If you are my age
or older and you grew up going to Sunday school you surely know the song about
Zacchaeus. I’d sing it to you, but you
don’t want me to do that:
Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he.
He sat up in a sycamore tree, the Lord he wanted to see.
And when the Savior passed that way he looked up in the tree.
And said, “Zacchaeus, you come down!
For I’m coming to your house today.
For I’m coming to your house today.
Zacchaeus was a wee little man, but a happy man was he.
For he had seen the Lord that day
And a happy man was he.
And a very happy man was he.
It’s a cute song
and it helps us remember something about this short man in the Bible and
something about how Jesus calls people.
The song,
however, is only the second half the story.
Today we want to look at both halves.
The first half is the beginning of our gospel reading. There we meet, “a certain ruler.”
And if it helps
us understand that we’re to interpret these two stories in parallel, notice the
same word is used of Zacchaeus, though our English translations miss it. In Greek Zacchaeus is not called a “chief”
tax collector, but a “ruling” tax collector – just like the “certain ruler” of
the previous chapter. The “certain
ruler” is not given a name. Zacchaeus,
of course, is named.
The certain ruler
approaches Jesus and asks him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal
life?”
How about
Zacchaeus? He doesn’t approach Jesus at
all. He knows he can’t even see Jesus so
he does a very unmanly thing – he climbs a tree. And from up there Jesus calls out to him.
The stature of
Zacchaeus is more than just a bit of trivia about him. It also carries symbolic significance. He was short, not very manly, and not very
well received in polite society. The
“certain ruler” was surely a highly desired guest in one’s home.
The “certain
ruler” approaches Jesus with what seems like a genuine question at first, but
we pretty quickly realize it’s more of a business calculation; and it drips
with arrogance. “Good Teacher, what must
I do to inherit eternal life?”
This man’s heart
is not in it. He’s asking for a
strategy. He’s asking Jesus about
eternal life with the same calculations I use when I have to buy a car. Car salesmen don’t particularly like selling
to me. Oh, I’m hardly a tough
negotiator, I’m just a boring customer.
I know what I need from a vehicle and I do research ahead of time. I research makes and models, read reviews,
compare gas mileage and overall ownership costs. I put almost no emotion into car buying at
all. Then, based on my research I look
for what I think will suit me best. I
never walk into a dealership and say, “Show me what you have.” More often than not I search a dealer’s
inventory, select the exact car I want to look out, and then make an
appointment to take a look at it. If I
like it I buy it. If not, I’m not
interested in looking around. Again, I’m
a boring customer.
The ruler knows
his assets and his needs. He’s done his
research. He’s followed the commandments
to the letter. He knows how to be righteous
and he lives that way. He knows how to
be on God’s good side. And obviously he
is on God’s good side because his life is good.
He’s rich, he’s prominent, he has it good. Everyone looks to him as a model of
life. You can just imagine a crowd
around listening with anticipation as to what advice the “good teacher” will
give to this fine, upstanding citizen.
Then there’s
Zacchaeus, a grown man up in a tree. And
why is he a grown man up in a tree?
Because a famous man is going to walk by and he wants to get a peek at
him. But no one respects Zacchaeus
enough to give him a space in the front of the crowd.
You know how at parades little kids
are often allowed to sit or stand up front because they can’t see over the
adults. No one complains if a little kid
wants to see. They surely don’t get
shouldered out of the way. But Zacchaeus
was not a cute little kid. He was a
grown man. He was a scoundrel, a
traitor. He was not only a tax
collector, but he was a ruling tax collector.
And while we don’t like the IRS in this nation it is nothing to what
they thought of tax agents in those days.
At least the IRS is of our own government. How would it feel, however, if Mexico
conquered the United States, and then they hired some disloyal American
citizens to be tax collectors? The taxes
were then used to pay for the armies that continued to occupy us.
When the Romans conquered and then
occupied a nation they would use the earnings of that nation to pay for the
armies that perpetuated the occupation.
Zacchaeus was in no position to go to Jesus
and say, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” He knew he was the filth of the earth, a
traitor to his own people. He was hated
and had no place in polite society.
Jesus gives the “certain ruler” some
advice, “Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you
will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
The ruler asked for the terms of a
business deal to get into heaven. Jesus
gave it to him – sell your stuff and give the money to the poor.
This is way more than a call for
charity. If this ruler gave what he had
to his wealthy friends they would feel indebted to him. It would still be a business transaction and
while he might be considered an odd ball he would still live in successful
society. But if he gave his money to the
poor – well, what’s the advantage to that.
There is none!
The ruler would be powerless,
friendless; and most importantly, helpless.
Heaven is not accomplished through a
business deal. Heaven is gifted through
a relationship of trust with God.
Now look carefully at the Zacchaeus
story. Does Jesus anywhere criticize
Zacchaeus? Nope. He just says that he wants to stay at his
house. Does Jesus tell Zacchaeus, “Now
you know most of what you have you have acquired by exploiting the taxation
system of the Romans. You need to stop
being a disgrace to you own people and you need to stop exploiting
others”? Nope.
Without Jesus saying another word
Zacchaeus volunteers, “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.”
Look also at how Zacchaeus addresses
Jesus. Does he call him, “Good
Teacher”? Is Zacchaeus approaching Jesus
as if he intends to begin a formal student/teacher relationship? No. He
calls Jesus “Lord” right off the bat.
Jesus then says, “Today salvation has
come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.”
The “certain ruler” wanted a business
partnership for his own gain. Zacchaeus
wanted a relationship, he wanted to be seen, he wanted to be valued.
Jesus commends Zacchaeus. Of the ruler he says, “How hard it is for
those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” Wealth is the mistaken belief that you can
take care of yourself. Wealth is the lie
of safety. Wealth is the lie that you
can create your own value.
Two rich men: one tall, proud, and
prestigious, one infamous and short. We
leave one delighted. We leave one
heartbroken.
Let’s learn from both that the key is
relationship with God, not strategies and business transactions. Strategies and business transactions are fine
for buying a car or leveraging in a corporate buyout, but they have little in
the way of relationship with God. And whether
we are short or tall, let us be delighted when we see our Lord at work, knowing
that he is the key to salvation.
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