So, I’ve now provided some background material (see links to previous “Zacchaeus” posts at the end of this post ) for understanding this powerful encounter between Jesus and the chief tax collector in Jericho—maybe more background information than you really wanted (judging from the amount of traffic those earlier posts have generated). Let’s now dive into this remarkable event itself.
Jesus has, at this point, been engaged in his ministry of the Kingdom of God for about three years. He has been preaching, teaching, healing, driving out demons, stilling storms, walking on water, feeding thousands of people with a lunch bag’s worth of fish and bread, arguing with religious leaders, hugging lepers, . . . oh, yes, and raising dead people to life, along with a lot of other things. Early on he tried to keep some of his more remarkable works quiet. But that never seemed to work. And so, the result of all that at this late stage of his ministry is that the Jesus who hikes up from the Jordan River toward Jericho on his way to Jerusalem is now a very famous young man.
The folks in Jericho have gotten word that he is on his way to their city. As I’ve noted in an earlier post, Jericho would already be pretty crowded because this is all taking place just prior to Passover. As always at that time of year, there are lots of pilgrims in the city getting ready for the last hard climb up to Jerusalem. Surely, word has already spread throughout the city among city residents and pilgrims alike that this famous young rabbi is approaching the eastern city gates of the city.
Luke 19 begins with these words, “Jesus entered Jericho,” and what follows is the description of the encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus. But if we back up in Luke just a few verses into the end of Luke 18[1], we see what Jesus did at the eastern gates of Jericho, just before he entered the city. There we read this:
As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.
Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. (Luke 18:35-43 NIV)
Imagine the scene. The city gate is already a crowded place. No doubt a lot of folks had come out to watch for Jesus and greet his arrival in the city. Jesus himself would have had a crowd traveling with him, both his own disciples and a bunch of other pilgrims who had decided to attach themselves to this religious celebrity as they all traveled to Jerusalem.
Suddenly, a blind beggar starts shouting at the top of his lungs, trying desperately to get Jesus’ attention. It’s already a very noisy scene, so he must have been yelling really loud. The spectators around him tell him to hush! (“These beggars can be such a nuisance!”) But he won’t hush. He shouts still louder. Jesus stops, surrounded by a thick knot of people. He calls for the blind man to be brought to him. Now, the crowd is interested. (“Are we about to see one of this rabbi’s famous miracles?”) The crowd parts like the Red Sea, and someone is about to be set free. The blind man is brought to Jesus.
“What do you want?” (Isn’t it obvious?) Jesus makes the man ask for it. “I want to be able to see.” “You got it. Your faith has opened your eyes.” Light breaks in—faces, trees, rocks, dust, the city wall and gates—and Jesus. It’s all there. He sees everything.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert. (Isaiah 35:5-6 NIV)[2]
The man erupts in praise of God for his healing. The crowd erupts in praise of God and this young healing rabbi. The eyes of the blind are opened. It’s loud. It’s rapturous. The crowd with Jesus in the middle of it funnels in through the city gates. Word spreads through the city like fire in dry grass. Before this healing, the people in the city were already at a high pitch. The famous rabbi-healer was coming to stay in the city on his way to Jerusalem. But now, after a healing at the very entrance of the city, well, the place was sizzling with anticipation.
The streets fill up with people who want to see this man. Maybe his disciples have to make a sort of flying wedge to plow a path through the crowds. Everyone wants to get a look at this extraordinary young teacher-miracle worker. He keeps pushing through the crowd. Maybe he smiles and nods at folks as he goes. Everyone is wondering where he’ll stay while he’s in the city. Shopkeepers wonder whether he might stop at their booth to stock up for the hard journey up the last steep 15 miles to Jerusalem. Maybe some of the more prominent members of the community are thinking that they’ll offer him hospitality; he’ll want a good meal and a place to stay the night so that he can get an early start the next day for that long climb. Who knows, maybe he’ll stay a day or two in Jericho and do some more healing before heading up to the Holy City.
