Amy C Walters

Zacchaeus | Luke 19:1-10

In the story of the Rich Ruler from Luke 18:18-30, the crowd asks, “who can be saved.” The story of Zacchaeus is an answer to that question. Zacchaeus shows us with his humility and turning away from sin that anyone who repents can be saved.

The story of Zacchaeus makes a lot of connections to stories that come before it, particularly the story of the rich ruler (Luke 18:18-30). The rich ruler asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. He thought of himself as essentially good, claiming to have kept all of God’s law. But Jesus challenges him to sell everything and follow him. The rich ruler goes away sad because he’s unwilling to part with his wealth. So Jesus comments that it’s more difficult for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. In response, the crowd asks, “Who then can be saved?” This story about Zacchaeus is an answer to that question. 

Zacchaeus is not the kind of hero you would expect. He’s actually a villain, due to his profession and the likelihood that he has cheated to get his wealth. So saying that Zacchaeus can be saved is like saying the scammer who tricked grandma out of her last penny, or the city clerk who embezzled millions of dollars, or the lying boss who keeps you on edge all the time, or the blackmailer who bleeds everyone dry, or the traitor who reported on their neighbor to the enemy, can be saved. It’s a crazy answer to the question.

Let’s look at a few characteristics of Zacchaeus and make this comparison with the rich ruler even clearer. First of all, both the rich ruler and Zacchaeus were drawn to Jesus. The rich ruler comes to him and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. It seems clear that he has been listening to Jesus’ teaching. Zacchaeus has heard about Jesus as well and is determined to go and see him. 

Both the rich ruler and Zacchaeus met with obstacles along the way. For the rich ruler, the obstacle was Jesus’ challenge to sell everything and follow him. This obstacle proves too big for the ruler and he goes away sad. 

But that’s not the case with Zacchaeus. Even though he meets with so many obstacles, he continues to forge ahead. When the crowd keeps him from getting to Jesus, when he can’t see because of his height, he finds another solution. He runs and climbs up a tree, something that’s very undignified. The crowd is obviously against him, and he still pursues Jesus. So Zacchaeus isn’t stopped by other people’s responses and reactions to him.

He’s not stopped by his own pride. He’s not stopped by laziness. He could have said, “This is too much effort, I’m going home.”

He’s not stopped by discouragement. When plan A doesn’t work, he moves on to plan B. I love the determination that we see from Zacchaeus. He’s not just curious about who Jesus is. He is determined to see him and does not let obstacles get in his way. 

Both the rich ruler and Zacchaeus are also confronted by their lack of goodness. The ruler initially thinks that he is good. But when Jesus challenges him to give away his money, loving his neighbor as himself, the ruler comes to terms with his lack of goodness and his unwillingness to change.

But Zacchaeus, instead of claiming goodness, acknowledges that he has cheated people and that he is a sinner. But Zacchaeus doesn’t just stop there. He repents.

In US culture today, we see a lot of people making public apologies. They may show regret and remorse, but rarely do they show repentance. Maybe they’re sad that they’ve been caught. Maybe they’re sad that they have to feel the consequences of what they have done. But that’s kind of where it stops. There’s not really a true acknowledgement that they were wrong and shouldn’t have done what they had done.

But repentance in the Bible is not just about feeling bad about sin. It’s about turning away from sin and turning to Jesus. That’s what we see in Zacchaeus’ response. We see repentance.

What do we learn about repentance from Zac? First of all, it involves humility. Zacchaeus is undignified in his pursuit of Jesus, running on ahead, climbing a tree. He goes after Jesus, even if it makes him seem foolish. 

Zacchaeus openly confesses his sin. He admits to Jesus and all the other guests at his house what he’s done. And he doesn’t make excuses for it or shift the blame onto someone else. 

He also makes amends. He’s not only sorry for what he has done, but he’s determined to repay people whom he has harmed. He gives away half of his wealth to the poor and pays back four times the amount to anyone he has cheated. The legal requirement from Leviticus 6 is to repay the amount plus 20 percent. But Zacchaeus goes far beyond that. 

Zacchaeus also makes himself accountable to follow through on his repayment commitment. He announces the plan to everyone at his house. Those guests are going to be checking in on him to make sure that he has followed through. 

We also see that Zacchaeus doesn’t downplay the severity of his sins. He takes it seriously. We see that in this repayment of the four times the amount of what he has cheated. Sometimes with fake repentance, they push the victim to just “get over it.” They say things like, “It’s not that big of a deal.” Zacchaeus acknowledges that it was a big deal by the fact of how much he’s willing to go above and beyond to repay the people he’s harmed. 

Zacchaeus demonstrates repentance, not just remorse or regret. He humbly owns his sin and the harm it’s done, and now he moves in the opposite direction. He receives Jesus joyfully. 

This story is an answer to the question, who can be saved? The answer, and our key truth for today, is that anyone who repents can be saved.

This is mind-blowing. It’s not the people who are good and follow all of the rules. It’s those whose good deeds outweigh their bad. It’s those who repent. And if this was true of Zacchaeus, then it’s true of the biggest liars and cheaters and swindlers and traitors and adulterers and sinners today. And it can be true of you and me as well.

But remember, it’s not just through a casual following of Jesus, like we saw with the rich ruler, who turns away and gets discouraged so easily. It’s instead through allowing Jesus to transform your heart and repenting of the things that you have done. It’s even repenting of the good things that you have done, recognizing that they were an attempt to manipulate God or to earn his favor.

Salvation is possible with God. But we must turn away from our sin and our self-reliance and turn to him.

So what then does this mean for us? It means that if you’ve not yet trusted Jesus, today is the day. There’s nothing that you have done that is beyond Jesus’ power to save, his power to transform. There’s no sin that’s too big for him to deal with. Remember, what is impossible with man is possible with God. 

If you have trusted Jesus, then it means you need to not count other people out, no matter how bad they appear to be, no matter how far away from God they seem. If God can save Zacchaeus, he can save anyone. You never know what God is doing in someone’s heart.