An Altered Lifestyle

“Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region and he had become very rich. He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. ‘Zacchaeus!’ he said. ‘Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.’ Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the people were displeased. ‘He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,’ they grumbled. Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will give half my wealth to the poor Lord and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!’ Jesus responded, ‘Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” (Luke 19:1-10) (Also read Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4; Psalm 119:137-144; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12)

Change happens in a lot of ways. A turnaround happened in the life of Zaccheus. The life of a little man, short in stature but even shorter in character, a cheat and a fraud, was genuinely changed through meeting Yeshua face-to-face. “Come down, little man, from the tree. I’m going home with you.” We can’t know what happened at Zaccheus’ house. Probably they ate a meal. But what did they talk about? How long was Yeshua there? Don’t know. What can be known is that at the end of their time together, Zaccheus was a changed man. “Adonai,” he cried, “half of my goods I will give to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone of anything, I will repay them four times.” The Old Testament law required that a thief repay double what was stolen. Zaccheus doubled the double. In response to all this, Yeshua said, “Today salvation has come to this house.” What did He mean? Did He mean that Zaccheus’ generosity had resulted in his salvation? No. He meant that Zaccheus’ generosity was a result of his salvation. When he met Yeshua face-to-face, his life changed. There was a dramatic turnaround.

I.) The dishonest man became honest. It’s a sad commentary on our own day, but I suspect that a great many in our world would find no fault with Zaccheus. Life without scruples has become accepted, almost fashionable. Truth is a bit slippery today and a great many people are well at ease with it. Zaccheus would fit right in. Here is how he made his money. He was the tax collector for the Roman government. In fact, he was the chief tax collector. That meant he had other tax collectors working under him, answering to him. Zaccheus had contracted with the Roman governor of Judea to collect Rome’s taxes in the district.
Now Jericho was a wealthy district, famous for its balsam gardens and palm groves, the gardens given years earlier as a gift from the Roman emperor Mark Anthony, to the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra. The heavy commercial traffic from the gardens and groves, as well as every household, was taxed. The tax system worked like this. Zaccheus was the chief tax collector. Others worked under him. There was corruption at every level.

The Roman government assigned a specified amount of money Zaccheus was to collect and turn in. Whatever he could collect over that, he could keep. He divided the district into smaller areas and hired a tax collector for each area. He told them how much money he wanted from each of them. They in turn would add to that amount the amount they wanted for themselves. By the time the tax bill got to the citizens, it was outrageously high. Each tax collector kept his cut and gave the rest to Zaccheus, who kept his cut and gave the rest to Rome. Rest assured that his cut was a huge profit for himself. It’s no surprise that his people hated him so! If he were alive in our day, his defenders would say, “He’s a good businessman.” He might say in defence of himself, as do so many current-day crooks, “I never broke a law.” And both would be right. It’s just that he wasn’t honest. One of the Ten Commandments says, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” Why? Because our neighbour has the right to expect from us the truth. I’m glad Zaccheus finally saw the wrong of his life and made it right. His coming to Yeshua changed his life.

II.) At an even deeper level than outward honesty, there was a change of Zaccheus’ heart toward others. His selfishness gave way to caring regard for others. He had a good example in Yeshua; as do we. Never was there one with such empathy for other people. Yeshua saw need and went to minister to it. On this fateful day, Yeshua saw Zaccheus in the tree. Don’t forget that there were great crowds in Jericho that day. Jericho was only twenty miles east of Jerusalem and Yeshua and the disciples were on their final trip to the Holy City. The people heard that the miracle worker and famed teacher were passing by and the crowds lined the streets. But the eyes of Yeshua saw beyond the crowd to the needs of one lonely man. He saw Zaccheus and in His heart He loved him. That kind of compassion is what Zaccheus later wanted for himself. “Half of my goods” and that was considerable, because he was a wealthy man, “I will give to the poor.” It’s compassion that marks the Christian who truly denies self and follows Yeshua wherever He goes.

III.) For Zaccheus there was a change in the way he viewed his material world. There was a time when the material world drove his every thought. He was controlled by his craving. When he got more, he wanted more. It was an endless cycle of despair. But after Yeshua entered his life, his priorities changed; and drastically. There are those who say that money doesn’t matter. We can resonate with that. After all, Job was right: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked I shall depart.” There is nothing eternal about our finances. Yet it’s not that money is unimportant. It is important. In our society, it takes money and quite a lot of it, to provide food, clothing, shelter and to pay our taxes. Whether we like it or not, money is here and a part of our lives. There are also those who say money is everything. No, there are more significant driving forces than money. I would measure honesty, integrity, loyalty and fidelity. Against such there are no laws. So how do the converted relate to money? Zaccheus points the way.

Money doesn’t control us, but it does become a way in which we honour YAHVEH. Thus the pledge to give away half of his goods to the poor and to repay fourfold those he had cheated. His generosity really wasn’t required for his salvation, nor for the forgiveness of his sins. The generosity simply came with the territory. It was a response of grace to the grace of YAHVEH. The whole world changed for Zaccheus when Yeshua came. I sense about him a new joy. The sad and sorrowful, fragmented and meaningless life he had known gave way to a robust and energetic interpretation of life. Life was to be enjoyed and cherished, not to be tackled and destroyed. He could now have friends, something he hadn’t had for years. He cared about the things that mattered. He became a giver, not a taker. He found satisfaction in helping others. It was quite a turnaround. And it is the kind of turnaround that can happen to every life. It can happen to yours and mine as we open ourselves to HaMashiach and let Him work His way. He wants us to discover the joy.