A Tale of Two Rich Guys

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord!  Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”  Luke 19:8

What kind of experience could instantly warm a heart from icy greed to glowing generosity?  How could a life-long cheat become a pay-it-forward giver in just one moment in time?

In a word, grace. 

Let’s consider Zacchaeus’ encounter with Jesus ... and contrast it with that of another wealthy man, the rich young ruler.

Zacchaeus had little claim to any righteousness of his own.  Tax collectors were despised for shaking down the Jews on behalf of Rome and for cheating the people in the process.  And among tax collectors, Zacchaeus was the chief.  While the ruler had kept the commandments since boyhood, in all likelihood, righteousness was, to the cheat, an aspiration long ago abandoned.

Unlike the young ruler, it would never have occurred to the tax collector to run up to Jesus and fall on his knees in search of the one missing piece needed to complete the puzzle of salvation!  Having spilled most of his interlocking pieces along life’s path, Zacchaeus wanted only to see the completed picture on the box – the portrait of the Savior.  And throwing off all pretenses, he climbed a tree to do just that.  (Why put on airs when you’re already universally scorned, right?)

It was Jesus who initiated the relationship with this undeserving man, this diminutive sinner of the sycamore, “... come down immediately.  I must stay at your house today.”  To the ruler whose deeds had become relational obstacles, the Master had said, “Go ... give ... Then come ...”  But to the one who sought only the man, Jesus simply bade him, “Come ...”

The rich young ruler went away sad, knowingly forgoing that which he had sought; its cost was too high.  But Zacchaeus, the wealthy man with a bankrupt soul, responded with his entire being to the grace he found in Jesus, “Look, Lord!  Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor ...”

What inspires us to open up our hands and offer that which once remained locked up inside clenched fists?  Grace.  The infinite reach of radical grace.

“Today salvation has come to this house ...” – Jesus Christ, to Zacchaeus

[Today’s reading is the story of Zacchaeus, Luke 19:1-10, which you can read by clicking here. 
To read the story of the rich young ruler in Matthew 29:16-24, click here.]