Luke 19.1-9

ZACCHAEUS

(Luke 19.1-9)

'Then Jesus said to him: “Today salvation has come to this house."' Luke 19.9

With those few words, St Luke concludes the story about Zacchaeus.

I want to draw your attention to three aspects of the story.

Firstly, Zacchaeus was dissatisfied with life.

Now that may sound a rather strange thing to say about a person who was very rich and who occupied an important position in the community. What more did he want or need?

The city of Jericho, which stood in the Jordan Valley, was also at the cross roads between Jerusalem to the west, and Jordan in the east. It was an area known for its palm forests and balsam groves. The Romans carried her dates and balsam to world-wide destinations and fame. Its geographical location and export trade made Jericho a great taxation centre.

Those who collected the taxes were despised by the local community because they worked for the occupying Roman forces. Furthermore, the tax collectors were well known to overcharge regularly their customers, to help to pay for buying their lease from the Roman governor, and also to line their own pockets.

According to St Luke, Zacchaeus was not just an ordinary tax collector - he was the Chief Tax Collector.

I can easily imagine Zacchaeus growing tired of being ostracized by the local community. Whilst money enabled him to be miserable in comfort, it did not bring him lasting happiness.

In my last parish, I had two distinct communities. Residents of Welham Green, which was rather feudalistic and had modest and realistic ambitions whereas those who lived in Brookmans Park believed that money could buy anything. [Incidentally, it is where Football Wives was filmed, so you can imagine the palatial houses behind the security gates in that part of the parish.]

The sad thing is that I spent at least twice as much time in the latter part of the parish than in the former, trying to peel back the layers of pretence to show why so many were inwardly unhappy. Some sought for satisfaction from a comfortable home, a successful career, a beautiful wife (who could be changed when the wrinkles appeared), their children's academic achievements, and so on.

Like Zacchaeus, many of my parishioners were dissatisfied with life.

Secondly, Zacchaeus went to search out Jesus.

This was not easy for a small man, who would be pushed and shoved in the crowd irrespective of his work for the Roman government.

When that failed, Zacchaeus had a brainwave. Why not climb a tree and see over the heads of the crowd which surrounded Jesus?

So we are told that he climbed a nearby sycamore tree. Not only could he see Jesus, but more importantly, Jesus could see him among the branches and leaves. And that was not all. Jesus knew his name. How, we do not know, but he did.

And here we have an important lesson, namely, that if we are prepared to go in search of Jesus, Jesus will also go in search for us. Hence the Good shepherd goes in search for the sheep that is lost, and the father of the two sons goes and meets the prodigal son as he returns home in fear and dread of what his father might say.

Thirdly, Zacchaeus realises that his encounter with Jesus demands a change in life style. Life can never be the same again.

Instead of being a grasping employee of the Roman Governor, out for ail he can get, now we find Zacchaeus being a generous person. We are told that he gave away half of his wealth to the poor. But that was not all. He also promised to give fourfold in return, to any person he may have overcharged. [Incidentally, the Law only required a person to pay back what he owed.. In other words, Zacchaeus chose to go beyond what was expected of him.]

Being a follower of Jesus has consequences as regards our behaviour which everyone can see.

For instance, Jimmy Carter, one time President of the United States of America, at the age of 41 years, found an emptiness in his life. The telling point for this was hearing a sermon entitled “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

Carter came to the conclusion that there would be insufficient evidence.

Carter later remarked: ‘I was going through a stage in my life then that was difficult. I had run for Governor and had lost. Everything I did was not gratifying. When I succeeded in something, it was a humble experience for me. I’d never done much for other people, I was always thinking of myself.'

After a brief period of lay missionary work, Jimmy Carter was later to say: “I found myself able to say, ‘what can I do to make this person's life more enjoyable?’ In the past I had had a natural inclination to say, ‘What can I get from them?’ or to wipe them out of my mind.

Zacchaeus was dissatisfied with his life. Zacchaeus went in search for Jesus, only to find Jesus searching for him. Finally, Zacchaeus realised that such an encounter with Jesus demanded a change in lifestyle.

And what of yourselves? Are you really satisfied with your life? Are you looking for a personal relationship with Jesus as the answer to your need? Finally, are you prepared to change your lifestyle in response to the gospel?

Would there be enough evidence to convict you of being a Christian?