Years ago I made my living through commission sales.  Some pay periods were pretty good and others were not so good.  On one of my better paydays I opened my envelope and saw something that the company did not intend for me to see.  It was a commission statement, not only of what I had earned that pay period, but what all the sales managers above me earned from my labor.  Sales managers obviously enjoyed the benefits of being at the top of the profit pyramid.

In our Bible story this week we meet another person who had a life-changing encounter with Jesus.  Unlike so many of the others before him who were reduced to begging for an income, Zacchaeus sat comfortably at the top of the profit pyramid.  As chief tax collector Zacchaeus would have received a cut from all of the other “bottom of the pyramid” tax collectors under him.  Tax collectors could charge whatever they wanted.  They paid Rome what it demanded, but could keep the excess.  And there was plenty of excess. 

Little wonder Zacchaeus was so rich.  But his money didn’t bring him any happiness. Zacchaeus is considered a traitor, working hand in hand with the Roman government to extort excessive taxes from his people.  He can't go to the synagogue.  He can't interact with people. No self-respecting Jew would ever enter into his house. He can't eat a meal with one of them. He is isolated completely so that the only people who surround him are the rest of the riff-raff who fall into the same category of outcasts and rejects. As chief tax collector, Zacchaeus would also have been known as chief sinner.  Maybe Zacchaeus heard that Jesus is a friend of sinners.  At any rate, he is strangely drawn to Jesus.

If Zacchaeus is going to see Jesus, he’s going to have to overcome a couple of formidable obstacles.  First of all, he’s short in stature (a wee little man, as the song says).  And second, he’s the most despised and hated man in town.  Making his way through to front of the crowd would be the least of his worrries.  Getting through the crowd alive is what really concerned him.  So the sycamore tree provides him with the advantages he seeks.  By climbing up the tree, Zacchaeus gains a visual advantage, and he is safely shielded from the crowd.  But something unexpected happens.  And it’s easy to miss.  I would tell you here, but I’m out of space, so I will tell you all about it in Sunday’s sermon.  Don’t miss it.