...And That Is Enough

Pastor Charles Thompson didn’t know what had happened to him, but when he awoke that morning he found himself in Jericho.  He recognized it as Jericho – but he couldn’t have explained to you how he knew.  He just knew that it was, indeed, the ancient city of Jericho.  As you might expect, he was quite perplexed by this.  How could he have gone to sleep the night before in his own bed and awakened here? How was that even possible?

He was trying to figure it all out when he began to hear the shouts of people in the street.  They were shouting for Jesus.  Already overwhelmed at having woken up in first century Palestine, it never crossed his mind to wonder that he could now understand Aramaic perfectly.  He could hear the people shouting in the street for Jesus.  He wandered towards the sound.  To be here, on the very street as Jesus passed by; Pastor Thompson couldn’t imagine a greater privilege.    He thought back to all the various times he’d preached about this incident.

At the street he saw the crowd.  He saw Jesus, followed by his disciples and friends.  He scanned the street for the sycamore trees he knew he’d find, and – yes... there he was:  Zacchaeus, the wee little man.  Well, he wasn’t “wee” exactly.  Just short.  Short and pudgy.  Pastor Thompson stifled a giggle as he watched the diminutive tax collector scrambling up the branches of the tree.  Eager to see this familiar scene play out in real life, he pushed through the crowd to stand as close as he could to the tree.

When Jesus reached the spot, he stopped and looked up, just as the Pastor knew he would. “Zacchaeus, come down immediately.  I must stay at your house today.”   The tax man was astonished, but he climbed down from his perch in the branches of the tree and invited Jesus – and many members of the crowd, including Pastor Thompson, to join with him for a meal at his home.

“Now we come to it,” thought the Pastor.  “I have the opportunity to see how the Master spoke to sinners, how he called them to repentance.  I can learn from this.  When I see how Jesus was able to preach sin and forgiveness and how he was able to win so many for the kingdom, I’ll know better how preach with boldness, how to confront sin with the power of truth.”  The Pastor followed with the crowd to Zacchaeus’ house, and was even invited to sit at the table.

All through the meal he watched and he listened.  He watched Jesus eat and drink.  He listened as the disciples told jokes (some of which were a tad off color) and he heard Jesus laugh with Zacchaeus and the other dinner guests.  But as the meal progressed Pastor Thompson grew impatient. “When will the Master speak truth to sin?  When will he preach and convict the sinner’s heart and bring Zacchaeus to repentance?”

Just then Zacchaeus stood and urged the room to silence.  “Look, Lord!  Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay it back four times the amount.”   The room erupted in cheers and shouts of joy.   Jesus smiled broadly and hugged the short little man and then said to the crowd, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.”

Pastor Thompson, now past the point of all patience, sprung to his feet and exclaimed, “But Lord, excuse my interruption, but how can you say that salvation has come?  You’ve not preached truth to his sin.  You’ve not said anything to convict him.  You’ve been the guest of this sinner, eaten his food and drunk his wine, but you’ve never spoken against his sin.”

And Jesus replied.  “You are exactly right. I have not, but he knows that he is a son of Abraham, and that is enough.”