In Jesus’ time, there was nobody more hated than tax collectors (also known as publicans). Unlike the taxman of today, publicans were considered traitors. They cheated, stole, and extorted people to line their pockets and the treasury of a foreign occupier.
It’s easy to see why they didn’t get many dinner invites.
That’s why people gasped when Jesus invited himself over to a publican’s house, a man named Zacchaeus. No one was more surprised than Zacchaeus himself. He’d wanted to meet Jesus but assumed he didn’t have a chance. Yet there they were, sharing a meal, and by the end of it, Zacchaeus reconciled with his community, giving half of his money to the poor and repaying four times what he’d stolen.
Even more shocking than dinner, Jesus also invited a publican into his inner circle … by walking right up to the tax collector’s booth. The man inside, Matthew, would go on to spend his life spreading the message of Jesus’ extraordinary love … the same love we’re still talking about today.
Yes, Jesus loved tax collectors. He loved outcasts. He loved the hated. He loved them all so much that he sought them out — surprising them. Surprising everyone. His love changed people in unexpected ways.
Which makes us wonder: Who can we surprise with our love today? And what surprising things might come of it?
