“You Say You Are Righteous — But the Crowd Murmured”
A homily on Luke 19:1–10, the sin of moral certainty, and judgment upon dehumanizing power
by Joseph Michael Martinka
“When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him,
‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for today I must stay at your house.’
And he hurried down and welcomed Him joyfully.”
— Luke 19:5–6
The holy Evangelist tells us that when Jesus chose to enter the house of Zacchaeus, the crowd murmured.
This is not an incidental detail.
The Fathers never treated it as one.
St. John Chrysostom, preaching on this passage, says:
“They did not accuse Him of injustice, but of mercy — for nothing offends the proud so much as grace shown where they would deny it.”
The crowd does not shout.
They do not riot.
They do not oppose Christ openly.
They murmur.
And murmuring is the language of self-justified cruelty. It is the sound of conscience anesthetized by certainty. It is what people do when they believe themselves righteous and therefore exempt from repentance.
“He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
— Luke 19:7
Not: He has denied justice.
Not: He has excused wrongdoing.
But: He has crossed the wrong boundary.
The Sin of the Crowd Is the Sin of Our Time
The Fathers recognized this pattern immediately.
St. Gregory the Theologian warns:
“Nothing is so dangerous as piety armed with certainty, for it believes itself incapable of sin.”
The crowd believes distance equals holiness.
They believe separation is virtue.
They believe God must mirror their exclusions.
This is the same logic we hear today — spoken not in parables, but in policies; not whispered, but broadcast; not murmured, but enforced.
When entire classes of human beings are reduced to labels, when the poor are treated as threats, when the desperate are criminalized, when children are torn from parents in the name of order —
this is not governance; it is sin.
And when Christians defend it, justify it, or remain silent before it, it becomes heresy.
Let Us Speak Without Euphemism
The Scriptures do not speak gently to unjust power.
“Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees,
and the writers who keep writing oppression,
to turn aside the needy from justice.”
— Isaiah 10:1–2
When the machinery of the state is turned against the poor,
when armed force is used not to protect but to terrorize,
when families are fractured and children traumatized —
the prophets are not neutral.
Neither is Christ.
No Human Being Is ‘Illegal’ in the Kingdom of God
This is not sentiment.
This is dogma.
St. Basil the Great thunders:
“The bread you do not use is the bread of the hungry.
The garment hanging in your closet is the garment of the naked.
The shoes you do not wear are the shoes of the barefoot.
The silver you keep buried belongs to the poor.”
And St. John Chrysostom goes further:
“If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the church door, you will not find Him in the chalice.”
The moment Christians adopt language that erases humanity, they have already denied the Incarnation.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
— John 1:14
Not documented flesh.
Not approved flesh.
Human flesh.
Power That Lies Has Already Been Judged
The Fathers were unambiguous: lies in service of authority are mortal sins.
St. Ephrem the Syrian writes:
“Falsehood spoken by rulers is more deadly than the sword, for it destroys the soul of a people.”
When leaders exaggerate threats, spread fear, distort truth, and manufacture enemies to justify cruelty, they are not protecting society — they are corrupting it.
Scripture names this plainly:
“You shall not bear false witness.”
— Exodus 20:16
There is no exemption clause for the powerful.
You Cannot Serve Christ and Dehumanize the Poor
Jesus does not debate whether Zacchaeus deserves mercy.
He restores his dignity before he reforms his life.
“Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.”
— Luke 19:9
St. Gregory of Nyssa comments:
“Christ restores the image first, and from that healing flows repentance.”
This is the opposite of the logic of dehumanization, which says: You may belong after you are fixed.
The Gospel says: You are healed because you belong.
Let the Hypocrite Be Named
Christ Himself gives us the language:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
For you tithe mint and dill and cumin,
and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:
justice and mercy and faith.”
— Matthew 23:23
It is not unchristian to condemn hypocrisy.
It is unchristian not to.
Those who claim the name of Christ while supporting policies that:
- terrorize the poor
- destroy families
- cage children
- justify cruelty with law
- and sanctify violence with Scripture
stand condemned by the Gospel they invoke.
St. John Chrysostom again:
“Do you wish to honor the Body of Christ?
Do not despise Him when naked.
Do not honor Him here in the church with silk vestments
while neglecting Him outside where He suffers cold and nakedness.”
Christian Identity Is Proven by Action, Not Allegiance
Zacchaeus is not saved by belief alone.
“If I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”
— Luke 19:8
This is repentance: repair.
The Didache, the earliest Christian catechism, teaches:
“You shall not turn away from the needy, but share all things with your brother, and say not that they are your own.”
Christianity without justice is fraud.
The Church Must Stop Protecting Power
Historically, the Church’s greatest sins have occurred not when it opposed power, but when it blessed it.
St. Maximus the Confessor lost his tongue and hand rather than submit to imperial theology.
The martyrs did not die for civility.
They died because they refused to call injustice peace.
“We must obey God rather than men.”
— Acts 5:29
Silence before cruelty is not pastoral prudence.
It is betrayal.
“Today” Means Judgment as Well as Mercy
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
— Luke 19:10
He did not come to secure borders of privilege.
He did not come to defend systems of fear.
He did not come to sanctify cruelty with order.
He came to seek.
And any authority — civil or religious — that refuses to seek the lost, but instead hunts them, stands under judgment.
“As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to Me.”
— Matthew 25:40
There is no appeal beyond this court.
The Final Question
The Gospel does not ask whether Zacchaeus was worthy.
It asks whether we will follow Christ into the houses we are told to fear,
or whether we will murmur with the crowd,
clutching our righteousness
while mercy passes us by.
“Let us not love in word or speech, but in deed and in truth.”
— 1 John 3:18
Anything less is not Christianity.
Amen.