The owner of a fitness center was offering $1,000 to anyone who was stronger than he was. He would squeeze a lemon dry, and then hand the lemon to anyone who wished to challenge him. Anyone who could squeeze just one more drop out would win the money.
Many strong people tried, but nobody could do it.
One day a puny little guy came in to try it. After the laughter died down, the owner grabbed a lemon and squeezed it dry. Then he handed skin to the little man.
The laughter stopped as the man squeezed several drops out of the lemon. As the crowd cheered, the manager paid the prize money and asked the little guy what he did for a living.
The man replied, “I work for the IRS.”
Our scripture introduces a little man who had learned to squeeze every last drop of revenue from taxpayers. But when Jesus found him up a tree, his attitude toward money completely changed.
Zaccheus was a tax collector and for the Jews there was no one more despicable or more hated.
First of all, even though he was a Jew, he worked for the Roman imperialists, collecting taxes for them. That position alone generated the kind of hatred we hear about in Iraq where Iraqis who work for the Americans have been targeted for attack.
Second, Zaccheus practiced fraud and extortion. In those days, tax bills were not neatly printed out and made public. People didn’t know how much tax others were paying. The Romans assessed a district at a certain figure and tax collectors could bid to get the job. The Romans didn’t care how much the collector got as long as the government got its share. These tax collectors were not nice. They would do whatever it took to get their money.
Third, Jewish tax collectors were always in contact with Gentiles, so they were ritually unclean. They could not worship at the synagogue or even put money in the offering because their money was tainted. In the eyes of religious Jews these guys were scumbags, at the very bottom of humanity, like prostitutes, drug dealers, child molesters.
In short, a man like Zaccheus, even though a Jew, did not and could not fit into the religious family. He could never belong. He was an outcast pure and simple. No one in his right mind would talk with him, eat with him, or invite him to church. No one, that is, except Jesus.
Luke is the only writer who includes this story about two men, both on a mission – Jesus and Zaccheus.
On the one hand we have Jesus who was on a journey.
• In 18:31 Jesus tells his disciples that he is headed toward Jerusalem to complete his mission.
• In 18:35 Jesus approaches Jericho.
• In 19:1 Jesus enters Jericho and is passing through it.
• In 19:4 we read that Jesus would pass that way.
• And there are other references to Jesus’ journey.
Jesus was on a mission, introducing the kingdom of God to the blind, the lame, the poor and the rich. And he was passing through Jericho. He knew this world was not his home; he was just passing through. He would not build a winter palace in Jericho like King Herod had. He wouldn’t own any of Jericho’s famous rose gardens or dates or balsam (the stuff that gave perfume its aroma). Nor would he have a large bank account in the Bank of Jericho.
But for a tax collector like Zaccheus it was a different story. Jericho was a wealthy city, located at the crossroads of international trade and travel. And Zaccheus profited from those circumstances greatly because of his occupation. But that day he too was on a mission. He lived there, but did not really belong. He was financially rich, but spiritually bankrupt. And no matter how long and hard he may have tried to measure up to God’s standard, he came up short. His money got in the way. Everyone knew that he was vertically challenged, but only he and Jesus knew about his impoverished and shriveled soul. He was a living demonstration of Rom 3:23, that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” No one can measure up to God’s standard. Everyone falls short, Zaccheus and you and me included. And he needed to see Jesus.
His desperation showed that day as he ran alongside the crowd to find a tree to climb. In Jesus’ day, dignified men didn’t run in public or climb trees. Dignified men didn’t want to appear as little children. But here he was acting like a child. Remember, Jesus said, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” Lu 18:17 And that day, Zaccheus didn’t care.
I wonder where he heard about Jesus. Maybe he got the word through the local tax collectors association or from the personal experience of another tax collector. In Luke 5:27 we read about Levi, a tax collector whom Jesus called. In 5:29 we see that Levi threw a great banquet for Jesus and invited lots of tax collectors. Maybe that is the first time Zaccheus began to realize that he didn’t have to live such a lonely, alienated, deceitful life. Levi (or Matthew), went on to be one of Jesus’ 12 disciples. But Zaccheus evidently kept on working as a blind slave to financial gain. As the chief tax collector, he had made it to the top of the pile but without personal satisfaction.
Then we see in his story that Jesus entered his life and everything changed.
You know the story. Maybe you know the song. Let’s look at some lessons we can take from the story of Zaccheus.
1. You may need to go out on a limb to meet Jesus. I have already mentioned the desperation Zaccheus must have felt. He knew something was wrong. He knew that the love of money controlled him. He knew that Jesus could provide a better way and that he needed to meet Jesus. He was willing to take steps that to others might look silly or even risky. We hear of stories of people in other parts of the world who have risked their lives to get a Bible or to meet another Christian. Some of you may have risked ridicule or loss of friendship because you started reading the Bible, or joining a Bible study, or attending church. You may not need to climb a tree, but you may need to go out on a limb to learn what Jesus wants for you.
2. Be ready to hear Jesus call your name. We live in a world with a lot of stuff and some of it makes so much noise we can’t hear each other, let alone hear the voice of Jesus. Not all of the noise is the kind we hear with our ears. Sometime when you are driving or shopping, take a moment to check on what catches your attention. It may be colorful photos, large printed posters, or moving marquees. The commercial world is begging us to turn our eyes toward things to buy. I’m one who thinks we need opportunities for silence and meditation, at least a few moments away from the din and clatter of our materialistic world. Rev. 3:20 says, “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking;; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you and you with me.” Zaccheus provides a lesson for us. He had put himself in a place where Jesus could find him. And he heard his voice.
