The Sycamore Tree

 

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. (Luke 19:1-6 ESV).

 

Zacchaeus was a corrupt tax collector in the first-century Jericho. Out of curiosity, he went to hear Jesus. Because of his short stature, he had to climb up a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of the Lord. The sycamore (Ficus sycomorus) is a type of tree growing only in the Jordan Valley and near the Mediterranean coast. The sycamore is pictured as growing in abundance in the shephelah, or “lowland” (cf. 1 Kings 10:27). This is in contrast to cedars which Solomon planted in Jerusalem. The sycamore is not the same as the tree by that name that grows in North America. The sycamore tree belongs to the nettle family, like the mulberry and fig trees. The fruit looks like a fig, but the taste is unpleasant. A sycamore is a sturdy tree with wide-spreading branches. It has a short trunk with low limbs that allow for ease in climbing.

 

Of particular interest is the fact that a normal fig has soft skin. It is juicy, tasty and sold rather expensively. On the other hand, the fruit of the sycamore tree looks like a fig but its skin is hard. The fruit is inferior to the fig tree and has to be punctured to become edible. The moment a sycamore fruit is pierced, a breath of fresh air enters it and it will ripen into a soft, sweet, juicy fruit, much like a real fig. So while normal figs ripen on their own, a sycamore fruit will not. They require external intervention. The whole scene could not be more picture perfect, the hardened sinner among hardened fruits.

People become hard inwardly because of many reasons: sin (cf. Hebrews 3:13), pride (cf. Daniel 5:20), rebellion (cf. Psalm 95:8), or even religiosity (cf. John 12:40). Zacchaeus had become hard because of his greed and love for money. The good news is that Jesus came to him like a skilled farmer of sycamore trees. He came underneath the branches that Zacchaeus was perched on and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house" (v. 5). Those words flowed out of Jesus' mouth like a double-edged sword and pierced right into the heart of a hardened sinner. The breath of the Holy Spirit entered Zacchaeus and immediately, his heart began to melt and soften. In that moment, he received the unconditional love and acceptance of Christ. Do you need to climb your own sycamore tree?