Luke 19:1-10
A. INTRODUCTION
These days there’s a lot of stress placed on the importance of success and power. For instance, if we watch the TV, read the paper, or go on the internet, we seem to be bombarded with images of people in power—those at the top of the rung. There are images of business men and women—people who are self-made, or have expanded upon the businesses they have inherited. There are images of successful sports men and women—people who are at the top of their tree. And there are the socialites—the beautiful people—with the emphasis on those who are the right shape, and those who have the right look.
Success in our society is often measured in terms of power, wealth, attractiveness, and popularity. And yet, for all that, success, for many, isn’t necessarily everything.
Because even though we may see images of people in positions of great power, who may be able to exert their authority over any number of people, it doesn’t mean that they feel fulfilled in life. People with power are not always happy with what they’ve got. Rather they are still searching for something to curb the feelings of emptiness inside.
We may see images of people who are wealthy, who have, what appears to be, all the possessions under the sun. And who may even be noted for going out and buying all the latest gadgets. And all their possessions seem to be of the finest quality. But none of that has brought them any satisfaction.
And we may see images of people who may be highly attractive, and may surround themselves with friends until they are coming out of their ears. And they may have the most active social life out. And yet in some ways they often seem very alone—it all being far too superficial. Because something is missing in their lives too.
Being successful, in terms of having power, wealth, or whatever other criteria we might want to choose, may for some be attractive, and may be important. Indeed, it may be what many people strive for. But the reality is that those things aren’t necessarily everything. And that’s especially true when there’s feelings of emptiness inside—feelings of longing in order to be fulfilled.
And you know, that’s exactly what this passage from Luke’s gospel is all about.
B. ZACCHAEUS THE TAX COLLECTOR
Because the story is about a man who in one sense was very successful—he was both a powerful man, and very rich—but, at the same time, he was also very empty. And this man’s name was Zacchaeus. Let me explain.
1. A Very Rich Man (1-2)
Now the first thing we’re told about Zacchaeus is that he was a tax collector. He lived in a town called Jericho. (A spaciously laid out town, with trees scattered all around). It was one of the main centres for trade passing through from the north into Judea. And that meant that Jericho was one of the main centres for the collection of customs duties in the north of Judea.
So when the gospel tells us that Zacchaeus was not just a tax collector, but the chief tax collector, what we should realise is that Zacchaeus wasn’t just an ordinary collector of taxes, but he was a very powerful and rich man. Indeed, a man at the top of his profession. He may not have been very popular, but that had not stopped him from becoming successful.
2. Searching for Fulfilment (3-5)
But, successful or not, there was something missing in Zacchaeus’s life. Because, when Jesus appeared ono the scene, passing through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem, a crowd appeared around him, and quite a crowd at that. And Zacchaeus was desperate to see him. And powerful though Zacchaeus was, the crowd was too large, and Zacchaeus too ‘vertically challenged’ to get anywhere near him or even see him.
But, as I said, Zacchaeus was desperate. He was empty, and he was desperate to find meaning and purpose in life. So he took the initiative. He looked ahead to where Jesus and the crowd were headed. He picked out a sycamore-fig tree (which even he would have no difficulty in climbing). And he climbed it, and hid in it (covered by the fruit and the leaves). And he waited for Jesus to pass by.
He may have been rich and powerful. And he may have been one of the most hated men in Jericho because of what he did for a living. But he was empty, and so desperate that he was prepared to go to any lengths to meet Jesus, even to the extent of being a laughing stock should anyone see him in the tree.
Now undoubtedly he had heard all sorts of things about Jesus. And, as a consequence, he was confident that Jesus had the answer to what he was looking for, and he was prepared to go to any lengths to achieve his goal.
And as he hid in the tree, and as Jesus and the crowd came nearer, what happened next would have been beyond Zacchaeus’s wildest dreams. Because Jesus stopped at the tree, looked up, and called him down. And Jesus then invited himself to stay overnight at his house.
3. True success (6)
Now bearing in mind who Zacchaeus was, and the lengths he had gone to, to meet Jesus, perhaps surprisingly, it wasn’t an embarrassed Zacchaeus who slowly climbed down. No! Zacchaeus was desperate enough that he didn’t care what the crowd thought. Indeed, Zacchaeus came down with a spring in his step, as though his life had been changed and his mission had been accomplished. And Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus into his home with great joy, eager to hear what Jesus had to say.
Zacchaeus had finally found fulfilment. And unlike the kind of fulfilment that he had pursued before, it had nothing to do with power, wealth, attractiveness, or popularity.
4. Comment
Power and riches, as Zacchaeus had found to his great disappointment, had not brought fulfilment in life. On their own, all they had provided was a spiritual vacuum. And, as Zacchaeus found out, it was a vacuum that only Jesus was able to fill.
5. New Life (7-8)
However, as Zacchaeus also found out, even with salvation, there was no guarantee of a smooth ride. Because immediately Jesus entered his home, he faced a problem. The crowd who had been following Jesus, objected to Jesus talking with him and going into his home. And they were totally disgusted that Jesus had any time at all for someone like Zacchaeus.
As far as the crowd were concerned. Zacchaeus may well have been rich and powerful, but he’d used his position and power for his own ends, at the cost of the people. He was a traitor to the Jewish race. And for Jesus to stay in his home . . . Well, that just wasn’t on; it just wasn’t acceptable at all.
