Old Testament
Psalm 94:20-23
20 Shall the throne of wickedness have fellowship with you, which brings about mischief by statute?
21 They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.
22 But the LORD has been my high tower, my God, the rock of my refuge.
23 He has brought on them their own iniquity, and will cut them off in their own wickedness. The LORD, our God, will cut them off.
New Testament
Luke 19:1-10
1 He entered and was passing through Jericho.
2 There was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.
3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, and couldn’t because of the crowd, because he was short.
4 He ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was going to pass that way.
5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”
6 He hurried, came down, and received him joyfully.
7 When they saw it, they all murmured, saying, “He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner.”
8 Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Psalm 94 asks a fierce question: can a “throne of destruction” be allied with God, a seat that turns mischief into law? The psalmist knows the particular horror of corruption: not merely personal sin, but wrongdoing given official cover. When injustice hides behind procedures, people are crushed with a shrug.
We should not be naive. Corruption is not solved by one conversion story. It requires accountability, law, and courage. Yet Luke insists that the gospel is not irrelevant to public sin. Christ enters houses, hearts, and economic patterns.
Then Luke introduces Zacchaeus, a rich chief tax collector. He is a man who has profited from the system’s distortions. Yet Jesus does not begin with a lecture. He begins with presence: “I must stay at your house today.” Grace arrives, and the crooked man starts to straighten. Restitution becomes concrete. Salvation becomes visible.
Lord, judge what is hidden and heal what is broken. Give honesty to officials and courage to investigators, journalists, and inspectors. Protect those who suffer under bribery, extortion, and theft. And where we have benefited from unfairness, teach us repentance that makes amends. Let salvation come near to our streets and systems, so that the poor are not devoured and the powerful are not excused.