Much earlier in his Gospel St Luke says of Jesus: “As the time drew near for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely took the road for Jerusalem...” (Luke 9:51). Now at Jericho, Jesus is very near Jerusalem, where he will suffer under Pontius Pilate, be crucified, die, be buried, rise from the dead and then, after forty days, ascend into heaven.
The day after leaving Jericho, Jesus will arrive in Jerusalem. While there, Jesus is hungry, and he sees a fig tree by the road. Finding leaves, but no figs, Jesus rebukes the fig tree: “May no fruit ever come from you again!” (Matt 21:19). At these words the fig tree immediately withers. Jesus was performing a prophetic gesture in line with the words the Lord gave to Jeremiah lamenting over the faithlessness of Judah: “When I would gather them, says the Lord, there are no grapes on the vine nor figs on the fig tree” (Jeremiah 8:13). Jerusalem, Judah, the whole of Israel is symbolised by the fig tree. Israel is faithless, fruitless, there is no fruit of repentance and so it withers.
Through Jesus’ public ministry, Israel, the fig tree, was given three years to produce fruits of repentance. Many do not repent. Jesus bewails the hardness of heart of whole towns: “Alas for you Chorazin. Alas for you Bethsaida...And you Capernaum: will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades” (Matt 11:21a; 23a).
But in Jericho, just seventeen miles from Jerusalem, Jesus finds the fruit of repentance, hanging not from a fig tree, but from a sycamore tree in the man Zacchaeus. To the crowd thronging the streets of Jericho, Zacchaeus is a man who is rotten to the core, a bad apple – a Roman collaborator, a senior tax collector, who grows wealthy on other people’s money. The name “Zacchaeus” is based on a Hebrew word meaning “clean” or “innocent”. But the crowd see nothing in this man to warrant such a name; on outward appearances all seems corrupt, all seems lost.
But it is not so.
For three years the stories of Jesus of Nazareth have been circulating within Israel: his miracles, his healings; that he eats with sinners; that Jesus counts such men as St Matthew, a former tax collector, among his disciples; Jesus’ parables on mercy and forgiveness: all this would surely have reached the ears of those in this town so close to Jerusalem; would have reached the ears and heart of Zacchaeus.
Hidden from men’s sight, but clear to the sight of God who looks at the heart, the fruit of repentance begins to ripen in this man Zacchaeus; the dim smouldering wick, that is the life of charity in his soul, begins to catch fire. Zacchaeus begins to believe in, to hope in, to love this man Jesus he hears so much about. But is it all true? Zacchaeus must see this man Jesus for himself! Today he gets his chance.
The citizens of Jericho long turned their backs on Zacchaeus; and now that is all he can see – their backs - as he strains to glimpse Jesus. Losing all his dignity, he runs and climbs a tree. Jesus passes, and stops and looks up. The crowd would look up too. Possibly they anticipate that Zacchaeus the senior tax collector and parasite of society is about to be condemned by this holy man of God. But Jesus is God, and Jesus sees Zacchaeus’ heart ripe with repentance. Jesus, the New Adam, stretches out to pick this most choice ripe fruit, this Son of Abraham, from the tree by saying a most beautiful word – his name! “Zacchaeus! ‘Innocent one’!, ‘Pure one’!, ‘Zaccaheus! come down! For I must stay at your house today”. No condemnation, but a welcome, and a self-invitation.
The crowd murmur: “He has gone to stay at a sinner’s house”. They thought they knew the heart of Zaccaheus – the bad man - and the heart of Jesus – the good man - but they did not, because their own hearts were hardened. Zacchaeus is short of stature, but having received the welcome, love and mercy of Jesus, he stands tall and holds his ground. Like the repentant woman who pours out oil and tears on the feet of Jesus because she has been forgiven much, Zacchaeus exclaims that he will give half his money to the poor and four times the amount if he has defrauded anyone. Not condemnation, but salvation has come to the house of Zaccaheus.
The day after this meeting with Zacchaeus, Jesus will enter Jerusalem and bewail the hardness of hearts - “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you!” (Matt 23:37). But the night before entering Jerusalem, how comforted Jesus must have been in the company of Zacchaeus, the one repentant sinner for whom the angels in heaven rejoice. How much comfort we can give Jesus when we repent again and again of our sins and especially of our hardness of heart - this hardness of heart which blinds us to the love Jesus has for us, and the truth about our brothers and sisters. How ripe our hearts must be with the fruit of repentance – that takes away the bitterness of judgement and condemnation and give us the sweetness of compassion! This repentance that lifts us up when we are bowed down, and helps us stand tall in the presence of our merciful Lord. Jesus will soon be coming to our house today. Let salvation come to our house, and let us comfort Jesus with the fruits of our love and repentance.