Hiding from God

“Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” 6Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy.”   

~ Luke 19:1-6 NLT

The story of Zacchaeus is a familiar one. Tax collectors in Bible times were Jews who worked for the Romans, which made them traitors. They were also known as evil, greedy, and corrupt people who charged far more than what was owed.  Zacchaeus had a desire to get a look at Jesus, but was filled with shame due to his sinful lifestyle as a tax collector. 

Because Zacchaeus was short, he took initiative and decided to climb a sycamore-fig tree in order to get a better view of Jesus as he passed by.  This particular type of fig tree had large leaves.  Zacchaeus wanted to be an observer; he wanted to see Jesus. However, I believe he was also hiding from Jesus, not wanting to be seen.  He would have been able to hide behind the fig leaves. A similar situation occurs in Genesis 3:7, where Adam and Eve sewed together fig leaves to hide their nakedness from God. Adam and Eve, as well as Zacchaeus, all tried to hide from God because of their shame.  

However, Jesus actually sought out Zacchaeus; he was looking for him and called him by name!  Jesus wasn’t just passing through Jericho as a way to get to Jerusalem; he went through Jericho specifically to meet Zacchaeus.  Psalm 14:2 says, “The Lord looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God.”  Jesus was looking for people who pursued him, and Zacchaeus was one of those people, despite his shame!

In addition, verse 5 says that when Jesus reached the spot where Zacchaeus was, he looked up at him. Remember, Zacchaeus was hiding! (He didn’t know that it was impossible to hide from God!) This might have been the first time in Zacchaeus’ life that anyone had looked up at him.  He was used to having people look down on him because of his short stature and his shameful occupation.  Instead, Jesus approached Zacchaeus with love rather than disdain, and in fact, called him by name.  Do you think Zacchaeus wondered how Jesus knew his name?

What about you? Are you hiding from God?  Are you so ashamed of something you’ve done that you can’t face Him?  Maybe you’re involved in sexual immorality even though you know it’s wrong, or you can’t stop your habit of gossiping or being critical in your speech, even though you’ve tried.  Shame, embarrassment and guilt before God can even be felt simply because you’ve been neglectful in praying or spending time in His word.  Maybe your shame stems from something else entirely.  What are you hiding behind?  It’s probably not sycamore-fig leaves, but maybe it’s busyness, pride, distractions, blame-shifting, or masks.

I have good news for you today!  When we meet Jesus with repentant hearts, he looks at us with eyes of love rather than condemnation.  He calls us by name, and longs to be a guest in the homes of our hearts.  Verse 6 tells us that Zacchaeus was filled with excitement and joy when he responded quickly to Jesus’ invitation. He was finally able to live up to his name, which in Hebrew means “pure, clean, innocent.”  You and I can do the same, but Jesus wants us to do it quickly.  Throw your sycamore-fig leaves aside. Don’t wait too long to get right with your Savior!

by Cindy Prahst