The scene is quite comical. A wee-little man, the scoundrelous scoundrel in the region, goes as fast as his little legs will take him to climb a tree to see Jesus. This is no small thing (sorry for the pun). This little man was, well, a man, and a very wealthy man at that. He was well-known in a notorious sort of way. No one outside of his ne’er-do-well friends liked him because he was the chief tax collector who stole from them. While he was a small tyke, he had the power of the Roman army behind him to collect as much tax money as he wanted. (He may have been able to make you wear a mask while you paid your taxes if he had so desired.) Yes, Zacchaeus was a wee-little man, but he was a powerful, well-known man, and men, especially those of his societal position, did not go running after people or climbing trees in that day.
And that’s the point. Men didn’t do these things but children did. Woven throughout the story at the beginning of Luke 19 are these hints that Zacchaeus, this powerful, prominent man, is childlike. He has dignity and wealth, position and power in society, but he pursues Jesus like a child. We know from what Jesus said earlier to his disciples that if anyone will enter the kingdom, he must become like a child. He must realize that he is completely dependent upon Jesus as his Savior, willing to count his power and possessions as nothing that can save him. Zacchaeus seeks Jesus with childlike faith and because of that, Jesus grants him entrance into the kingdom.
What would make a man who had such a position in society and who was well-off humiliate himself so much before the people over whom he wielded so much power? The simple answer is that he desired Jesus and the kingdom more than he wanted anything else. This desire was the genesis of his repentance that expressed itself in giving half of his possessions to the poor and conforming his life to God’s Law by restoring fourfold what he stole through the misuse of his power.
Whatever we desire most is revealed in our actions. Someone who says, “I desire to lose weight” but then eats a half-gallon of ice cream every night, may indeed desire to lose weight, but he doesn’t desire it more than he desires ice cream. A person who says he wants to be a runner or lift heavy weights but never hits the road or the gym reveals that these aren’t his greatest desires. Your dominant desires dominate your will. Say what you want, but you do what you desire most.
Zacchaeus desired to know Jesus, to be a part of the kingdom he was announcing. When that desire took hold, all other lesser desires about dignity and possessions took a back seat. He didn’t care what others thought of him or how much it would cost him. He wanted Jesus and the kingdom, and he would do anything for them.
Talk is cheap. This is why repentance must be measured by actions or fruit. Repentance, at its heart, is a matter of the heart; namely, what you desire most. People who desire Christ and his kingdom don’t have to be beaten or cajoled only encouraged and directed. There is no evidence in the scene with Zacchaeus that Jesus had to pressure him to “make a decision” or handle his wealth the way he did. In fact, there is no evidence of Jesus ever doing that with anyone. He announces. He commands. He offers. He condemns. He never pressures. If people don’t want to follow him, he moves on. He is always willing to work with people who have the desire to follow him expressed in commitment to him, but he doesn’t pound them all the time. They must desire him above all things.
For those who desire him and the kingdom he announces, even if their lives are an absolute mess as Zacchaeus’s life was, he is ready to forgive them and transform their lives.
