Zacchaeus-“Bad” Man-“Good” Man

Luke 18:18-23

And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

Good man vs bad man. Clearly, as we discussed in an earlier post, Zacchaeus was a “bad” man. Zacc the Weasel! By any standard of then or now, Zacchaeus was the very dregs of humanity, and not deserving of mercy from God or man.

Now, we have the “Cream of the crop.” Just as clearly, the rich  young ruler was “good.” He was the best of the best. He was a ruler, likely a very important man in the local Jewish congregation. Like Saul of Tarsus, he was “a jew of the jews, ” most likely. A good, good man.

I have read and read on this passage and discovered an amazing thing; theologians really like to over complicate things. I have read writings and debates on works righteousness, Lordship salvation, and so many other things my head hurts. I plan to keep this simple, as I think it is actually….simple. What can we determine quickly and simply from this story?

The rich young ruler was a good person. He certainly thought so, at any rate. When Jesus told him what he had to do to enter Heaven, he was pretty quick to respond that he had those things nailed.

Clearly, those things were never going to be sufficient to save the rich young ruler. Some folks read this passage as a list of requirements that, if met, would earn one a place with God eternally. Jesus’ quick response to the man, laying out exactly what one had to do, negate that. It’s as if the young ruler said, “Look at what I did Jesus! Now let me in the Kingdom.” I don’t see Jesus’ response as continuing the salvation laundry list at all. In effect, Jesus told this man, “No, no…your list is not enough, and it will never be enough.”  See those words….”follow me?” Those words matter. What do we see elsewhere in God’s Word? We see…believe….believe on me…faith. Follow me.

The rich young ruler left lost. He was “sorrowful.” This matters. Despite the impressive list of credentials the fellow brought to the table, he left “sorrowful.” He remained just as lost and outside the Kingdom as when he arrived.

The rich young ruler rejected Jesus for the same reasons we reject him today.

He wanted salvation his way. Like so many, this man wanted to work his way to heaven on terms he found personally satisfactory to himself. He, like so many today, created a god of his own liking.

He refused to give up himself. Not only did he want his achievements to earn him a place in Heaven, buy he wanted to hold on to his “stuff.” He was sorrowful because he was very rich. This man was not sad because he was rich; he was sad because he knew he had to give up himself. He was sad because he could not have his cake and eat it too.

Luke 18:24-27

And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

Who can be saved? Can a rich man be saved? Of course. The rich young ruler was not denied salvation over his wealth. Read the last verse up above. “The things which are impossible with men.” That is very important. Salvation through men, or the efforts of men, is impossible. No person can secure their own salvation; no person can secure the salvation of another. Again, read the verse; “The things which are impossible with men…….. are possible with God.”

Now, let’s move back to Zaccheus, and see just what God can make possible even among the worst of us…that’s coming Monday.

Zacchaeus -Jesus Meets a Rich Young Ruler.

Before we really dig much more into our actual story here of Zacchaeus, we are going to briefly discuss some of the background of the story. We are also going to go backwards to another story.

Jesus, at some point  before his encounter with Zacchaeus, had begun his final journey to Jerusalem. He, of course, knew why he was going there. It was on this final journey that Jesus began to attempt to teach his disciples about what was to happen to Him while He was there for the final time.

If readers are interested in the actual geography of this final journey, a really good map is included below.

Some of the events which occurred previously in the journey are key to later events, so let’s recap them really quickly if we may. Our actual story has it’s roots in the events recounted in the ending section of Luke Chapter 9, when the Samaritans refused to receive Jesus, and he and His entourage then turned East, left Galilee, and began the southward trip to Jerusalem. Here we see in

Matthew 19:1

And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;

It was while Jesus was in that area beyond the Jordan, that he had the encounter that provides such critical background to our actual story of Zacchaeus, and that is His encounter with the rich young ruler.

For today’s post, I am simply going to include both accounts from Scripture, for reading and study. Just read…think. I hope some things about these two stories will jump right out as quite evident. If not, don’t worry, because we will go there next.

Luke 18:18-26

And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

Luke 19:1-10

And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of little stature.And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Here we have two stories, clearly linked by time and geography. We have two very different men. We have to very different results. Just a casual look at the ending of each of these stories might seem ….odd.

The rich young ruler, the “good” man, went away sad

Zacchaeus, the “bad” man, rejoiced.

Isn’t that interesting?

Zacchaeus-Zacch the Weasel

Luke 19:2

And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.

