Was He a Cheat? (Luke 19)

 The story of Zacchaeus has stood out for many, which is an interesting way for me to put it given he was short in stature.

The fact that he was a tax collector, that he was disliked by the crowd, that he climbed a tree, and that he repented on the spot! There are many other points.

But the small, possibly controversial assertion I wish to make is that I suspect Zacchaeus was not a cheat. I suspect he took his tax collecting seriously in terms of being accurate in his calculations.

Yes, he was wealthy, and that can stand in the way of following Jesus, as we see in the story of the rich young man who at the time was unable to let go of his wealth.

Zacchaeus made a bold assertion when Jesus called him down from the tree. He said he would give half his wealth to the poor as well as pay back four-fold if he had cheated anyone.

That little word “if” is not insignificant.

Being a tax collector, he would have been good at math, and he would easily have known what was within his ability to repay.

It does not matter much, whether I am correct in my assertion, but I want to paint a picture of a man who was already God fearing and trying to do a bad job honestly. I am suggesting the reason he wanted to see Jesus, was that he already believed God was good, and somehow in his heart, he knew Jesus was a true prophet, and people who love God are drawn to Jesus.

The fact that he was disliked was something he had to live with, and something God knew as well.

Yes, Zacchaeus repented that day. He repented by showing that he wanted to follow Jesus whole-heartedly, which I am sure he did from then on. And I suspect there were few and possibly none that needed quadruple pay, because he was not in the habit of cheating, being someone who already feared God.

Please feel free to disagree with me.

 

 

Who is God after?

Acts 8:26-27 (NIV) Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”).

We strategize. 

If we (by “we”, I mean me and anyone like me) are forming a band, we look for the best available musicians. If we are organizing a sporting team, we try to persuade skilled, advanced players. In lots of different situations, the people we want in our “team”, whatever the event or endeavor, we tend to consider the skills and abilities we most need or aspire to, or even the influence a person may have on others, as a potential stepping stone to success.

Does God strategize?

If he does, what does he consider?

I ask this question as I skim over the story of the Ethiopian eunuch.

Why would God send Philip to him?

What was special about this man, was his influence in Ethiopia the reason for God sending Philip specifically in such a miraculous way?

Does God even need to organize these “chance” meetings?

The point I want to make is that 1. We should not strategize, or at least we should not be considering the “outward appearance” of a person. By this I don’t just mean their athleticism, or high standing in a particular field. God looks at the heart. We cannot look at the heart as God does. But we can follow God’s lead, as Philip did.

God chooses the least; the least appealing, the least educated, the least influential, as well as others.

Being an Ethiopian eunuch sounds a bit marginal to me. Yet God sent Philip to him.

We don’t have to give any ulterior motive to God for this move. His merciful love towards someone who genuinely wanted to worship and understand the scriptures was more than enough, from my reading. And I believe that this still applies today. He does not need a particular leader in a nation in order to achieve his purposes, he even hardens some leaders in order to show his mercy more powerfully to his beloved.

We don’t have to be special for God to send his loving-kindness in our direction. His love for us is beyond our understanding, and is not dependent on our behaviour, abilities, or influence, but a contrite heart he will not despise.

So in our desire to share the truth of Jesus, his powerful forgiveness for all that was won on the cross, let us go with the leading of the Holy Spirit, which is not within our ability to predict or control, we simply follow humbly, always being ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us. And God will make those chance meetings happen.

God’s strategy is not our strategy.

His strategy is love-strategy.

 For God so loved the world that he sent his only Son, that whoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life.