He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."
Zacchaeus is a classic study in conversion from Scrooge, who would sell his own grandmother for a nickel, to generous philanthropist; it’s a change so fundamental in character that the difference in his life before and after meeting Jesus is like night and day. A woman testified to the transformation in her life that had resulted through her experience in conversion. She declared, "I’m so glad I got religion. I have an uncle I used to hate so much I vowed I’d never go to his funeral. But now, why, I’d be happy to go to it any time." [1]
I think there would have been any number of volunteers to attend Zacchaeus’ funeral (especially the celebration tailgate party afterward!). Yet the end of the account has Jesus holding Zach¨ up to the listening religious crowd as the recipient of God’s salvation.
Wow - last week we had a tax collector begging for mercy in the temple; now we have the head of the IRS turning his life over to Jesus. Jesus certainly liked a story with a twist! And the revival amongst the tax collectors certainly is a twist!
This morning we are going to trace this transformation from black sheep to beloved lamb. As we look at what changed the chief tax collector into a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, we will also encounter a few principles that should help us cultivate a lifestyle that displays prayers with feet; that’s the kind of prayer where what we pray for is what we are willing to let God use us to do. You put feet to your prayers! Notice first of all the
Tracks of the Tax Collector’s Dead Life
He was the chief tax collector. That means for all purposes that, among all the hated renegades who took their Jewish brothers’ money to satisfy the great burden of Roman tax demands, Zacchaeus was the baddest of the bad! He was in charge of bad! And he was hated!
Zacchaeus had made a decision to get wealthy; it obviously made no difference to him at the outset that his decision would mean he would cheat the poor and oppress those who were already beaten down. His life was more than just materialistically-based; he was mean! As such, Zacchaeus was hated in his own country. He was a necessary evil to the Romans. The man had only money to comfort him.
Now, as mean and calculatingly-cold as this legal robber might be, the person most-injured was Zacchaeus himself. God created us for relationship with Himself, and with each other. Zacchaeus’ actions had cut himself off from everyone who knew him. His love of money (or coveting) made him an enemy of his neighbors, and a sinner before God. That is a tangle that can’t last long.
I read a story of a lady in Tennessee who was preparing to paint her back porch. In order to protect the floor, all around the room, she laid-down a strip of Scotch tape-the kind with adhesive on both sides. It was her plan to stretch a drop cloth over the floor and secure it with the tape. Having succeeded in placing the tape around the entire surface, she went back inside the house to get a drop cloth.
When she got back all the carefully placed tape was gone. As she was surveying the situation and mulling over her predicament, she noticed something moving in her back yard. It was a snake. It was hopelessly tangled in a large ball of Scotch tape. The snake had crawled up on the back porch and had eased itself onto that tape with the adhesive on both sides. Sensing that the tape was sticking to its skin, the snake obviously put up a terrible struggle. In doing so it pulled every bit of tape from the floor. The harder it fought, the more hopelessly it became entangled in its cellophane prison until now it was totally captive.
Some people are like that poor snake; they make a serious mistake. Then, rather than calmly analyzing their situation and correcting their course, they react impulsively. Soon their lives are like that snake’s. The more they struggle, the more entangled they have become until eventually they are totally immobilized psychologically, emotionally and spiritually. [2]
Such was the course of the decision Zacchaeus had made; money was his roll of Scotch tape, and it had stuck to him until it swallowed him up. Life was dead for the rich crook!
Enter the teacher/healer from Galilee, and the deadness of Zacchaeus’ life turned into a
Thirst for the Desired Life
Zacchaeus was ready for a change. In Luke’s account it says that when Jesus called him by name he hurried down out of that tree and joyfully welcomed Jesus into his home. What a contrast from another rich man that Jesus had encountered; Jesus told him to do what Zacchaeus eventually did, but the rich young ruler went away sadly because he had to choose between spiritual health and worldly wealth.
Why was this Zacchaeus so ready for a change? It was probably due to the deadness of his life, compared to the life he saw in Jesus. His life was no prize; he had a great balance sheet, but no warmth.
When Jesus called up the sycamore tree, Zacchaeus, come on down; I’m your house guest today, the little tax collector couldn’t believe his ears. Nobody in years wanted to visit at his house. Nobody wanted to do lunch¨ with him. Zacchaeus was a dirty word among respectable Jews. Now, here is the most winsome character in the entire world just itching to hang-out with him.