So, who was this man Zacchaus, really? Was he the wee little, warm fuzzy fellow we saw from the children’s song in the previous post? Well, it seems fairly certain that that depiction does not really capture the essence of just who Zacchaeus really was. Not only that, but understanding some about who he was, and what his nature likely was, does a great deal to help us understand what was really happening in this passage.

To help us understand a bit about Zacchaeus, it helps to understand a some about exactly how he earned his living. Zacchaeus was a publican. As I try to describe this, I am piecing it together from various things I read, so I may not get all the particulars exactly correct, but the point will be made.

The Romans were quite efficient in their rule of the areas which they had conquered an place under their rule; one way they often did this was to utilize the indigenous peoples of an are to basically rule and administrate on behalf of them, under their authority of course. In this case, Publicans would have been Jews appointed by the Roman to fulfill certain roles. Often Publicans would oversee certain types of public works projects, such as various infrastructure projects. One very important role, especially in the days of Jesus, was the role of tax collector for the Roman Empire.

Tax collection then was different than what we think of now. The Romans didn’t establish tax levies and then wait expectantly for those who owed to file tax returns. What we see is what I have seen referred to as “tax farming.” The Romans would establish a certain level of income they expected from a particular area, and solicit bids from certain men, those interested in being tax collectors. Upon acceptance of a bid, the bidder would prepay the agreed upon income to the Romans, and then the “fun” would begin.

If any collector retained failed to collect his already paid levy to the government, he went broke. If he only collected what was required, he simply broke even. I hope we can see here, how this all shapes up now. The Romans did not care how much a publican collected from the ones who paid; they only cared about their predetermined levy. How did publicans make money? Obviously by collecting above and beyond the required levy. Zacchaeus would have been no more then the Jewish Mafia of the day. Protection rackets are NOT a recent development!

Maybe I read too much into the nature of this man, but I really don’t think so. I think understanding just who he was will help us to better understand later events as we move through this passage.

So, who was he? Zacchaeus was likely are hard, tough, ruthless man with no qualms concerning what he had to do or say to accomplish his goals. He must have been very good at what he did, as he was the “chief.” He certainly did not rise to the top of the particular heap by being a nice guy. Publicans in general were hated by fellow Jews, as they were considered traitorous lackeys of the Romans, on an equal level with prostitutes. It seem likely Zacchaeus didn’t care even a little about all of that.

So, rather than a happy, wee little fellow, what me most likely see here is a man who was selfish, greedy, ruthless, and only out for himself.

Why does this matter? Stay tune to find out!

Zacchaeus-The Wee Little Man?

Let’s be honest here; what do we think of when we think of the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus? I can’t speak for everybody, but I suspect I speak for many when I say that the first thing that comes to mind when Zacchaeus is mentioned is the kid’s song most people have heard for years. Many have grown up hearing this catchy little ditty on Zacchaeus, the “Wee Little Man.”

 

The Zacchaeus Song

Zaccheus was a wee, little man

And a wee, little man was he

He climbed up in a sycamore tree

For the Lord he wanted to see

 

And as the Savior came that way

He looked up in the tree

And he said,

“Zaccheus, you come down from there”

For I’m going to your house today

For I’m going to your house today

We do that song with cool hand gestures and little moves that are pretty catchy to be honest, and kids really seem to love this song.

So, what do we end up with here? We have a cute little song about a cute, wee little fellow scampering up a tree and sitting in the branches to see Jesus.

Is that the real Zacchaeus? Is there more to the story than just a happy little guy having lunch with Jesus? Well, of course there is, and we are going to take a look at all of that as we move along.

Next: Who was Zacchaeus really?

Zacchaeus-An Introduction

We have concluded our study of the Book of James, and now it is time to move onward.

A while back, the story of Zacchaeus the tax collector, as related in Luke 19:1-10 was the subject of our Evening Sunday School lesson at church, and I was honored with the chance to teach it. Honestly I had not really given much thought to the entire narrative, even though I had read it a lot of times. What I found was that this story has much more depth to it than we sometimes give it. Unfortunately, we have less than a half hour for our Sunday evening Bible lesson, and I didn’t get to cover it like I would have preferred.

So, for the next little bit, we are going to take up this story and poke around it a little bit and see what we can glean from this story in God’s Word.

Luke 19:1-10

And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich . And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

That’s all for today. Homework. Read our passage, and pray and meditate on it. Tomorrow we will begin unpacking it and exploring.