Zacchaeus: Chief Tax Collector
This is the second week in a row that we have a scripture about a tax collector. If you weren’t here last week, we learned that tax collectors were, generally, Jews, but they were employed by Rome to collect taxes. The taxes were oppressive, but the tax collectors made that oppression even worse, because they could charge as much as they wanted, and keep for themselves anything that was in excess of what Rome required.
And there was no getting out of paying whatever the tax collector said you owed. Tax collectors could even (I assume) use Roman soldiers to help collect the taxes.
So while most Jews longed for the day they could be free from Roman oppression, tax collectors actually participated in that oppression for their own gain.
So it’s no surprise that tax collectors were despised.
Zacchaeus, the scripture says, was a chief tax collector. I’m not sure exactly what that means, except that to earn that title, he must have been collecting taxes for quite some time, he must have become quite good at it, and he was undoubtedly, extremely, rich.
I’m sure he strutted around town as if he were royalty, perhaps with a few soldiers with him at all times as bodyguards.
If you were an average, ordinary Jew, you could be having a perfectly good day, but then you catch sight of Zacchaeus parading by, and your mood instantly would turn sour. Your mood would turn sour even if that’s all Zacchaeus did - just pass by. But if he stopped and greeted you - well, your day was about to get even worse.
With the wealth that Zacchaeus extorted from the people, he was able to live in a house that most of his fellow Jews could only dream of.
Most likely he had his own slaves, so that he himself didn’t have to do any hard work. In fact, it was probably his slaves who actually went around collecting taxes on his behalf, while Zacchaeus just enjoyed the fruits of everyone else’s labor.
I Should Be Happy. Why Am I Not?
One day, Jesus was passing through Jericho. A huge crowd went out to see Jesus, to hear him speak, to learn from him, to find hope in the words he spoke and especially, to hear him speak about God’s new kingdom.
And Zacchaeus went out to see Jesus as well. Zacchaeus had heard of Jesus, but didn’t know much about him; the scripture says Zacchaeus went out because he wanted to see who Jesus was.
Zacchaeus was curious.
Now, I wonder: why did Zacchaeus care? What was Zacchaeus seeking? He had everything anyone could want - the lavish lifestyle of the rich and powerful.
Yet he still wanted to go and see what this Jesus guy was all about.
The cynical side of me wants to suggest that perhaps Zacchaeus just wanted to keep an eye on things, or to find people to tax. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. The scripture simply says that Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was.
Could it be that being a tax collector, and having all that wealth and power, wasn’t making Zacchaeus as happy as thought he should be? And that he thought, maybe, Jesus might be able to help him find true happiness? Did Zacchaeus (despite his wealth and power) still feel that something was missing from his life?
That’s a common feeling.
Have you ever felt that way? I have. Maybe you have a nice house, a nice family; maybe you get to go on a vacation every now and then. Maybe you have enough money to eat out every once in awhile.
But you aren’t as happy as you think you should be.
And you wonder: “Why aren’t I as happy as I think I should be?”
Every so often, we hear of some celebrity who gets caught in addiction; or they start acting out in wild and crazy ways, the result of untreated depression; or, they die by suicide.
And we think: why weren’t they happy? They had millions of fans and tons of money! They should have been happy.
And we say this, even though we also say that there’s more to life than fame and fortune. I think that’s more true than we like to admit: that fame and fortune and power do not bring happiness.
Getting a Better Look
Zacchaeus had fortune. Zacchaeus had power. But still, he wasn’t happy. And when Jesus came to Jericho and all these people rushed out to see him, Zacchaeus thought that maybe - just maybe - Jesus could help him find what he was missing in life.
So Zacchaeus made his way through the crowd, and because he couldn’t see Jesus, he climbed up into a sycamore tree to get a better look. The people around him grumbled; they assumed he was looking for people who owed him taxes.
But the only person Zacchaeus was interested in seeing that day was Jesus.
Suddenly, Jesus appeared. He was about to pass by!
