And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore
tree to see him:
for he was to pass that way.

The sycamine tree of the East is the wild fig tree, and produces fruit
six times a year. But the people of the East despise this fruit, and won't eat
it. Why this is, I do not know, but even if a man has had nothing to eat for
two weeks, he wouldn't want to be seen under the sycamine tree, for fear people
would think that he was gathering the fruit. If a man climbed a sycamine tree,
the people would insult him more. They would say among themselves, "Poor
old Smith must have gone bankrupt overnight. His poverty is so great that he
has lost all self-respect and dignity, to be climbing up in a sycamine tree to gather
the fruit."
So we read in the 19th
chapter of Luke about Zacchaeus climbing up into a sycomore tree to see Jesus
when he passed that way, because he was little of stature. Why didn't he get up
on a housetop or a donkey? It is common place for people to go up on the flat
housetops of the East since there are always outside entrances and whenever
important personages pass by everyone goes up to the housetops to be able to
see him or many people get up on a camel or donkey. Since Zacchaeus was a rich
man and could have easily afforded to do this, why did he climb a tree instead?
The answer is that Zacchaeus was a rich Pharisee, who when he heard that Jesus
was passing by, thought to himself, "I ought to humble myself. If I get up
into the sycomore tree, people will despise me, but Jesus will see my humility
and will see me up there when He passes."
When Jesus came by, He saw
Zacchaeus there and called to him. He knew how greatly he had humbled himself
by climbing up in that tree. Jesus once said [Matt.18:4], "Whosoever
therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in
the kingdom of heaven." Jesus knew that here was one man who had emptied
himself of all pride, and had made room for Him in his heart, because "the
LORD looketh on the heart"[I Samuel 16:7]. Zacchaeus had gotten rid of all
his superiority complexes and pride; he knew what the people would say about
him, but he did not care.
Although the sycamine tree is a
small tree, it has enormous, innumerable roots. There are so many roots spread
far and wide and deep, that it is impossible to pluck a sycamine tree with all
its roots with any modern gadgets, without leaving some of the roots behind,
But with faith the size of a mustard seed, it is possible to perform two
miracles: first to pluck the sycamine tree with all its roots; and second, to
plunge it into the sea.
Luke 17:5, 6
And the apostles said unto the Lord, increase our
faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might
say unto this sycamine tree, be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou
planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
One act
of faith, as of a mustard seed, will perform two impossible things. This is
possible for any of us, when we have the faith.
Many believers will say,
"I do not have that much faith." But, a believer must never say that,
otherwise, how was this believer saved? The only way to be saved is to be saved
by faith. When you have enough faith to be saved, which is the first miracle,
then you have faith enough to solve all of your problems also. This faith is
still in you, because the Christ that you have received by faith is still in
you. This is the truth that Jesus was telling the disciples, that you don't
need an increase of faith, because if you have only a small faith, you can
still say to the sycamine tree to be plucked up and it will obey you. With the
faith that the believer has RIGHT NOW, he can do the seemingly impossible.
So many of us talk and
complain about our problems, but do we have as many problems as the sycamine
tree has roots? So many of us think that our problems are too numerous for the
Lord to solve. But let us look at the sycamine roots, thousands of them: some
as thick as my thumb, others as thin as my hair; some are deep, very deep, but
by faith you can pluck them all up. So, no matter how big a debt you have, no
matter how big a cancer you have or what the doctors have told you about it; no
matter how rude your children are; no matter how many enemies you have or how
little money you have, you can' t have as many problems as a sycamine tree has
roots! If we have a little faith we can tell our problems, "Be thou
plucked up in the name of Jesus Christ", and they will be plucked up and
solved in his name! God Bless You.
Bishop K.C. Pillai, D.D.