Christians, especially American Christians, can be really good at sanitizing the gospels in order to make Jesus less offensive. We want a version of Jesus that doesn’t make us uncomfortable, one that fits with our American way of seeing things. The story of Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus is a case in point.
One of the great perversions of the scriptures can be seen in the following beloved, little children’s Bible song. If you have ever been part of a Vacation Bible School program or a children’s Sunday school, you’ve certainly sung this song along with a group of trusting little children. In fact, you probably know this song even if you’ve never been anywhere near a children’s program at church.
Zacchaeus was a wee little man
And a wee little man was he
He climbed up in a sycamore tree
For the Lord he wanted to see
And when the Savior passed that way
He looked up in the tree
And said, ‘Zacchaeus, you come down!
For I’m going to your house today!
For I’m going to your house today!’
Zacchaeus was a wee little man
But a happy man was he
For he had seen the Lord that day
And a happy man was he;
And a very happy man was he.
I hate that song. Once you get this song in your head, you will almost certainly be unable to understand the dangerous, sparks-flying encounter between Jesus and that poisonous little man who was the scourge of Jericho and environs and was justly hated by all his neighbors. The person (apparently unknown) who wrote that wretched children’s song was either intentionally trying to mislead children or had no clue as to what was going on in Luke 19:1-9 where we see Jesus takes a sledgehammer to the heart of one of the vilest, most hardened sinners in the entire New Testament.
I’m willing to believe that whoever wrote this song simply had no idea what was going on in this passage in Luke 19. Most of the blame falls to pastors, like me, who have for years been perfectly happy to allow this grossly misleading song to be taught to children. I knew better, and so did most other biblically literate pastors. “But, Gary,” you protest, “what’s so bad about this cute little song? The kids love it. It’s got a catchy, easy-to-sing tune, and the kids really get into the hand motions that go along with it. After all, we want the kids to think of the Bible as fun to read, right?” Yeah, I know, but the problem is that the story of Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus is not “fun.” It’s tough, and, if we take it seriously, it is potentially dangerous. I think we like the “Zacchaeus” song because it takes this tough, dangerous Bible story and makes it safe and comfortable for us. Is that something we really want to be doing with Bible stories?
The “Zacchaeus” song makes Zacchaeus the victim of his neighbors’ unfair abuse. He is presented as “a wee little man” who just wants to have a look at Jesus. But his bigger neighbors bully him and won’t let him get a good view. So, he climbs up into a tree in order to be able to see over the heads of these mean bullies. Then, in the song, Jesus feels sorry for poor little Zacchaeus. In the song, Jesus wants to be nice to Zacchaeus and show these mean neighbors that they should be nice to little, vulnerable people like Zacchaeus, so Jesus goes to have lunch at Zacchaeus’s house. And that makes poor, abused Zacchaeus feel happy. And of course, as we all know, the main goal of Jesus’ ministry was simply to make everyone feel happy.
Does my uncontrollable sarcasm give you a hint of just how much I dislike this lying little song? I suppose whoever wrote that song was just trying to write a song that would encourage children to come to Jesus and not let anyone stop them from doing that. I don’t have a beef with that message.
But that is not at all what was going on in Jericho that day that Jesus passed through. And the fact is, Jesus didn’t call Zacchaeus down from that tree in order to save him from his neighbors. He called him down in order to save Zacchaeus from his own viciousness and dreadful, nasty sinfulness. In the process, Jesus also has some subversive things to say about God’s grace and some very tough things to say about the cost of following him. In the next few posts, I’m going to explore the depths of what’s going on in this Jericho meeting of Zacchaeus and Jesus. Be warned. It might make you and me both a little uncomfortable.
© Gary A. Chorpenning 2024
Related Posts:
Bible Note #61: Zacchaeus #5–Why Would Such a Man Want to See Jesus?
Bible Note #60: Zacchaeus #4–Getting into the Story–Jesus Make a Lot of People Mad
Bible Note #59: Zacchaeus #3–Tax Collecting in Roman Palestine
Bible Note#58: Zacchaeus #2–Some Background
Photos by GAC
Gary Chorpenning's Notebooks 
Looking forward to the next chapter Gary!
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