer was the answer to the
grind of school, crazy pace of life, little sleep, lack of space in life, the need for rest, and
annoying people. Then summer would come, and never live up to my expectations. Summer let me down, again, just like the summer before. But come September, I believed in summer again! The dictionary definition of disillusionment is, “The feeling of disappointment resulting from the discovery that something is not as good as one believed it to be.” Luke 19.1-10 is a story about someone who finally reaches the point of disillusionment, and it is a good thing.
Jesus was not planning on staying in Jericho, he was just passing through, on his way to Jerusalem (Luke 19.1). Jericho is a fascinating place, a Mount Everest in reverse since it sits at one of the lowest points on the planet – 825 feet below sea level. In those days Jericho was called “The City of Palms” because it was a lush, fertile, green oasis fed by gushing fresh water springs in the middle of nothing but desert desolation. One lush, fertile, green tree in Jericho is the Sycamore tree, the only tree in the middle east with big green leafy leaves, excellent cover for hide-and-seek or for a small adult not wishing to be seen (vv.2-4): “And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.”
Zacchaeus is disillusioned. How do we know this? The answer is because he has it all, but is still looking for something else. Zacchaeus is a chief tax collector and very rich (v.2). Of course he is, he runs Rome’s taxing operation for Jericho. Roman rule meant taxing conquered colonies to increase Roman wealth and to maintain Roman subjugation by way of impoverishment. Surprisingly however, tax collectors were not Romans but locals who collaborated with Rome’s oppression and got rich in the process. Tim Keller writes, “Why would anyone take such a job as a tax collector? What could seduce a man to betray his family and country and live as a pariah in his own society? The answer was – money.” Zacchaeus thought money could make him important. However, when we meet Zacchaeus in verse 2 he does not believe in money anymore, money has let him down, he is looking for something else. What did he find?
What Zacchaeus finds is breathtaking. When important people visited a town in the ancient world they were greeted by the important people of the town. Then all the important people would parade through town, like the celebrities they are, to a great banquet hall for a big important party, meanwhile the unimportant people would gather to gawk.
Zacchaeus was planning on the crowd dispersing by the time it reached him at the edge of town hiding in the Sycamore tree - remember Jesus was just passing through. The crowd, however, did not disperse. They see him in the tree. They yell out his name using colorful four letter words, which is how Jesus knows Zacchaeus’ name! Violence is in the air – remember Zacchaeus is a hated man. Jesus looks up at Zacchaeus and says, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today (v.5).” Jesus invites Zacchaeus into his heart. Jesus does not eat with the important people, he eats with a notorious “sinner” (v.7). Jesus welcomes, accepts, and befriends Zacchaeus by sheer grace alone. Zacchaeus spent his whole life trying to be loved, accepted, and important but could never attain it. Now, Jesus’ love, acceptance, and importance reaches and heals him: “So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully (v.6).” Of course he did, Jesus just replaced money as his Savior.
Did you notice in verse 7 how the bad mood of the crowd shifted to Jesus? “And when they saw it, they all grumbled, ‘He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.’” Jesus absorbs the crowd’s rejection, he takes it away from Zacchaeus. Several days later on a cross in Jerusalem, Jesus becomes rejected and unacceptable in our place so we can be accepted forever. Jesus’ sacrificial love and acceptance replaces all disillusionment. Hurry and come down to receive him with joy.
grind of school, crazy pace of life, little sleep, lack of space in life, the need for rest, and
annoying people. Then summer would come, and never live up to my expectations. Summer let me down, again, just like the summer before. But come September, I believed in summer again! The dictionary definition of disillusionment is, “The feeling of disappointment resulting from the discovery that something is not as good as one believed it to be.” Luke 19.1-10 is a story about someone who finally reaches the point of disillusionment, and it is a good thing.
Jesus was not planning on staying in Jericho, he was just passing through, on his way to Jerusalem (Luke 19.1). Jericho is a fascinating place, a Mount Everest in reverse since it sits at one of the lowest points on the planet – 825 feet below sea level. In those days Jericho was called “The City of Palms” because it was a lush, fertile, green oasis fed by gushing fresh water springs in the middle of nothing but desert desolation. One lush, fertile, green tree in Jericho is the Sycamore tree, the only tree in the middle east with big green leafy leaves, excellent cover for hide-and-seek or for a small adult not wishing to be seen (vv.2-4): “And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.”
Zacchaeus is disillusioned. How do we know this? The answer is because he has it all, but is still looking for something else. Zacchaeus is a chief tax collector and very rich (v.2). Of course he is, he runs Rome’s taxing operation for Jericho. Roman rule meant taxing conquered colonies to increase Roman wealth and to maintain Roman subjugation by way of impoverishment. Surprisingly however, tax collectors were not Romans but locals who collaborated with Rome’s oppression and got rich in the process. Tim Keller writes, “Why would anyone take such a job as a tax collector? What could seduce a man to betray his family and country and live as a pariah in his own society? The answer was – money.” Zacchaeus thought money could make him important. However, when we meet Zacchaeus in verse 2 he does not believe in money anymore, money has let him down, he is looking for something else. What did he find?
What Zacchaeus finds is breathtaking. When important people visited a town in the ancient world they were greeted by the important people of the town. Then all the important people would parade through town, like the celebrities they are, to a great banquet hall for a big important party, meanwhile the unimportant people would gather to gawk.
Zacchaeus was planning on the crowd dispersing by the time it reached him at the edge of town hiding in the Sycamore tree - remember Jesus was just passing through. The crowd, however, did not disperse. They see him in the tree. They yell out his name using colorful four letter words, which is how Jesus knows Zacchaeus’ name! Violence is in the air – remember Zacchaeus is a hated man. Jesus looks up at Zacchaeus and says, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today (v.5).” Jesus invites Zacchaeus into his heart. Jesus does not eat with the important people, he eats with a notorious “sinner” (v.7). Jesus welcomes, accepts, and befriends Zacchaeus by sheer grace alone. Zacchaeus spent his whole life trying to be loved, accepted, and important but could never attain it. Now, Jesus’ love, acceptance, and importance reaches and heals him: “So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully (v.6).” Of course he did, Jesus just replaced money as his Savior.
Did you notice in verse 7 how the bad mood of the crowd shifted to Jesus? “And when they saw it, they all grumbled, ‘He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.’” Jesus absorbs the crowd’s rejection, he takes it away from Zacchaeus. Several days later on a cross in Jerusalem, Jesus becomes rejected and unacceptable in our place so we can be accepted forever. Jesus’ sacrificial love and acceptance replaces all disillusionment. Hurry and come down to receive him with joy.
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