The meeting of Jesus and Zacchaeus was not a coincidence, God orchestrated it to create the salvation. As Jesus approached Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus hurriedly went down from the sycamore tree. He was overjoyed because people commonly viewed him merely as a tax collector, looking down at him, but because of Jesus, he began to develop a new perspective in his life.

 

Through Zacchaeus’ perspective, the images of God that were formed in his mind during the encounter was all-good, all-love, all-joy, all-pure, and domesticated pussycat. From an untouchable Olympian figure, Jesus became all-good, all-joy, all-pure, and a domesticated pussycat, or in short, a friend to Zacchaeus that he didn’t expect to have. It led to a huge conversion because Zacchaeus used to belittle himself a lot, having the Napoleonic Complex or the small man’s syndrome.

 

In the same case with Zacchaeus, I, too, suffered from a Napoleonic Complex. Although almost all the time, I suffer from the syndrome, there was a case in my life that became unforgettable to me. When I was in the seventh (7th) Grade, I didn’t expect that I would experience to be a victim of bullying. I was enjoying my life as a starter of Junior High School until someone started to see the flaws I have. At first, they took a lot of attention to my hair because it was very curly, they laughed at it and it really didn’t have much impact to me. However, I did not notice that it would be intimidating once the people around me criticize it the same way.

 

Because of that, I started hating it too. The bullies did not stop criticizing everything I have aside from my hair, so I made an effort to put something good that would be remembered under my name beside from my flaws. I studied well and joined organizations that I thought I was good at. Still, bullies did not stop from criticizing me until I became depressed. Then, I came to realize that I can never control the views that other people have of me, even though I was eager of changing their perceptions.

 

In a positive thought, I didn’t expect that a complete stranger would slowly diminish the Napoleonic Complex I had for myself. He came to me saying that I’m not as low as the bullies thought of me, that I’m not a witch or the other stuff that they called me. He became special to me because he helped me achieve a new perspective for myself, and that is, to continue my good will even though others may view it the wrong way.

God can be many things, he can be someone so high that he would be considered as an Olympian God, a possessor of magical powers that can heal people, a judge to say if the things that you are doing is right or wrong, an all good and an all-powerful God, or even your father. 

I guess that the image of God that was portrayed by Jesus to Zacchaeus is the image of being a possessor of magical powers. Why? Because it was stated in the video that the reason why Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus is because there is news going around that the Messiah, someone who heals people with just a touch of his hands is visiting their city. It could also be that the image of God that was portrayed by Jesus to Zacchaeus would be someone who is within reach. Someone who could connect to you. Since, when Jesus approached Zacchaeus He looked up at him. And for Zacchaeus, it was already a big deal. Since, as far as he can remember, no one ever looked up at him, and when Jesus the almighty God looked up at him, he was deeply moved. 

The image of God that was formed in Zacchaeus’ mind during the encounter is that he is a God whom he can relate with, a God who is within his reach. Since, he is a God who forgives and lets people in. He loves everybody with no exception. “God’s acceptance has no exceptions”. With God, you always have unlimited chances. It means that God’s love for us is not based on what we did in the past, how much bad or good you’ve done to yourself or to others. Based on what Zacchaeus saw in Jesus, he doesn’t have to get it all together, he doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone, he just needs to come back to Jesus. 

Follow up question

: Can you elaborate what you meant by “Zacchaeus is a 'just man without honor'”?

The image of God that was portrayed by Jesus to Zacchaeus in the story was the image of a magician/ miracle worker. Jesus's works of miracle spread like wildfire and eventually the news of His good works, reached Jericho, the kingdom where Zacchaeus lived, and upon hearing those news, he became curious that's why when Jesus arrived at Jericho, he was eager to see who and what the 'miracle worker' looks like.

Zacchaeus's encounter with Jesus made him saw God in a different image; he saw Him in the image of a man, a friend, a father, a brother in shortan image that he is accustomedto which made him feel at ease making it easy for him to approach Jesus.

His encounter with Jesus made him realize that he is not that different of a person from Him; maybe he made some bad decisions in the past but due to his encounter with him, he's ready to make amends for everything he has done in his life