Zacchaeus Was Not Unique

You know the story about Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10, and two features of the story have stood the test of time: he was short, and he gave his money away. Or at least he paid those he cheated four times. What an extravagant act of generosity!

Isn’t that a bit over the top? Is it? What is it?

This kind of radical distribution from the wealthy to the poor is not uncommon in the Bible, but first the story of Zacchaeus.

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

         When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

         All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

         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.”

         Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Think of the gleaning laws.
Think of the manna rule: take only what your family needs day by day.
Think of the prophets criticizing the depth of poverty and the height of riches.

Think of John the Baptist who taught repentance as an economic action in Luke 3:7-14:

John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

         “What should we do then?” the crowd asked.

         John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

         Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

         “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.

         Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

         He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

When Jesus encountered the rich young ruler he called him to give up his money and give it to the poor (Matthew 19:16-22).

Dominique Dubois Gilliard, in Subversive Witness: Scripture’s Call to Leverage Privilege, rightly shows that these actions are not laws and not coercive but the inevitable prompting of the Spirit who regenerates in us a love for others. Care for the poor is an act of love.

So, 1 John 3:16-18:

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

And the brother of Jesus put it this way (James 1:26-27):

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

The apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 8:9 puts it this way:

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

What then does Philippians 2:6-11 mean other than that Jesus used his privileged wealth to make the poor wealthy?

Zacchaeus was not unique; he was just like Jesus, just like Paul, just like James, just like John, just like John the Baptist, just like the prophets, just like Moses.

Let’s not let ourselves get lost in taxes and politics with this. Let’s get lost in love for others and ask ourselves How can I use my privilege for others?