Jesus said he came to seek and save the lost. Today we would phrase that as Jesus values people, all peopleKenough to die for them! Jesus came to seek out and bless even the worst, most discardable dregs of humanity with the salvation of God. That would create a thirst for a new life in even the richest tax collector. And so, Zacchaeus was led to the point ofK
Trust that Made Life’s Greatest Decision
Last week’s account of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector caused us to notice that they both stood¨. One stood in humility, the other in self-righteous arrogance. The tax collector asked for mercy; the Pharisee simply announced he was good enough. Standing before God is the issue!
Now we see another man standing V another tax collector; he is the worst of the worst. And he is standing before Jesus, the God-Man, who is holding out the hand of invitation to a new life.
How does this man stand¨?
It is the same word stood¨. But from the context it isn’t hard to see that he is announcing to Jesus, and anyone who will hear, that he is taking a stand. The tax collector calls Jesus Lord¨. The New Testament word is kurios¨ and it means supreme authority¨.
The man standsKhaving decided to follow Christ as Lord and Savior. He punctuates his change of attitude with a change in actions; he announces that he will give half of what he owns to the poorKthe very people he walked upon to get rich. He will also give back four-times what he got by cheating people.
The man was a tax collector, but as a Jew he also would’ve been familiar with what the Old Testament said about making restitution when you’ve cheated someone:
When someone steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, the thief shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. Exodus 22:1 (NRSV)
Not too many years ago newspapers carried the story of Al Johnson, a Kansas man who came to faith in Jesus Christ. What made his story remarkable was not his conversion, but the fact that as a result of his newfound faith in Christ, he confessed to a bank robbery he had participated in when he was nineteen years old. Because the statute of limitations on the case had run out, Johnson could not be prosecuted for the offense. Still, he believed his relationship with Christ demanded a confession. And he even voluntarily repaid his share of the stolen money! [3]
This is what it means that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He came to restore everything that is right with relationships between man and God, and man and man!
Application
Decision There comes a time, an opportunity for each of us to put an end to the dead life; like Zacchaeus we must decide what we desire, what we’re thirsting-for in life. We must decide who we are going to trustKeither Christ or trust in self.
There’s an old story about a fisherman who was very successful. Every morning he went out on the lake in a small boat and when he returned a couple of hours later, his boat was loaded down with fish. He never failed. People wondered how he did it, even when others were not catching anything at all. He always came in with his boat just overflowing with fish.
One morning a stranger showed up with his fishing tackle and said, "Mind if I go fishing with you this morning?" "No," said the fisherman. "Just hop in and we’ll go over to a little cove where I always have good luck."
The man hopped in the boat and off they headed across the lake until they came to a small cove. The old fisherman stopped the boat and cut off the motor. He reached over in his tackle box and took out a red stick of dynamite. He lit the fuse and held it for a moment as the fuse burned down. Then at the last moment he tossed it in the water and there was a tremendous explosion. Fish were everywhere on the water. He picked up his net and began scooping up the fish.
After watching this for a moment the stranger reached in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Opening it up, he showed a badge and said, "I’m a game warden and you are under arrest." The old fisherman simply reached over into his box and pulled out another stick of dynamite. He lit it and held it as the fuse burned down. Then, he tossed it to the game warden and said, "Now, are you going to just sit there or are you going to fish?" [4]
There comes a time when we all have to decide - who we’re going to be and what we’re going to do! That was true for the game warden and that was true for Zacchaeus. He had a crucial decision to make - and it would change his life forever.
It is also true for you and me; we must all decide for Christ. Or if we decide like the rich young ruler, to just walk away; we are deciding against Christ, and we will be sad like he was, and is eternally!
Heart and Head knowledge are insufficient.
It is the change of our will, and therefore our actions, which is what Christ is after. When we simply know the details of Christian commitment, and even agree with those detailsKwe are no more saved from the old life than the custodian at the concert hall is a pianist because he’s seen and picked up the artist’s music pages.
There comes a time when belief must become behavior for it to be valid. There must be a definite commitment to Christ, like Zacchaeus, who stood and declared! James said you can think about this all day long, but if you don’t act upon your belief, you’ll wind up like a man who looks in the mirror, walks away and forgets what he looked at.
You can think about Christianity until the cows come home. That will not bring you into the family of God. My friends, answer these three questions in your heart, and then you will know if you have truly made the leap from empty belief to genuine faith, truly converted:
1Am I saved; have I truly committed my life to Him?
2Am I serious; am I living a life of serious discipleship?
3.Am I a servant; do I look at and treat others as I would Jesus?
These are the questions that put feet to our prayers!
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endnotes
1] (Autoillustrator.com, A CURE FOR HATRED)
2] King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
3] Luke 18:23
4] Today in the Word, April, 1989, p. 13.
5] Bob Younts, First United Methodist Church of Moore
