I can see actor Danny Devito playing Zacchaeus. That is, if Hollywood ever makes a movie about Zacchaeus, Devito would be perfect. Think about it. The first thing most of us think about when we think of Zacchaeus is that he was short. Vertically challenged. The second thing about Zacchaeus we know is that he was rich. Devito can handle those two characteristics easily. The third thing we know is that Zacchaeus was corrupt. How do you think he got wealthy in the first place? Think of some of the characters Devito has played. Short, wealthy, corrupt. Perfect.
Zaccheaus was a tax collector. Despised by his own people. Not only did he do the bidding of the Roman oppressors, he added a surcharge when he collected taxes with which to line his own pocket. So we have a short, wealthy corrupt tax collector. Oh, one thing more--he was unhappy. That's not too surprising. If your primary goal in life is to acquire wealth, you'll never find true happiness.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, the singer and actress who calls herself Madonna explains how her life has changed since she first came to fame in the early 80s. Referring to one of her more famous songs, "Material Girl," Madonna claims, "I'm so not the Material Girl now. There were many years when I thought fame, fortune, and public approval would bring me happiness. But one day you wake up and realize they don't. " (1) We could have told her.
Psychologist Ed Diener once made a comprehensive study of happiness. One of his comparison groups was composed of American college students. A second group was composed of slum-dwellers in Calcutta, India. Guess which of these two groups turned out to be happier? You're right. The slum-dwellers. [That's because they eat healthier diets. Just kidding.]
Diener believes the reason the slum dwellers are happier lies in the close network of social relationships in Indian society. Close relationships almost always show up as a deciding factor in studies of happiness, and these slum-dwellers rated their relationships with family and friends as very satisfactory. (2)
Relationships bring happiness. Material wealth does not. Relationships with family and friends. And a relationship with God. Zacchaeus had loads of money, but he was despised by others and he did not know God.
It would make a hilarious scene if Devito would agree to do the role. There is short, wealthy, corrupt, unhappy Zacchaeus trying to see Jesus. He has heard about this teacher from Galilee. He has heard how he cast out demons and healed the blind and the lame. And he thinks to himself, maybe this man has the answer to my unhappiness. And so he comes to see Jesus who happens to be passing through Zacchaeus' hometown of Jericho.
But the crowd of onlookers is too great. Jesus is attracting admirers. Can't you see Danny Devito hopping up and down trying to get a glimpse over the crowd? Finally he spies a nearby sycamore tree. Forgetting how ridiculous it must look to see a wealthy tax collector wearing a robe climbing a tree in the middle of town, Zacchaeus shimmies up that tree just for a look at Jesus. Is there any question Zacchaeus is desperate? You can almost feel sorry for him.
Maybe Zacchaeus' drive for wealth grew out of self-consciousness over his lack of physical stature. That happens"“even though some of the most outstanding people who have ever lived have been short. People can be so cruel. And, let's face it, society discriminates against us on the basis of appearance.
It's not fair but studies show that taller men have an advantage over shorter men in getting leadership jobs. For example, one survey shows that if you are a candidate for a job as a high school principal, you are apt to be judged more qualified than your competitors who are shorter. This is true even when the resumes of "short" and "tall" candidates are virtually identical.
If you ever run for president, your chances of winning are overwhelming if your opponent is even the least bit shorter than you. In twenty-two out of twenty-three elections since 1900, the taller of the two major-party candidates has won. The exception? Jimmy Carter over Gerald Ford in 1976. (In fact, if you ever run for president, studies show that voters who support you will consistently overestimate your height, and those who are against you will consistently underestimate your height.) (3)
Life's not fair. And sometimes it's plain stupid. Sometimes you're discriminated against because you're short or you're female, or because you come from a disadvantaged family, or because of your race or for a host of ridiculous reasons that have nothing to do with your ability or your character. Most people understand this and learn to deal with it. Others, though, let it get under their skins and cause them distress. We're just speculating. But Zacchaeus does seem to be a rather sad as well as comical figure as he clings onto that sycamore tree craning his neck to see Jesus.
Of course, Jesus had already seen Zacchaeus. That's what's important in this story. It was not that Zacchaeus got himself into position to see Jesus, it was that Jesus already knew Zacchaeus. He called him by name. Can't you see Zaccheus so stunned by this revelation that he nearly falls out of the tree? Jesus knew his name. Here he is in his sleazy position in life, wallowing in unhappiness, looking ridiculous--a grown man of great wealth perched up in a sycamore tree--and Jesus knows his name. Think of the implications of that truth.
An old minister was dying. A young man who was also a minister came to visit him and offered to read to him from the Scriptures.
"Do you have any favorite scripture you would like to have me read?" the younger man asked.
"Yes," said the old man. "Please read the first chapter of First Chronicles." The young man read the requested chapter. It was not easy. Chapter 1 of First Chronicles consists primarily of genealogies. Names. Hebrew names. It was hard work pronouncing the some two hundred fifty unfamiliar names in the fifty-four verses. The old minister listened with eager attention to every name.