3. Invite others along on your spiritual journey. Remember that the mission of Jesus was to introduce people to the Kingdom of God. “I must stay at your house,” Jesus told Zaccheus. Recall that Matthew, the tax collector, threw a banquet. Zaccheus made an announcement. Your spiritual journey is not meant to be a lonely one. You are to bring others with you. Engage them in conversation. Invite them to Sunday school. Tell them a story from church. Share a personal experience. Let them know they are welcome to walk the path of righteousness, peace and harmony with you. Jesus did it. Matthew did it. You can do it.
4. Let Jesus break the hold money has on you. As you read this story, note how the action in the story slows down in v.8. Beginning with verse 1, the story moves along rapidly: Jesus enters Jericho. Zaccheus climbs a tree. Jesus calls Zaccheus. Zaccheus hurries down and welcomes Jesus. Then we read, “Zaccheus STOOD there.” No movement. Was he stunned? Was he thinking? Was he determined to take a stand? What was going on? Luke just says he stood there. And then he spoke and he said something you would never expect a tax collector to say, that he was going to give half of his possessions to the poor.
We have already been told he was rich. Where did his concern for the poor suddenly come from? The only thing that has happened between v.2 and v. 8 is that he met Jesus. If you read the book of Luke, you will see that Jesus spoke often about greed and a materialistic mindset. He recognized how easy it is to let money control everything you do. It happened to Zaccheus. It can happen to you.
I once heard of a man who was baptized and when he went down into the water he held his wallet over his head. He was willing to baptize everything but his wallet. It sounds comical, but unfortunately, the humor bites.
Last Sunday’s sermon about the rich man and Lazarus reminds us that wealth and material values can blind us to the needs of others about us. God has not forgotten the poor; but sometimes we do. The dogs that licked the sores didn’t discriminate between rich and poor, but unfortunately sometimes we do.
In a half-dozen stories, Jesus speaks clearly about the control money can have on us. Money can cause us to worry and take our eyes off of God. And the love of money, Scripture says, is the root of all evil.” It can lead us to purchase blindly, without discipline and control. “No one can serve two masters,” Jesus said.
Jesus’ warnings are not just for the rich. If you find yourself thinking more about getting money than about your dependence on God, money has control over you. If you are considering shortcuts to wealth such as gambling or stealing, money has control over you. If you live with the idea that you have to have a certain kind of house or car or clothes to show who you are, money has control over you. If you are thinking about using your tithe to fulfill a material desire, money has control over you. The love of money can lead to destruction.
Let Jesus break the hold money has on you so that the center of gravity shifts from you to the needs of people about you. The rich man who came to Jesus went away sorrowfully because he was unwilling to let Jesus change him.
5. Be honest in all your dealings. Yesterday I asked the men at breakfast what Zaccheus and Jesus talked about over lunch. One said they must have talked about honesty and I think he is right. Today all around us we hear about dishonesty in the use of money. We hear of workers who steal things from company offices, rationalizing that they don’t get paid enough anyway. All of us pay higher prices at stores because of shoplifting. We hear of kickbacks for government officials, of embezzlement, of borrowing money with no intention of paying it back, of outright lies. Last week someone told me of a woman in our neighborhood who claimed that her mother had died. She wanted to find someone to take pity on her financial plight. When I heard it, I said, “I just talked with her mother last night.”
Zaccheus had a lot of backtracking to do. And because of his gratitude for his salvation, he went beyond what anyone expected. The law only required the full amount plus one-fifth. Zaccheus said he would pay back anyone he had defrauded, not just the amount he owed, but four times as much. He knew what he had to do to make things right between himself and God, between himself and his customers. He could not claim to be a follower of Jesus and live like a typical tax collector.
If you have dishonest dealings in your past, make the necessary restitution. Take care of your obligations because of your gratitude to God. And let Jesus guide you so that from now on you are honest in all your dealings.
6. Experience the joy of salvation. We read in v. 6 that Zaccheus welcomed Jesus gladly. Before Jesus left he said, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.” Everyone who knew Zaccheus knew he did not belong to God’s people, not because of what he believed, but because of what he did. They treated him like a social leper. He could not associate with them. He could not enter their houses. He could not go to the temple. Can you imagine how lonely he must have been? As far as they were concerned Zaccheus did not and could not belong to the people of God. He was a marked man. But Jesus accepted Zaccheus in spite of what he had been and the barriers to fellowship were broken down. He became a new man, living in God’s grace, in the company of the committed. Salvation is more than what happens in the heart. It is also what happens in the community of faith where walls are broken down and people become accountable to each other under God. And according to Luke 15:10, we know that the joy of salvation rings through the streets of heaven when a sinner repents.
Zaccheus may have started out as a little man with a shriveled up soul, but Jesus transformed him into a man with a big heart, a heart full of gratitude, generosity, and joy because of God’s gift of salvation. And that is what he wants to do for each of us, to help us get our lives in order –whether it’s in finances, relationships, or other issues, so we can look each other in the eye and open ourselves up to Jesus.
We are going to take a few moments as we hear quiet music, to face Jesus as Zaccheus did, to consider what we might have to say to him and he to us. And if there is something he is telling you to do, we’ve left a space on the bulletin where you can write it down and take it home.
