Based on Luke 19:1-10
Contrary to what many people think, Jesus was not against riches, especially when they were put to good use. Now, whenever the subject ofwealth and affluence is mentioned in the Bible, many people almostautomatically remember the sad story of the rich young ruler who went awaysorrowfully after having rejected Jesus' admonition that he share hisriches with the poor. (Luke 18:18-25) But have you ever heard about Jesus'encounter with a certain wealthy public servant of Jericho?
Zacchaeus, the man in our story, was quite an infamous character,especially when contrasted with the many devoutly religious figures whowalked the streets of Jericho, "the city of priests".
He was the wealthy head of a large office of government taxcollectors, and to the Jews, tax collectors or publicans, as they werecalled, were the absolute LOWEST of the low, only to be compared withcommon prostitutes. Well known for being cheaters, extortionists, androbbers of the poor, these men were also considered as traitors to theirbrethren, since, though they themselves were Jews, they worked for themuch-hated government of Rome.
Here was a man with governmental authority to bleed from thepeople as much tribute as possible, and anything he could gouge from themabove that went straight into his own pocket.
But one day something happened that completely changed all thisfor Zacchaeus. He had already heard all about Jesus and the many miracleswhich He'd performed, yet even more fascinating was the fact that, likehimself, Jesus ALSO had a bad reputation, and was known to be a friend ofpublicans and sinners. In fact, one of Jesus' Own disciples, Matthew, hadone time been a tax collector in Nazareth! (Matthew 9:9-13)
For some time Zacchaeus had wanted to meet the"Carpenter-turned-Prophet". Often he wondered, "How can a man supposedly soreligious be a friend of people like myself, when the priests and even manypeople of my city practically spit at the mention of my name? Would Jesusbe MY friend TOO?", he wondered. He had no real friends outside of hisimmediate family, and more recently he'd begun to feel quite dissatisfied.He'd begun to realise that it took much more than wealth to bring truewarmth and satisfaction. After all, he had practically everything moneycould buy, a fine home and a stable position, but something wasmissing. -- Exactly what, he wasn't sure.
Then one day Jesus passed through Jericho. When Zacchaeus heardthat He was in town, he dropped everything, closed up his office, andhurried off to see for himself. A large crowd with Jesus in their midst,was already moving slowly down the road, but poor Zacchaeus was so short hecouldn't see a thing. Quickly he spotted a large sycamore tree up ahead ofthe crowd. As Jesus passed by, maybe he could see him from that tree.Completely forgetting about what people would think of him, Zacchaeus ranpast the crowd and scurried up into the tree.
When Jesus finally reached the tree where Zacchaeus was, all of asudden He turned & looked up searchingly. Drawing near and looking straightup at Zacchaeus, Jesus called, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down. I must stayat your house today!"
"Wha...what did He say?" Zacchaeus was shocked! "He called me bymy name! He wants to stay at MY house?" As Zacchaeus slid down from thetree, it was hard to believe that there hadn't been some sort of mistake.How could Jesus have known his name? But as soon as he realised that Jesuswas serious, he answered, "Why, this is an HONOR! Please DO come to myhouse! You're so very welcome!" And Zacchaeus joyfully escorted Jesus tohis home.
By the time they arrived, the crowd that followed stood outsidemurmuring indignantly, saying, "How can this be! Jesus has gone to staywith a man who is a SINNER and a PUBLICAN!" They were ashamed to the pointof disgust, thinking, "How could He, Jesus, come to our fair city, a centerfor religious training, and yet choose to lodge with such a scoundrel asthat?" But Jesus knew exactly what He was doing. He had looked beyondZacchaeus' outward appearance to see the desperate hunger and emptiness forlove and fulfilment within his heart.
In that one moving meeting with Jesus, Zacchaeus had found theanswer! NOW wealth and possessions were not important except to give themto others. Excitedly, Zacchaeus declared, "Jesus, right here and now I wantYou to know that I've made up my mind! I am going to give to the poor onehalf of all that I own! And to make amends for those whom I have cheated ortaken advantage of, I promise to restore unto them four times more than Itook from them!" What an amazing commitment, considering that that sum musthave been very large!
Here was a man who'd lived luxuriously and selfishly all of hislife, but who, after meeting Jesus and hearing the Words He shared, hadexperienced a dramatic change! Suddenly, for the first time in his entirelife, he felt that he understood the true meaning of love and giving.
Then Jesus exclaimed, within earshot of the grumbling crowdoutside, "Today salvation has come to this house! For truly the Son of Mancame to seek and to save that which was lost!" It didn't matter how badZacchaeus had been BEFORE, the Lord's Love was MORE than enough to FORGIVE.In fact, there was no mention recorded of Jesus' having to bring up all ofZacchaeus' sins, because Zacchaeus had already shown the tangible fruit ofrepentance by putting his love into action. He had accepted Jesus into hisheart and life and home and had become a follower of Jesus' example andteaching. He had become a new-born child of the Kingdom of God!
This was the beginning of an entirely new life for Zacchaeus! Nolonger would he be indifferent to the people and the World around him. Now,instead of treating others as mere opportunities for gain, he was going totake a personal interest in using his wealth as a means of helping theneedy. And because he "received the Lord joyfully", his good testimony hasechoed down through the ages as an example of what God can do with a manwho surrenders his will to Him! He had found that giving, instead of beingpainful, brought happiness and satisfaction! He was learning the truth ofJesus' Words: "Give and it shall be given you, heaped up, shaken togetherand running over!" (Luke 6:38)
Points to remember from "Salvation for a Swindler!"
You can never be too BAD for Jesus, only too GOOD! Jesus gotalong much better with people who KNEW they were SINNERS than He did withthe self-righteous and ultra high-minded, religious folks who thought theywere so GOOD! "And Jesus said to the priests in the Temple, 'I tell youthat the tax collectors and prostitutes will go into the Kingdom of Godbefore you! For John (the Baptist) showed you the true way ofrighteousness, and YOU did not repent and believe, but the tax collectorsand prostitutes did!'" (Matthew 21:31,32) Jesus had quite a few rich friends who were supporters & membersof the Kingdom of God. Take, for example, Joseph of Arimethea andNicodemus, both well-to-do members of the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of theJewish church; The Centurion of Capernaum, a top officer in the Romangovernment, whose servant Jesus healed. Then there was Joanna, who wentabout with Jesus & who was the wife of King Herod's steward & lived in theroyal palace. And what about Martha, Mary & Lazarus who were among thewealthy families around Jerusalem! (See John 12:1-8.)Although some of Jesus' disciples were from humbler classes, Peter,James, John, Andrew, & Matthew had been established businessmen. But onething is for sure, they placed not only their money, but their very LIVESin service to the Lord & His urgent cause of winning the World for Love! If YOU can't be a disciple, then you can SUPPORT the ones whoARE! "And you shall receive your REWARD!" (Matthew 10:40-42) Although Jesusdidn't TELL Zacchaeus to abandon his home & money, it is obvious thatthrough his conversion to Love, instead of "laying up treasures on Earth",he began to put his resources to good use by helping those in need.