When it was finished, he uttered a fervent Amen. He said, "Thank you, my son; that was so comforting." The young man was frankly puzzled. "Please tell me," he said, "what is so comforting about the chapter?" "Ah," said the old minister, "just to think that God knew them all by name!"
(4) Jesus knew Zaccheus' name. Zaccheus thought no one knew about his deep unhappiness or cared, but evidently Jesus knew. A prominent psychologist tells about a patient--a young woman with fertility problems. After many unsuccessful attempts to get pregnant, this patient had reached the end of her rope. In a session with her doctor, she begged for some words of comfort to help her deal with her pain. Then she looked up. The doctor was crying, too. "Thank you," she said quietly. It wasn't words of advice she needed. She needed someone to share her pain. (5) Zacchaeus' healing came the moment Jesus called him by name. Suddenly he perceived that Jesus knew him and understood his situation. Then Jesus did something that is so remarkable it is breathtaking. He looked up at Zacchaeus and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." If you don't know how remarkable this is, you simply don't understand how much the people in Jesus' time hated tax collectors. An inscription was found on a clay tablet in what is now Iraq. The inscription was written more than 3,500 years ago. It read like this: "You can have a lord, you can have a king, but the man to fear is the tax collector." (6)
Now, to be sure, none of us like paying taxes. Back in 1981 Northwest Airlines ran a promotional contest. The grand, and only, prize was the use of an entire Boeing 727 jet for a trip to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, airline transportation home, and three nights in a luxury hotel for ninety-three people.
The airline trumpeted the contest in full-page ads in Midwest newspapers that said, "Win a jet to Florida and take 92 friends along . . . Take your relatives. Take your co-workers. Take your church group, lodge or neighbors."
Sounds great, doesn't it? Except for one thing. The prizes in all such contests constitute taxable income. The winner of the Northwest promotion would be forced to cover the taxes on the value of the tickets and rooms used by each of the friends or family he took along. If the winner made use of the full value of the prize, he would add $50,000 to his taxable income for 1981.
But wait, when this was pointed out to Northwest, it tried to compensate. On the advice of its tax attorneys, the airline threw in $15,000 to help the winner pay this added tax burden. The problem with this is that the extra cash was taxable, too. What finally happened? The winner skipped the free jet trip and took a cash settlement. (7)
None of us likes to pay taxes. Still, we don't have the hatred for the tax collector that the people had in Jesus' time. Imagine, if the setting were Palestine today and a Palestinian in each village acted as an agent of the Israeli government--and skimmed off some extra besides, he would not last long. And yet Jesus called Zacchaeus down from the tree and told him that he was going home with him. This was so remarkable that immediately the crowd who had come to welcome Jesus into Jericho began to grumble: "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner."
It is almost as if Jesus is sabotaging his own ministry. Certainly he is giving ammunition to his enemies. He could have gone home with the mayor, perhaps. Or the city's chief rabbi. But he chose the most despised man in town, a traitor to his own people, a cheat who lined his own pockets at the expense of those who were powerless. What in the world does Jesus think he is doing? He is doing what he was sent to do--to seek and to save the lost. He didn't come for those who are well, he came for the sick. He didn't come for those who are strong, but those who are weak. He didn't come for those who are found, but for those who are lost.
Does that fit anybody here today? Is this a time of discouragement for you? Have some of your most cherished dreams been shattered? Do you feel that no one understands? There is one who does understand. He knows your name. And he cares. He cares so much that he would lay down his own life in your behalf. In fact he has laid down his life in your behalf.
Jesus tells Zacchaeus that he is going home with him and the impact is extraordinary. Zacchaeus said to the Lord, "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, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."
Zacchaeus was a changed man. I believe there would be more changed people in this world if they knew that someone cared about them, understood them, was willing to share their burden with them. That's what Christian evangelism is, it's finding people who need Christ's love, Christ's understanding, Christ's willingness to shoulder life's burdens. That is our privilege, friends, to show Christ to the world. To show him to the people in our office, at our school, in our own home.
Jesus said about Zaccheus, "Today salvation has come to this house . . ."
And our story comes to a close. Don't you think Devito would be perfect for the role? But actually the story doesn't end here. Because now it is Danny Devito's turn--I mean Zacchaeus' turn--to reach out to someone else. That is what salvation is all about.
1. "Oprah Talks to Madonna," O magazine, January 2004, p. 122.
2. "10 Keys to True Happiness" by Bob Holmes, et. al. from New Scientist, reprinted in Reader's Digest, March 2004, p. 99.
3. Bernard Asbell with Karen Wynn, What They Know About You (New York: Random House, 1991).
4. Leonard C. Lee, Signs of The Times, Copyright (c) June 26, 1956, Pacific Press, http://www.signstimes.com. Monday Fodder.
5. Arthur P. Ciaramicoli, Ed.D., Ph.D. and Katherin Ketcham, The Power of Empathy (New York: Dutton, 2000), pp. 72-73.
6. Senior Scholastic. Date unknown.
7. Bruce Nash and Allan Zullo, The Misfortune (New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1988), p. 83.