And when he got close, Jesus saw Zacchaeus sitting up in that tree. And Jesus stopped, and turned to Zacchaeus…
Zacchaeus wasn’t expecting this. He just wanted to get a look, and maybe hear a little of what Jesus said as he passed by.
And maybe for a split second, when he saw Jesus looking at him, Zacchaeus regretted his decision to leave his magnificent home and come down here to try and see Jesus. What would Jesus say to him? Would Jesus tell him to stop collecting taxes? Would Jesus tell him to move out of his mansion? Would Jesus speak to him in a way that ridiculed him in front of all the people he needed to maintain control over?
If these thoughts went through Zacchaeus’ mind, they only stayed there for a second. Because Zacchaeus quickly realized he didn’t care. He didn’t care about money, or power, or having a nice home, or having people fear and respect him. He didn’t care about any of that, because (he realized) none of that had made him happy.
But Jesus - He didn’t know exactly what, or how, but somehow he knew that Jesus could make him happy.
Climbing Down from the Tree
Jesus said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today."
This confused the crowd. Was Jesus planning to stay at Zacchaeus’ house because he admired Zacchaeus? To accept someone’s hospitality, to dine at their table - that was a sign of approval, a sign of friendship.
Why on earth would Jesus accept hospitality from someone like Zacchaeus - from a chief tax collector?
But Jesus knew that Zacchaeus was not happy with his life, that he was longing for something more. What Zacchaeus’ heart was longing for, deep down, was a whole different way of living, but I think Zacchaeus just hadn’t figured that out yet. After all, things were happening so fast. He knew that welcoming Jesus into his house would change everything.
And that, he realized, was exactly what he wanted: a complete change.
And so Zacchaeus (the scripture says) hurried down out of that tree and was happy to welcome Jesus.
And then Zacchaeus said: "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much."
Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house.”
Notice that it wasn’t when he climbed into the tree that Zacchaeus found salvation. It was when he climbed down out of the tree and made the decision to change his life.
Following Jesus is not a spectator sport. You can’t sit in your tree and watch. You have to welcome Jesus. You have to welcome Jesus into your life. You have to say “I’m in!” You have to take part with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your body.
And salvation will come to you.
Finding Wholeness Together
And that word, salvation... it means to be made whole. To feel complete.
Zacchaeus wasn’t whole before he encountered Jesus. He was torn apart. His life was lacking integrity. There was a disconnect, an incongruity, about how he was living.
And he felt that. His wealth wasn’t making him happy, in part because it was earned by the oppression of others. He was seeking happiness for himself by making others unhappy.
But, as the Bible makes clear, none of us can be happy unless all of us are happy. I cannot be all I’m meant to be unless you can be all you are meant to be. I cannot find happiness and wholeness if I am working to deprive you of happiness and wholeness.
God wants us to find happiness and wholeness. God wants us to find salvation. God wants every person to be able to eat what is good, and delight in rich, wholesome food. The prophet Isaiah says: “Come, buy and eat, even if you have no money! Come, this food, this bread, this milk and wine is for you, so that you may be satisfied.”
This is a deep, lasting happiness. Zacchaeus thought the wealth and power made him happy, but because his wealth and power separated him from God’s people, he could never truly be happy - not until he united his life with theirs.
This is one of the things we are doing our best to learn here at Bixby Knolls Christian Church. We are not perfect, and we are still working on making that radical transformation that Zacchaeus made. We are learning to discover how to be happy - truly, deeply happy. We are learning how to find wholeness for ourselves. We are learning how to receive God’s salvation in our lives.
And we are learning that the happiness, wholeness, and salvation we seek depends on us allowing God to open our eyes to the oneness of humanity. We are all bound together by God’s spirit. Our happiness is tied to our neighbor’s happiness.
Unless we find ways to love our neighbors, to care for our neighbors - no matter who they are - we will not find happiness for ourselves.
We are, as scripture says, responsible for the wellbeing of one another. We are our brother’s keeper.
Our wholeness, our happiness, our salvation is all bound together. That’s the way God created us. It’s what the scriptures teach us. It’s the message that Zacchaeus welcomed into his heart that day he met Jesus.
May that same message also transform our hearts, and the world.
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