The Discomfort of Our Borders | Shawnee Community Christian Church

The View from the Tree

Think back to the last time you had to stretch, strain, or shuffle around just to get a clear view of something important—or worse, the last time you felt intentionally blocked out by a crowd. In the story of Zacchaeus, we meet a man who climbed a sycamore tree just to catch a glimpse of Jesus. But maybe he wasn’t just short; maybe the crowd was actively elbowing him out because of his reputation. It’s easy to judge the person on the outside until we realize Jesus is looking right past the comfortable crowd in the middle to invite Himself over to that very person’s house.

Luke 19:1–10 (A Front Porch Paraphrase)

Jesus traveled into Jericho, passing right through the heart of town. A wealthy chief tax collector named Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was, but he couldn’t see over the dense crowd. So, he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked straight up and called him by name: “Zacchaeus, hurry on down, because I need to stay at your house today.” Zacchaeus scrambled down, thrilled to welcome him. But the onlookers immediately began to grumble, muttering, “He’s going to be the guest of a sinner.” Zacchaeus stood tall and said, “Look, Lord, I give half of what I own to the poor, and if I’ve cheated anyone, I pay them back four times over.” Jesus responded, “Today, healing and salvation have come to this home, because he too belongs to the family. The Son of Man came to look for and rescue what was lost.”

Living in the Messy Middle

Depending on the translation you read, Zacchaeus is either promising to fix his corrupt ways in the future, or he’s revealing that he has already been quietly living generously despite his terrible job. Either way, the crowd missed his humanity because they were too busy defining their own goodness by who they kept out. Whenever we build walls around who is acceptable, Jesus walks straight through them, sits down in the dirt with the folks on the outside, and reminds us that false piety isn’t a good look. Let’s be a community where grace has room to breathe, where we prioritize honest care over comfortable judgment.