«Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham» Luke 19:9
JEWISH RABBIS were quite creative when making lists. One of the most relevant lists they made was that of the most despised professions (according to their opinion). Listed in it were sailors, stretcher-bearers, herdsmen, garbage collectors, metalsmiths, peddlers, physicians, butchers, barbers … but no doubt, out of all the professions included on their list, tax collectors were considered to be the worst.
It was no secret that publicans used their position to enrich themselves and that they exploited others to increase their own assets. Therefore, tax collectors were considered so unclean that if they simply entered a house, everything in it was considered unclean. Additionally, their witness was not fit to be admitted in a trial. Unlike others who performed outlawed jobs and could repent from their sins, rabbis claimed there was no repentance for a tax collector, because «they could never know every person they had injured or cheated.»*
Nevertheless, Jesus never made a list of outlaws, of people or professions that were scorned. The motto of His life was: «The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out» (John 6:37). The Master did not hesitate to receive and eat with tax collectors; He didn’t even hesitate to receive Zacchaeus, who was the chief tax collector, no less. Zacchaeus was a social outcast who had been excluded from the covenant community, a disdained individual who had been denied any possibility of change in his life. However, he wanted to see Jesus. And to do that, he overcame all sorts of obstacles. He overcame himself and defeated the problem of his size when he climbed a tree in order to see Jesus; he overcame social prejudice, he forgot about his position and his attire, and like a child he climbed up a sycamore tree.
The truth is, it wasn’t Zacchaeus who wanted to see Jesus, it was Jesus who wanted to see Zacchaeus. That is why when their eyes met, the Lord told him, «Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house» (Luke 19:5). And later He added, «Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham» (verse 9).
Being a tax collector continued to be on the rabbis’ list of dirty and disdainful jobs, but Zacchaeus’s name was «written in heaven» (Luke 10:20). Today, God can do the same for you.
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Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2023
“I AM WITH YOU”
From: J. VLADIMIR POLANCO
Collaborators: Lorina Maya & Avineyda Hernández
