The Dwarf Crook

I am Zacchaeus, the one who climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus. I was fortunate to have Jesus in my home as my guest. If you have some time, I want to tell you my story. I have already told this story to countless people. It remains fresh in my memory, and I am always excited to tell this story to anybody willing to listen.  

My meeting with Jesus was a turning point in my life. It was also a turning point for my hometown, Jericho. I shall begin telling you how my life was before I met Jesus, and then I will tell you how I happened to meet Jesus, and also how the meeting changed me radically.

I was born a dwarf. Growing up as a dwarf was not easy. People always kept me away from them. They couldn’t treat me as one among them. I was less human, as if stature was the measure of humanness.  My parents were very much worried about my future. They probably considered me as a punishment from God for some sin they had committed.

Most of the people in Jericho and elsewhere lived by working hard from morning till evening in their farms, and my parents wondered how I could make a living with my short hands. That is when they sent me to a scribe to learn the skill of writing.

The scribe was an old man and he lived alone. He made copies of the Torah and the writings of the prophets. He offered to teach me how to write letters in return for helping him with household chores. He was a good man, and he treated me kindly. I stayed with him for about five years until he died. I learned how to write and also how to count. Scribes were the only people who could read and write, and they used these skills to copy the Holy Scriptures and to interpret them. I couldn’t be a scribe because I was considered an outcast in my own community. They couldn’t imagine a dwarf interpreting the Holy Scriptures to them.

Moreover, a dwarf was considered to be the result of a divine punishment, and so even God wouldn’t want a dwarf to handle the Holy Scriptures.

Thus although I learned the skills of writing and counting, I was still unable to find a means of living. Frustration mounted within me. But I didn’t lose my faith and hope. I prayed like this: God, I don’t know why you created me a dwarf. If it is thy will, it is alright with me. But how do you expect me to live? I can’t find a means of living. Please find me one if you want me to live.

The answer came in the least expected way. The very next day a man came looking for me. He wanted someone who could write and count in the tax office. Thus I became a tax-collector. I accepted this job gratefully as God’s answer to my prayer.

Our land was ruled by Romans in those days, and as a tax-collector, I was an employee of the Roman government. This gave another reason for my people to despise me. They saw in me someone who plunders them for foreigners.  

I had learned the basic lessons of living an honest life from my parents, and that helped me greatly in my job.

When my Roman employers saw how hard-working and honest I was, they promoted me to be a supervisor.  My stature was not a problem for them.

As I moved up in my career, the hatred of my own people toward me also went up. They called me a dwarf crook. That became my nickname, and even children began to call me that way. Each time I heard it, I felt a sharp knife piercing my soul.

I didn’t know what to do. What if I left the job? Would that please my people? But then how would I live? These questions haunted me day and night. God, show me a way! I prayed. This time also God answered my prayer right away.

I was sitting inside my office that day, and I heard an unusual commotion in the street. People seemed to be excited. I heard someone saying “Jesus of Nazareth”. Jesus was in the city! That was exciting news for me too.

I had already heard a lot about Jesus of Nazareth. He was known as a friend of the poor, the sick, and the needy. People all over Galilee and Judea respected and loved him as a prophet of God. Some people thought that he was going to liberate the land from the Romans and re-establish the long-lost kingdom of David.

There were also people who hated Jesus – the people who claimed to be good by being strictly religious. They named all those who did not follow their rules as sinners. Jesus openly made friends with the “sinners”, which made the “good” people hate Jesus. I had heard that he was traveling from city to city. At last he was in our city. What a golden chance to see the prophet, or probably, the future king! I sensed an intense desire within me to see him.

Within seconds I was out of my office, and I started running. I saw a crowd at a distance, and I was sure Jesus was there speaking to them.

“Run! Run! Crook!” Someone called from behind. That is when I realized that I was running.

I was already used to people calling me dwarf crook. But the realization that I was running made me slow down a little bit. But soon I forgot myself and ran as fast as I could. My desire to see Jesus was very powerful.   

Approaching the crowd, I realized that seeing the prophet was not easy for me, a dwarf. My mind worked quickly, and before I knew it, I found myself up on the branch of a sycamore tree. Several people noticed me.

It was certainly an amusing sight for them to see a dwarf climbing up a tree like a squirrel. Once I was up there, my eyes frantically searched for the face of Jesus. Even before my eyes found him, his eyes had already found me.

Jesus saw how eager I was to see him. He beckoned me to come down from the tree. All eyes were on me. I climbed down, and hurried to the presence of the Master. It was like being in God’s presence. I felt so much calm being there. Jesus could see the pain hidden within my heart. He spoke to me gently and offered to be my guest.

I couldn’t believe my ears. I felt like jumping for joy. Jesus, the most respected celebrity in the land, was going to be a guest to me, the dwarf crook!   

Not just I, nobody there could believe it. Jesus could easily have chosen to be a guest of one of the most respected people in the city, and anybody would have been happy to host him. Why did Jesus choose the one man who was the most despised in the city? This raised a big question mark in the minds of all the people there.

Slowly I understood what it meant. It meant that God was on my side. Even if all the people in the city despised me, God cared for me.  It was not a punishment from God that I was a dwarf. Neither was my job a reason for God to despise me.

What really mattered was that I was acceptable to God. Even if all the people in the whole world hated me and called me a dwarf crook, I wouldn’t care. I didn’t feel hatred for them, though. They were just being ignorant. This realization brought unspeakable joy to my heart.

Jesus stayed in my home that night. His friends and disciple were with him. Some of the neighbors also were there in the evening to listen to Jesus. While listening to Jesus further at my home, the love of God filled my soul, and it began to overflow into my fellow beings. I felt much love and compassion to the countless people in Jericho who were suffering in various ways. Many of them did not have food to eat, clothes to wear, and a shelter to sleep. I approached Jesus and told him:

“God has been so much gracious towards me. Even though I was born a dwarf, God gave me the skills to make a living, and gave me a means of income. And on top of all that, God has been so kind to send His prophet to my home. Having you in my home is like having God as my guest! Today my heart overflows with unspeakable joy. I feel like God’s love is flowing through me to all my fellow beings. I feel sympathy for all the sick and the poor in this city. I want to give out half of all the wealth God has given me to them.”

I noticed that all those people gathered there couldn’t believe what they just heard. Someone giving out half of his wealth was unheard of. They also saw that I didn’t have any bitterness in my heart although I had been the most despised man in the city.

Most of the people thought that I was a crook. I thought it was time to clear that misunderstanding. While everybody was listening, I continued,

“There is one more thing. If anyone can produce any proof that I cheated anybody in collecting taxes, I am willing to pay back four times the amount that I have taken unfairly.”

I made my point. I had never been a crook although that had become my nickname. I looked at Jesus to see his reaction. I noticed that he had a smile on his face. Addressing the people standing around, Jesus said,

“Look at this man! He is also a child of Abraham. Also he is a rich man like Abraham. Like Abraham, in spite of his being rich, he hasn’t put the foundation of his life upon his wealth, and wealth has not been a goal of life for him.

“He admitted that all his wealth has come from God, and he is willing to share it with his fellow beings. He is someone who is as righteous as Abraham, who is described as a friend of God and as the father of the faithful. However, he has been treated as a crook by his own people! What a shame!”

Jesus was challenging the blindness of the people of my city. Light appears dark only to a blind person. My city had gone blind so that someone like Abraham became a crook in their eyes, and the real crooks appeared righteous.

The arrival of Jesus transformed my city. I was no more a crook in my city. They learned to respect me.

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