“Wait! What’s he doing? Where’s he going?” How does Luke describe it? “Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.” He wasn’t stopping. He was heading straight through the city toward the western gate and the road up to Jerusalem. He was just passing through. They’d heard that he’d spent two full days in some trashy Samaritan town (John 4). He’d spent several days in some Syrian town among the filthy Gentiles (Mark 7). “What’s wrong with Jericho? A good, clean Jewish town! Everyone stops over here on their way up to Jerusalem—everyone!”
It’s often helpful to pay attention to the emotional atmosphere in events like this one.[3] What’s clear from Luke’s description of this event in Jericho is that the city was emotionally keyed up to a high pitch. Even without the healing at the eastern gate, the people on the road and in the city were very excited to have Jesus come to town.
That Jesus would simply pass through without at least an overnight stay was something that no one would have anticipated. It would very likely have felt like a slight to the city. And yet, Luke seems to imply pretty much unmistakably that that is just what Jesus seemed to be doing—just passing through. As we’ll see in my next post on the Zacchaeus encounter, there are reasons for believing that the tree Zacchaeus climbed was a little way outside the western gate of the city, meaning that Jesus had indeed already left the city headed for Jerusalem when he met Zacchaeus up in that sycamore-fig tree.
Most everyone was very excited for Jesus to come to Jericho. Then he walked steadily through town without pausing to speak to anyone, much less heal any sick or demon-possessed people. Image the growing disappointment and unhappiness of the crowds. At the eastern gate of the city, the crowds were praising God for Jesus. At the western gate, there would have been grumbling and discontentment with this rude young rabbi. One scruffy blind beggar! “What about my sick or demon-possessed aunt or father or daughter or nephew?” “Nope, just passing through,” seemed to be the message. Then, when Jesus did stop to talk to someone, who was it? That vile, rapacious tax collector—Zacchaeus! People would have spit when they said his name—if, that is, they could bring themselves to even say his name.
Imagine also how Jesus’ disciples might have felt. Might they also have been surprised and confused by Jesus’ apparent intention to pass on through Jericho without stopping to do ministry, to heal, to teach, and to enjoy a bit of his celebrity and Jericho’s hospitality? Could they have been thinking, “Wait, Jesus. Obviously, everyone here is excited to see you. Shouldn’t we stop over and take advantage of this great ministry opportunity?” But, baffled or not, they kept following him.
Whatever you say about Jesus, what is most certainly true is that he set his own agenda, whether people liked it or not.
A Question for Reflection:
Is it possible that Jesus’ agenda and yours don’t exactly match up? Ask him to help you to be willing for him to show you some of the ways that you are out of step with him purposes and agenda for your life and for the world.
Next time, we’ll follow Zacchaeus through this wild scene, as he gets shoved by the angry crowd, maybe elbowed in the face, and then does several things that would have been almost inconceivable for someone like him.
© 2024 Gary A. Chorpenning
Resources consulted for this post:
Kenneth E. Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Easter Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008, pages 170-185.
Related Links:
Bible Note #57: The Real Zacchaeus and That Terrible Children’s Song
Bible Note#58: Zacchaeus #2–Some Background
Bible Note #59: Zacchaeus #3–Tax Collecting in Roman Palestine
Bible Note #61: Zacchaeus #5–Why Would Such a Man Want to See Jesus?
[1] It’s important to remember that the chapter and verse divisions in our Bibles were not in the original texts. They were added much later, in the 1200s more than a thousand years after the time of Jesus. In Luke’s original manuscript, the story of Jesus’ healing of the blind man and his meeting with Zacchaeus would have flowed right into each other without a break or division in between.
[2] This is just one example from Isaiah. Click here to see the many other examples of reference to the blind in Isaiah.
[3] Kenneth Bailey has helped me with this. Kenneth E. Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic) 2008.
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