May 13, 1981, Mehmet Ali Agca attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II. About two and a half later after the Pope’s recovery he visited Agca in prison and extended forgiveness to the man. The two men sat in the corner of a prison cell and had a private talk for twenty-one minutes. In 2007, it is said that Agca converted to Christianity.
Can we imagine a greater act of love—showing forgiveness to one who attempted to take your life?
Pope John Paul’s visit to one who tried to kill him, is reminiscent of Jesus’ visit to a notorious sinner (Luke 19:1-10).
Jesus was passing through Jericho and a short man by the name of Zacchaeus climbed a tree so that he could get a glimpse at Jesus. To everyone’s surprise and to some’s disgust, Jesus made an unusual move. When he reached the sycamore tree on which Zacchaeus sat, Jesus look up and said:
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.”
An archenemy of Israel, Zacchaeus was a wealthy man, a chief tax collector, and regarded as a “sinner” by the people. He became wealthy, we presume, by bilking his own people of unjust taxes. Siding with the Roman governor, he was a persecutor of his own people. If a vote were taken on whose house Jesus would visit, the little man from Jericho would have been last on the list. It was unthinkable that a devout Jew would even come near the house of Zacchaeus. And yet Jesus interrupted his trip so that he could spend time at the tax collector’s house.
“When they saw this, they began to grumble, saying, ‘He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.’”
The people were angry that Jesus would step over accepted boundaries.
Just as we do not know the contents of the talk Pope John Paul II had with Agca, so we do not know what Jesus and Zacchaeus talked about. In any case we know the results of this talk.
“Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I shall repay it four times over.”
What a turn-around in life! This wealthy man, after encountering Jesus, surrendered his money as an act of repentance. He did all he could to make amends for his sins.
Jesus commented:
“Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.”
In this act of mercy Jesus demonstrated dramatically the depths of the Father’s love. By taking the person who least deserved salvation and setting him free, Jesus gives us a glimpse into how much the Father wants to free even the worst of sinners.
We sometimes want to hide, deny, or minimize our sins, because we doubt the mercy of God and his love for us. Jesus, by forgiving Zacchaeus, sends out such a powerful message to all of us. There is no sin so terrible that God does not want to forgive.
Is Jesus looking at each of us today saying “Come down quickly from your tree of pride, for today I want to stay at your house.” Imagine what it is like to have Jesus call our names and visit our hearts. Are we as eager as Zacchaeus to welcome him and invite him in?
