Tax collectors have never been popular with their fellow citizens. This was particularly the case in Jesus time when the tax collectors were working for the hated Roman overlords. The Romans contracted people to collect taxes for them from a given area and they would set the amount of revenue that they expected to receive. This situation allowed the tax collectors to over assess people and line their own pockets.
Zacchaeus held the position of "chief tax collector" and as a result had become quite wealthy. Being Jewish, he must have had some familiarity with the Law and the Commandments, and perhaps he had a guilty conscience. Zacchaeus had heard about Jesus and he was very interested in seeing Christ. Since he was short, he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a tree so he could see. When Jesus arrive at the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today” (Luke 19:5). No doubt Zacchaeus was as surprised as everybody that Jesus had invited himself to his place. This was not the first time that Jesus had invited himself to the home of a tax collector (read about the calling of Matthew in Matthew 9:9-13). When all the people saw this, they began to mutter, "He has gone to be a guest of a 'sinner'" (Luke 19:7). "Sinner" is in quotes because according to Scripture, everyone has "sinned and has fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). The only way Jesus could have eaten with someone who was not a sinner is if he had dined alone! Then, as now, people tend to rate certain sins as worse than others. Perhaps a parallel in contemporary society would be if a religious leader (say Billy Graham) had invited himself to the home of a pornographer. Can you imagine the reaction?
The power of Jesus' love and acceptance can be seen in what happened next. 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 19:18).
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The Bible teaches that people who repent of sin and turn in faith to Christ become new persons. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come!" (2 Cor. 5:17). The Apostle Paul noted this spiritual fact when he wrote to the Corinthians. After he listed various sinful behaviors of certain individuals, he added, "And that is what some of your were" (1 Cor. 6:11). When Paul wrote to the Colossians, he listed various sinful actions that Christians are supposed to "put to death" or have "gotten rid of" He also went on to tell them what positive things they were to replace the sinful ones with (see Colossians 3:1-17).
A religious conversion is supposed to change more than what we believe; it should result in a changed life. Is there evidence of your life of this change? Can you name specific things that have changed? Convicted Watergate conspirator Chuck Colson is an example of a modern-day Zacchaeus.
