Well, tax time has come and gone—again.

After spending a
few weeks collecting and organizing documentation, I sent
everything along to my tax guy and he did the rest. Yes, I pay
for tax preparation. It’s the best two hundred bucks I spend
all year.
While sometimes vexing, this annual exercise reminds me of
one of Jesus’ early followers—a man that few (if any) would
have identified as open to the good news of salvation. I
speak, of course, about Zaccheus. Tax gatherer for the
Romans, address Jericho. A man working for an occupying
force Israelites hated, collecting its taxes while free to
extort additional money for personal gain.
When you think of unbelievers you know, I imagine you see
some of them as more “open” to the gospel than others.
Whether we realize it or not, we often profile people as to
their potential for faith. Appearances, careers, affiliations,
social habits – these and other factors lead us to make
assumptions about people. Zaccheus stands as one of those
unlikely converts whose conversion represents the amazing
love and mercy of our Lord.
That said, in retrospect, I think we can see some signs he
might have been ripe for the gospel as we encounter his
story in Luke 19:1–10.
He had what the world offered—he was rich (v. 2)
As the chief tax gatherer at a key trading intersection like
Jericho, Zaccheus had it made. Taxes on the huge amount of
goods that flowed through this ancient gateway to all points
east, west, north, and south brought much wealth to Rome,
and a goodly sum to tax collectors who were allowed to
make their living by padding the books. This guy had money,
something the world says will fulfill you.
By God’s mercy, I was raised by parents who were not
enslaved to money. But my dad would sometimes say, with a
grin, “Money isn’t everything, but it’s way ahead of whatever
is in second place.” Like my dad, Zaccheus hungered for
more. That’s one reason he was trying to see Jesus, a man
who had no earthly goods, but spoke the words of eternal
life. Indeed, “He who loves money will not be satisfied with
money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too
is vanity” (Eccl. 5:10).
Who do you know is financially wealthy? Yes, it’s easier for a
camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich
man to enter the kingdom, but it can and does happen!
Riches will not satisfy, and many who are so blessed are ripe
for true riches in Christ Jesus.
He recognized his limitations—he was short (v. 3)
He climbed a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus over the
crowd. In my view, this portrays Zaccheus as an honest man,
willing to endure the indignity of scaling a tree for a look at a
man whose message focused on sin, forgiveness and true
life. He was no King Saul, who stood a head above everyone
else and had that kingly “look.”
I get a bit weary of the “if only we could get the team captain
saved” evangelism thing. Certainly, the Lord God is not
influenced by looks in his salvific work (1 Sam. 16:7), but I
believe there is a subtle tendency for us to view weakness or
limitation in others in a negative light. We want our salvation
“trophies” to be stellar specimens of beauty and prowess.
And in this light comes Paul’s words to the Corinthian
believers, some of whom undoubtedly were a bit full of
themselves:
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not
many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the
world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak
things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
and the base things of the world and the despised God has
chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the
things that are, so that no man may boast before God. (1
Cor. 1:26–28)
He persisted in his search—he was a true seeker (vv. 3, 4)
The text says, “he was trying to see who Jesus was,” a verb
in the imperfect tense, denoting a continual process of
pursuit. As well, he “ran on ahead” and “climbed into a tree”
in order to get a glimpse of the Savior. Here is a man who is
not easily dissuaded from his goal—to encounter the Son of
God. This is how people act when they are sincere in their
quest.
I know how he felt, albeit in the context of courting my
wonderful wife, Rolane. We had been casual friends for some
time, but once I realized she was the “one for me,” I went
into the imperfect tense. Eight weeks after our first date I
proposed marriage, and three days later she succumbed to
my charming pursuits. When you genuinely desire a
meaningful relationship with someone, you don’t let anything
stop you. You’ll even run ahead and climb a tree.
Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “without faith it is impossible to
please [God], for he who comes to God must believe that he
is and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.” We
should look for those whose interest in things eternal
continues to surface. We might be looking at a future brother
or sister.
He freely acknowledged his need—he was a sinner (vv. 5–8)
Because of their complicity with Rome and tendency to
extort, Jewish laws (Mishnah) said that it was perfectly
permissible to lie to tax collectors to protect ones property. I
would imagine many who knew Zaccheus had little trouble
identifying him as a sinner.
The great part of this story is that Zaccheus agrees! One
gets the impression he is laboring under some guilt, as he
offers to give half his wealth to the poor and return four-fold
any amount he has fraudulently assessed from others. His
spirit is sensitive to the sinfulness within him, something he
did not manufacture on his own. This was from the Holy
Spirit, whose work is to “convict the world concerning sin
and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8).
Only through the conviction of the Spirit will a person submit
to Jesus Christ. Thinking there is a certain people profile
that suits the Spirit better than another for conviction of sin
is tacitly unbiblical and foolish. His love saves all sorts,
something we readily see when we look into the mirror.
Great is his mercy!
He embraced the forgiveness of Christ—he was sincere (vv.
9, 10)
Zaccheus’ heart was genuine, otherwise Jesus would not
have gone to his house, nor would he have said, “Today
salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of
Abraham.” This went down hard for the grumblers of verse
7 (most likely Pharisees), as they saw Jewish tax collectors
as having forfeited their rights as Abraham’s offspring. But
Jesus was not talking about genealogy. He was speaking of
faith, the faith that makes all who believe, both Jew and
Greek, descendants of Abraham (Romans 4:16).
We can gather from how Jesus responded to this man that
Zaccheus made good on the money he stole, and showed
true repentance by giving to the poor. He was genuine in his
desire to deal with the sin that had produced guilt and a lack
of joy in his life.
As we continue to love the brethren and share the hope that
is within us to others, we do well to remember our brother
Zaccheus. A rich, short, seeking sinner who sincerely
received the love of God through Jesus Christ. May the Spirit
open our eyes to the unlikely candidates for salvation all
around us. For so, once, were all of us.