But then Zacchaeus did an amazing thing. Because he responded to the crowds objections by promising to restore what he had illegally acquired. And he promised to restore it all in much more generous terms than even he was legally required.
There was a price that Zacchaeus had to pay for his fulfilment. But it was a price that Zacchaeus was willing to pay.
6. Jesus’s Comments (9-10)
To which Jesus not only commended him for his actions, but he encouraged the crowd to respond in like manner too.
C. IMPLICATIONS
Now I began by talking about the powerful, the wealthy, the attractive, and the popular—and the way that success is often measured in our society. However, I also pointed out that even these people can often feel empty, and unfulfilled. And that is often obvious by the way people live their lives.
However, in reality, people don’t have to be powerful, rich, attractive, or popular to feel that empty void. Because people from all walks of life experience that emptiness. And all kinds of people can lack spirituality and have the need for God to be present in their lives.
There’s a universality in the gospel that goes beyond what many in our society think is possible or right that affects us all. And that is the message of Jesus to all sinners, no matter how rich or poor they may be, and no matter how good or bad they have been. And that message is that if God is missing from our lives, then, it doesn’t matter where we are in life, there will be an emptiness that needs to be filled.
As a consequence, the story of Zacchaeus, throws down some challenges for us today.
1. The Need to be Fulfilled
The first is—for anyone who feels empty, for anyone who finds something missing in their lives, and for anyone who has a yearning to be fulfilled—that a meeting with Jesus should be at the top of the agenda.
For Zacchaeus that face-to-face encounter with Jesus was the catalyst which filled the gap and met him at his point of need. As a consequence, for anyone who feels likewise unfilled, a meeting with Jesus is something that they should consider too.
And whilst it may not be possible to have a physical meeting in the same way as Zacchaeus did, contact with Jesus can still be made through Bible reading; through prayer; through worship; through meeting with other Christians; and, of course, sometimes, through direct contact by Jesus himself.
So that’s the first thing. If we feel empty and, like Zacchaeus, we feel desperate enough to do something about it, then there are steps we can take in looking for fulfilment.
2. The Price We Are Prepared To Pay
All sound simple enough? Well it should be. However, the second aspect is a warning, because fulfilment comes at a price, and we need to make sure that we are willing to pay. Indeed, Zacchaeus paid two prices for his encounter with Jesus. The first, was risking embarrassment—the risk of being laughed at for climbing up and hiding in the tree. The second was having to face up to his past, and to compensate others for his previous misdemeanours.
As a consequence, if we are seeking fulfilment, and if we have a void in our lives that needs to be filled, and we are considering meeting with Jesus, then we need to make sure that we are willing to pay the price too.
a). Risking Ridicule
Because whatever our own thoughts are, there are people who take the Christian faith to be a joke. They consider it to be a crutch that some people need to help them through life. And most people don’t take the Christian faith very seriously at all.
And some people who think like that may not always be people we consider to be our enemies, but they may be members of our families and even our friends. And that is reflected in the timidity of many in the church, in their unwillingness to commit themselves totally to the faith and to the church. And, as a consequence, it reflects the poor health of the church today.
But Zacchaeus, for all his faults, was desperate enough to put all that aside. And he was desperate enough to face ridicule for climbing the tree in order to find true salvation.
But is that a price we are prepared to pay? Indeed, are we prepared to face even the ridicule of our family and friends?
b). Facing up to the Past
And if we are, that’s not the end. Because having faced Jesus, we need to deal with our past too. Because receiving fulfilment doesn’t just help us, and give us contentment for the future, as though the past is all a blank. An encounter with Jesus will also challenge us to deal with our past, to own up to the things that we’ve said and done, to make a clean slate, and to deal with the issues that we may prefer to have left behind.
Confronted with Jesus in his own home, Zacchaeus realised what he had to do. And with the size of his compensation package to those he had cheated to line his own pocket, the result was that it probably changed him from being a rich and powerful man to someone who was broke and who had no influence at all.
But Zacchaeus knew that was the price he had to pay. But then, as far as he was concerned it was worth it, because what he received from Jesus was worth far more than all his riches that he gave away.
But again is that the price we’re prepared to pay? Are we prepared to face up to the mistakes of the past? Are we prepared to lose everything that we have, and I mean everything, in order to have fulfilment in life, and a relationship with Jesus?
D. CONCLUSION
The story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector, must be one of the most well-known passages in the Bible. (But then, there is humour in the idea of a little man scurrying up a tree, and hiding behind the leaves and figs, in order to get close to Jesus). And because of its familiarity it’s message is often lost.
However, in this one story of the Bible—and only ten verses long—the truth of the gospel is encapsulated. Zacchaeus, for all his wealth and power, was lost, he was empty, and he was desperately searching for that void to be filled. And Zacchaeus found the fulfilment he was looking for. And, what’s more, he was willing to pay the price for his salvation.
The question, today, though, is, ‘Are we lost?’ ‘Are we looking for fulfilment?’ And, if we are, ‘Are we willing to pay the price?’
Now we may not all be people of power and wealth. We may not all be attractive or even popular. But today, the challenge is the same, ‘Are we fulfilled, or are we still looking for something to fill the emptiness inside?’ Because if that’s true, then we need to consider a meeting with Jesus. But a meeting in which we need to make sure that we are willing to pay the price.
Posted: 12th October 2024
© 2024, Brian A Curtis
www.brianacurtis.com.au
